Marco Rubio

This is American industrial power returning.

This is the ability, once again, to rebuild, to have industry in the United States.

This is generational in the change, not just in terms of

applying American war power, increasing our ability to protect the seas.

The U.S.

Navy is the single biggest source of peace in the world of all of our forces because it gives us a global footprint.

But it rebuilds American industrial capacity.

The ability to make things again in our country has been critical to what the President's agenda has been all about, and this is a tangible reminder of it.

And I know the country is grateful for it, and generations of Americans will be grateful for it.

So, thank you.

At an end-of-year news conference, Secretary Rubio was asked repeatedly about the U.S.

military buildup near Venezuela.

He says President Trump promised to take on the cartels and is doing that.

Rubio would not describe a recent call between Trump and Maduro, but said that the Venezuelans broke deals with the Biden administration.

You can't do a peace deal with these people any more than you can do a peace deal with a mafia.

Rubio defended the strikes on alleged drug boats, saying they've been effective.

The Trump administration is also imposing sanctions on seven family members of individuals tied to what it calls the illegitimate Maduro regime.

Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, Washington.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday that they would prioritize direct investment in partner nations and eliminate waste by bypassing the, quote, NGO industrial complex.

Rubio unveiled the new policy during the signing of a $2.5 billion health cooperation framework with Kenya.