David Rutherford Show: How Venezuela Became a Launchpad for America’s Enemies

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: David Rutherford Show: How Venezuela Became a Launchpad for America’s Enemies

Date: January 12, 2026
Guest: Rick de la Torre (CEO of Tower Strategy, former CIA Chief of Station in Venezuela)
Host: David Rutherford

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Overview

This episode examines how Venezuela evolved into a hub for America’s geopolitical adversaries, with deep dives into the historical and operational ties between Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, Iran, and China. Host David Rutherford interviews Rick de la Torre, who provides an insider’s account of intelligence operations, the socialist export model in Latin America, and the future regional outlook. The conversation is sharp, informed, and laced with first-hand anecdotes, offering rare clarity on the intersection of espionage, ideology, and geopolitics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Cuban Intelligence and Maduro’s Inner Circle

• Cuban Bodyguards in Venezuela
  • Maduro’s core security detail included over 30 Cuban intelligence officers, not mere contractors but actual Cuban operatives.
  • Quote:
    • "One of the things the Cuban intelligence apparatus does in exchange for all the free oil from Venezuela is provide them with the security they need so the regime can stay in power." — Rick de la Torre [03:22]
  • The regime has consistently denied this, but direct evidence counters official denials.

Historical Context: Cuba’s Revolutionary Influence and Soviet Ties

• Cuba’s Communist Export Model

  • Post-1959, Cuba prioritized converting neighboring Latin American nations to communism with Soviet support.
  • Soviet attempts were often unsuccessful until Castro adapted Marxist ideology to local conditions.
  • Quote:
    • "When Fidel Castro came along, he was able to adapt Marxist totalitarian views and actions of the Soviets, and put that Latin American spin on it where it made much more sense." — Rick de la Torre [05:28]

• Transition to Venezuela

  • After the Soviet Union collapsed, Cuba faced economic collapse until Hugo Chavez emerged to provide oil for strategic support.
  • This created a "marriage made in hell"—sustaining both the Cuban and Venezuelan regimes.

Venezuela’s Geopolitical Pivot

• Rise of Chavez and Maduro
  • Chavez’s Cuba-backed ascent and subsequent rule allowed for the export of socialism, not just domestically but across the hemisphere.
  • Maduro used this playbook, consolidating power through state control, international support (Cuba, Russia, China, Iran), and by facilitating criminal networks.
  • Quote:
    • "He exported and funded a lot of the ultra left-wing violent movements that we see. And I suspect… we’ll learn about American politicians who perhaps got a little too close to the Maduro regime." — Rick de la Torre [09:53]

External Influence: Russia, China, Iran, and Others

• Exporting Security and Training
  • Cuban expertise in intelligence, espionage, and suppression was exported to other Latin American Marxist groups.
  • Venezuela became a key base for adversarial actors like Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, FARC, and others.
  • Quote:
    • "Venezuela served as an aircraft carrier where all our adversaries could launch from and export their chaos… under the protective cover of Nicolás Maduro." — Rick de la Torre [22:54]

Shifting Political Tides in Latin America

• Marxist Resurgence and Recent Decline
  • Recent leftist victories in Mexico and Brazil reflect ongoing appeal due to systemic inequality and corruption.
  • However, rising education levels and electoral pushback (Chile, El Salvador, Argentina) are counteracting the Marxist model.
  • Quote:
    • "Recent elections though… we've had a tidal wave of change of now better educated Hispanics… that's through free market capitalism… through rule of law." — Rick de la Torre [19:41]
  • De la Torre suggests we may soon witness the “stamping out the last remnants of a brutal communism in our own hemisphere.” [20:57]

U.S. Policy and Oversight

• Impact of U.S. Attention Shift Post-9/11

  • U.S. focus on the Middle East allowed adversaries to consolidate power in Latin America.
  • Quote:
    • "Our enemies were paying attention. They knew we weren't paying attention to Latin America. That’s when they started to make those investments in places like Venezuela." — Rick de la Torre [22:16]

• U.S. Oil Hegemony and Negotiating Leverage

  • The control of global oil production has shifted, affecting dynamics with China, Russia, and Iran.
  • Quote:
    • "Now, for the first time, the United States controls the majority of all the oil production on this globe. That will change the dynamics in Beijing, Tehran, Moscow… now we have leverage." — Rick de la Torre [29:55]

Intelligence Operations on the Ground

• Operational Environment in Venezuela
  • Intense level of espionage—“palpable” sense of being monitored and targeted by multiple agencies.
  • U.S. foreign policy playbook is well-known and exploited by adversaries.
  • Quote:
    • "Our enemies, they know our playbook. It’s been very standard for the last 50 years… They know us better than we know them." — Rick de la Torre [28:34]

