Former presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio made a deal to let President Barack Obama’s nominee be the U.S. ambassador to Mexico while renewing sanctions against Venezuela.
The Florida senator had been opposed to the nomination of Ambassador-Designate Roberta Jacobson ever since the Obama administration put her name forward 10 months ago. Rubio held up her nomination because he was opposed to her leading role as assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs in negotiating the normalization of relations with Cuba.
The end of the standoff clears the way for the U.S. to send an ambassador to Mexico as it’s preparing to send a new ambassador to Washington, D.C. Mexican Ambassador-Designate Carlos Sada had harsh words for the U.S. Senate Monday over its long delay in confirming a new U.S. ambassador.
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved Jacobson in November, 2015, with a 12-7 vote. Rubio ultimately gave in on the condition of extending sanctions against the Socialist regime of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.
Sanctions were set to expire at the end of 2016 and have now been renewed for another three years. The sanctions against Venezuela target specific officials within the Maduro regime who are guilty of various human rights abuses.
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