WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump often praises his Cabinet members, but no one has received as much attention lately as his secretary of state, Marco Rubio.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 21, Trump joked, “I became a diplomat for the first time.”

“You know who taught me that—Marco Rubio,” Trump said. “He said, ‘Let me teach you about diplomacy.’”

Rubio has often been in the spotlight over the past year, and especially after the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in early January. Rubio was a key figure in the strategy and planning of the operation and now oversees the Venezuelan regime led by interim leader Delcy Rodríguez.

In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly praised Rubio, saying that he will “go down as the best secretary of state.”

Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser, is increasingly viewed in Washington as a rising force within the administration. Some have compared him to Henry Kissinger, who acted first as national security adviser and later as an influential secretary of state under President Richard Nixon and President Gerald Ford.

Alex Gray, who served on the National Security Council during Trump’s first term, said he views Rubio as effective and strongly aligned with the president on foreign policy.

Unlike previous secretaries, Gray told The Epoch Times, Rubio does not try to change Trump but instead focuses on translating the president’s goals into successful policy.

“He’s an extraordinarily effective secretary of state, perhaps the most effective secretary of state we’ve had in a very long time,” said Gray, who is now a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council.

Rubio was born in Miami in 1971 to conservative Cuban immigrant parents. His father worked as a bartender, and his mother divided her time between being a stay-at-home mom and working as a hotel maid.

In his 2012 memoir, “An American Son,” Rubio explained how his family’s sacrifices and hard work in blue-collar jobs in Miami and Las Vegas contributed to his own success, including his 2010 U.S. Senate victory, and are an example of the American Dream.

“For them, Cuba was a place that had painful memories, but also obviously, it was their homeland and they had love for it,” Rubio said in a 2015 interview with The Associated Press.

Rubio’s roots and his upbringing in Miami’s Cuban immigrant community strongly influenced his political views—particularly his opposition to communism. His background, strategic skills, and strong grasp of Caribbean and Latin American affairs make him “very effective in steering” U.S. policies in the region, Evan Ellis, a Latin America research professor for the U.S. Army War College, told The Epoch Times.

Cuban Americans “have been very proud of Secretary Rubio,” John Suarez, executive director at Washington-based Center for a Free Cuba, told The Epoch Times.

“He understands the international community and has deep knowledge of Latin America, particularly the dynamics of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua,” Suarez said.

Rubio had warned about the threats the Maduro regime posed for years.

“The crisis in Venezuela has evolved into a national security threat to the U.S. that must be addressed,” Rubio wrote in a 2018 message on X (then Twitter), expressing concerns similar to those that Trump recently raised.

“The Maduro regime is an organized crime syndicate that traffics drugs onto our streets, is driving a dangerous migratory crisis and has invited Putin to open military bases.”

After being captured in Caracas by the U.S. military, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were transferred to a jail in New York City on Jan. 3. Maduro is facing federal charges that include drug trafficking and collaborating with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. On Jan. 5, Rodríguez, Maduro’s vice president, took over the government as acting president.

‘Rubio’s Moment’

Rubio served as a U.S. senator for Florida from 2011 to January 2025, when he resigned to join the Trump administration as secretary of state. Rubio served on key committees in the Senate, including the Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He was the first Cabinet member confirmed to join Trump’s second administration. He received unanimous bipartisan approval with a 99–0 vote on Inauguration Day and was sworn in on Jan. 21, 2025. He is also the first Latino to hold the position.

In May 2025, Rubio became acting national security adviser after Trump removed Mike Waltz from the position and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. following a controversy over leaked text messages.

As national security adviser, Rubio works at the White House daily and remains close to the president.

“That proximity to the president means a lot,” Ellis said.

Although Rubio does not make the final decisions, he’s “providing options that are consistent with Trump’s style and objectives,” Ellis said.

“This is Rubio’s moment in Latin America,” he said.

Several foreign policy experts have suggested that Rubio played a significant role in authoring the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy, which was released in December 2025 and prioritizes U.S. focus on the Western Hemisphere.

However, Gray said the strategic shift came from Trump himself, who has long recognized the region’s importance.

“Part of the reason Rubio was such a great fit was that he shares a view the president already holds,” Gray said.

Both Trump and Rubio believed that the United States should not let the Maduro regime operate in the region with backing from China, Russia, and Iran.

The administration is increasingly adopting language that says the United States can’t have “hostile neighbors,” Suarez added.

Suarez said he believes that the Cuban regime is nearing a collapse due to increased pressure from the United States.

During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Jan. 28, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) pressed Rubio about Cuba. Schatz asked whether Rubio “would make a public commitment” that the United States would not get involved in changing the Cuban regime.

Rubio responded: “Oh, no. I think we would like to see the regime there change. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make a change, but we would love to see a change.”

He said that a change in Cuba’s regime “would be of great benefit to the United States.”

Rubio also referenced the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, which requires a democratic transition in Cuba before a U.S. president can normalize relations.

“It was codified in law, and it requires regime change in order for us to lift the embargo,” Rubio said.

A Hawk on China

Rubio also closely aligns with Trump on relations with communist China. He has been regarded as one of the most prominent China critics in Washington, especially on issues such as human rights, trade, national security, and technology.

During his 2025 Senate confirmation hearing, Rubio described the Chinese communist regime as the “most potent and dangerous” adversary the United States has ever faced.

“They have elements that the Soviet Union never possessed,” Rubio said at the time.

“If we stay on the road we’re on right now, in less than 10 years, virtually everything that matters to us in life will depend on whether China will allow us to have it or not,” Rubio said.

In 2020, Rubio was placed on Beijing’s sanctions list twice for his human rights advocacy.

Rubio authored the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which was later signed into law. In 2024, he introduced the Falun Gong Protection Act, which seeks to impose sanctions on individuals involved in crimes of forced organ harvesting in China. The bill passed in the House and is now with the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.