Leadership for the Region: Marco Rubio’s Role

• Why Rubio is Uniquely Qualified
  • Rubio is lauded for his command, memory, and commitment to Latin American affairs.
  • His visibility and personal narrative resonate across the hemisphere, standing as proof of the American opportunity.
  • Quote:
    • "When he was nominated to be Secretary of State, I… felt, finally we've got someone at State in a leadership position that gets it, that knows what's going on there." — Rick de la Torre [32:34]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|---------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:22 | Rick de la Torre | "One of the things the Cuban intelligence apparatus does in exchange for all the free oil from Venezuela is provide them with the security they need so the regime can stay in power." | | 05:28 | Rick de la Torre | "When Fidel Castro came along, he was able to adapt Marxist totalitarian views... and put that Latin American spin on it where it made much more sense." | | 09:53 | Rick de la Torre | "He exported and funded a lot of the ultra left-wing violent movements that we see. And I suspect… we’ll learn about American politicians who perhaps got a little too close to the Maduro regime." | | 19:41 | Rick de la Torre | "We've had a tidal wave of change of now better educated Hispanics… that's through free market capitalism… through rule of law." | | 22:16 | Rick de la Torre | "Our enemies were paying attention. They knew we weren't paying attention to Latin America. That’s when they started to make those investments in places like Venezuela." | | 29:55 | Rick de la Torre | "Now, for the first time, the United States controls the majority of all the oil production on this globe… now we have leverage." | | 28:34 | Rick de la Torre | "Our enemies, they know our playbook. It’s been very standard for the last 50 years... They know us better than we know them." | | 32:34 | Rick de la Torre | "When he was nominated to be Secretary of State, I… felt, finally we've got someone at State in a leadership position that gets it, that knows what's going on there." |

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [03:15] Cuban bodyguards’ role in Maduro’s security
• [05:28] History of Cuba’s revolutionary exports, Soviet influence
• [09:53] Venezuela as base for exporting leftist movements; speculation about politicians’ ties
• [15:29] Cuba’s export of operational expertise to Latin American Marxist groups
• [18:30] Recent leftist resurgence and its roots in social conditions
• [21:16] U.S. intelligence shifting focus post-9/11, strategic consequences
• [27:16] On-the-ground operational tension in Venezuela
• [29:55] Geopolitical implications of U.S. oil dominance
• [32:34] Assessment of Marco Rubio’s effectiveness in regional affairs
• [34:11] Contact information and current work of Rick de la Torre

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Final Reflections

This episode provides a rare window into the practical realities of international power politics, intelligence, and the ideological struggle that has played out across Latin America. Rick de la Torre’s insight as a former CIA chief of station, especially regarding the operational interplay among Cuba, Venezuela, Russia, Iran, and China, is both candid and alarming. The tone is analytical yet urgent, making a strong case for why the U.S. must remain vigilant—and proactive—in its own hemisphere.

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Follow Rick de la Torre:

• X (Twitter): @vrk_Rick
• Company: towerstrategydc.com

Key Takeaway:
Venezuela’s recent history serves as a lesson in how quickly an adversary can leverage local instability to become a global threat—and how important informed, engaged leadership and oversight are for U.S. security and hemispheric stability.

Transcript

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[Rick de la Torre]

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[Rick de la Torre]

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[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

CEO of Tower Strategy and former Chief of station in Venezuela, Mr. Rick de la Torre, today on the David Rutherford Show. Rick, welcome to the show. I'm so privileged and honored to have you on, but you know, I just want to jump right into it, man. Who are the 32 Cuban bodyguards and why?

[Podcast Host]

What?

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

Like what security company Were they from. And why were they a part of Maduro's inner circle? Let's just start there.

[Rick de la Torre]

Sure, sure. So, you know, one of the things that the Cuban intelligence apparatus and the Cuban government does in exchange for getting all this free oil from, from Venezuela is provide them with the security that they need so that the, the regime could, could stay in power. Right. So over the years they provided them the, you know, the tactics and capabilities and the people, as you see here, to thin the ranks to, you know, carry out the totalitarian type of Soviet Union style, you know, intelligence apparatus within the, within the country. So Maduro himself, knowing that he had been illegitimately put in place, never really trusted anyone to, to, to handle his personal security. And that's something where the Cubans came in and, and would manage for him. So th, those that you see dead there, those are action. Those are actually Cuban intelligence officers that were stationed to protect him. It's something that they've denied, actually. The regime has denied this for years. And no, no, no, there's no, there's no Cuban, Cuban military or Cuban intel officers here in a part of my group. But you know, 30 of the, 30 of their bodies are there on his rooftop, so it shows otherwise.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And for those of you listening or watching, you know, Hugo Chavez had a very intimate relationship with Fidel Castro. And so, you know, I think let's expand it out because your knowledge of the region is I think, the greatest opportunity for my listeners and viewers to get a grander sense of the context of Venezuela's role in the region and, and, and how it kind of shifted away from Castro into Chavez and then Venezuela kind of emerged. Can you kind of explain that history of, of that relationship and the influence of, of Russia through Castro and kind of the manipulation of the region over the last 50 years?

[Rick de la Torre]

Yeah, of course. So going as far back as 1959, when the Cuban Revolution occurred, it was very clear to, to everyone in Havana that the only way they would, they would survive, the only way that they can grow, would, was to convert all their neighbors in Latin America into, you know, communist revolutionaries just like themselves. And that was at that time really, really supported by the Soviet Union. So because the Soviet Union, although, you know, part of their whole thing was to spread communism globally, they really didn't have much success in Latin American. And there's a number of reasons why culturally. Language, the weather, you name it, right? You know, you know, Russians really weren't doing well here in Latin America. But when Fidel Castro came along, he was able to adapt a lot of the Marxist totalitarian views and actions of the Soviets and kind of put that Latin American spin on it where it made much more sense. So he focused his attention on obviously the best economies at the time throughout 1959 and what turned into mostly armed guerrilla conflicts where they would fund folks in the mountains and would try to bring about violent revolutions. That, that kind of started to really fail as, you know, as the Soviet Union collapsed. Then in the 1990s, however, the political movement that, that, that really was, was an offshoot of, of these violent military gangs and militias that remained in a lot of these countries. Right, like in, like in Chile and Bolivia and Ecuador, farc, the FL and.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

All those guys, Right?

[Rick de la Torre]

Exactly. Okay, that's exactly it. That's exactly it. So, so then as they became, as those kinds of viewpoints and politics became normalized, let's say within, within Latin America, that thing gave rise to, to what we saw later with, in like an Hugo Chavez, although, you know, he, he took power in a coup d' etat and, and at that time I don't think the, you know, the United States really focused its attention on Hugo Chavez and didn't see the threat that it could turn into very quickly later when he was elected by popular vote. Right. That really then left the United States with not much of an opportunity to really argue that hey, this is what the Venezuelans wanted. So, you know, let him have it. To what extent he stole that election or to what extent, you know, he did things to make sure that the outcome would come out to just be him, One can only imagine. But by then already he was pretty much working with the Cubans. What would happen then? Now keep in mind, so you have the fall, the collapse of the, of the Soviet Union and you know, the early 90s 91. And then now the next thing that happens is that, you know, the, the, the, the Cuban government needs to have a support because there's really nothing in their economy that anyone wants around the world. Right? There's nothing there. Maybe tobacco, maybe nickel, but nothing to sustain an entire economy. So when, when everyone was at that time thought that Cuba was, was done and over with and was not going to, you know, to, to continue, along comes Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and it's a marriage made in hell. Because he's able to export oil to the Cubans in exchange, the Cubans continue to prop him up, that props up his economy. The oligarchs in Cuba profit from the oil that they're getting because they only keep half of it and they sell the other half on the open market and keep all that money for themselves. So that was how it started. And then that then became a template now for, for later for Maduro. And when Maduro saw was well, wait a minute, you know, I can do a very similar thing and undermine the elections of all my neighboring countries, do what I can to protect myself. And down that slippery slope he went where at the end he was just a mafia don running, you know, a completely illegal operation with a thin veneer of it operating under a country. So he exported and supported and funded a lot of the ultra left wing violent movements that we see. And I suspect, I suspect as he's now a guest of the US Federal penitentiary system and he becomes friendlier with the folks at the Department of Justice, I suspect we'll learn more and more about which politicians in Latin America were on the take from Maduro. And I'll throw one even more. I suspect we'll learn about American politicians who perhaps got a little too close to the Maduro regime.

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[Rick de la Torre]

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[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

Well, there's been all kinds of speculation thrown out all over X over the last two weeks about, you know, they were producing a list of all the people that supposedly took money from the, the, you know, that regime. And you know, I, I, I, I. You know, you see, people just spread this stuff like it's, you know, just like it's candy out there for the, the uninformed to just consume in mass quantities like a sugar high. Right, right. And, and, but there's so much more nuance to it as a guy that, you know, has been conducting operations within, within the agency for a long time and congratulations on your retirement, by the way.

[Rick de la Torre]

Thank you.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

I always love to see guys do their service, get out and, and have a positive outlook on, on their futures instead of, you know, having that. It is, I mean, because of what.

[Rick de la Torre]

Baker about this and, and yeah, it's, it, you know, it's kind of like, I don't know, it's got to feel like somebody coming out of a prison cell. Right. You know, after a while. And that's not what it was. I had a great, great career. Loved my, love my colleagues, loved everything. But just the way your brain works sometimes when you, when you walk out, it's like, okay, wait, this is the real world now.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

Yeah, I, that's the one thing for me I always faced a little bit of, like, you're so used to approaching problem solving in that operational mindset, and then, then everybody else is using a system or an approach that seems like it's, it's alien in nature. And, and so the frustration of, of just the speed with which things are done and everything else, it's, it's, it's, it's pretty wild to me. But I find it FAS that a small little country like Cuba can have such an influence and then, you know, it almost as if they they taught Maduro how to expand in this massive global influence. Can you talk about, you know, how that works with the relationships not only with Cuba, but with Russia, with China? Iran supposedly has a, a major influencer relationship going with, with Maduro as well. How does that play out over time with, with, within that, that region of, of South America?

[Rick de la Torre]

So it's funny, if you ever read the, the earlier reports of Soviets who, who, who went to Cuba right after the revolution and they would write their assessments about, about Fidel Castro and the new Cuban government and, and the intelligence apparatus that they were putting in place at the time. They wrote back fear. They were like, hey, these guys, they're, you know, they're, they're worse than us. They are much harsher than us, right? Because this is them, this is the Soviets coming out of Stalinism and, and you know, Khrushchev and others saying, okay, hey, you know, we just can't arrest everybody and we just can't shoot everybody and ship everyone off the Gulags because there's not going to be anybody left, right? This, you know, the Cubans kind of disagreed with that. They're like, no, no, no, this is, this is how we're going to do it. And, and, and then, and then, you know, Cuba is an island. People forget that, right? So, so it is an island. And in 1950s, 1960s, up until recently, right, you, you couldn't communicate, you couldn't get there. You know, the Cuban government was able to wall that off completely. That's why a lot of people will wonder, well, why is it in the 1990s communism fell throughout Europe, but then you have like Cuba. Cuba, right. Why didn't it happen there? Well, because it's an island. A lot of people, you know, they, you know, they're fed and told through media the only things that they want, that they want them to see, right? So it's only been recently now with the Internet, mobile phones, communications, those kinds of things, that reality is really starting the set in there. But their ability to export that really came at, at, at, at the right time when most of these ultra left wing Marxist movements would just collapse by their own weight because nobody really believed in that crap. But when Cuba starts giving you AK47s and explosives and training on how to use that stuff, well now you may have a fighting chance, right? And that's what Ching Guara was doing and you know, throughout Bolivia and other places. So the Cubans started to export that expertise that they had gotten from the Soviets and that was desperately needed by so many of the other Marxists in the area, there was a big. In the early 60s, there was like a big reunion that was held on the island of Cuba where all the leftist leaders came and they all were committed to fighting North American and Western interests and banding together. And a lot of that still remains today in place.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

Well, we see it. I mean, the, the comments from the Colombian president. You know, I think there's a tacit aspect of what Sheinbaum's doing in Mexico. You know, you see that even Lula. I mean, obviously, I think Lula's, you know, quite outspoken in his socialist beliefs. Why. Why is there a new rise in this mentality in the region?

[Rick de la Torre]

Well, I think it's peaked, actually. You know, the rise has to do with just the inequality, the corruption. I mean, you know, all the problems that, that have happened throughout the world. Right. The, the lack of rule of law, obviously, is, is the other major issue. And, and those that have been in power have unfortunately oftentimes abused that stuff. So those that are poor and with very few opportunities look around and say there has to be another way. They believe that socialism or Marxism might be that, that road. And then as soon as they get on it, they recognize they made a huge mistake because, you know, instead of, instead of all you've done is swapped out the corruption for someone else. But that someone else also nationalizes every. Everybody else's thing, right? So, so, you know, I'm not making an argument for corruption, but I'm saying, you know, I guess every society has some tolerable amount of corruption, right? You know, you may tip somebody to look the other way so that you could get something past customs or, or avoid a fee here, but then in other places, it's the only way to get things done that, you know, so, so a lot of folks felt that they just weren't part of, of that country's movement and especially in the rural areas and, you know, where there's very little economic incentive to do anything besides things like grow cocaine. Right? So, so, so that, that's why that, that, that Marxist ideology, I think, blended very well because it preyed on, on people that were, that lacked education, many of them being illiterate, who realized that there was a better way, but didn't understand the differences of economic models and then threw themselves into this kind of Marxist thing. Recent elections, though, and we've just seen this over in the last year, we've had a tidal wave of change of now better educated Hispanics who are recognizing that, yeah, there is a better way, and that's through free market capitalism, that's through rule of law, that's through honoring elections. And so we've seen that now, We've seen that now in Chile. We've seen that in El Salvador. We've seen that in, in Argentina. Right. We're seeing that continue to play out just about everywhere else. And it's working. It's, it's, it is actually working. Now for the first time, we are looking at maybe in our lifetime, hopefully, maybe even shorter, maybe, who knows, maybe by the midterms. We're looking at stamping out the last remnants of a brutal communism in our own hemisphere.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

Oh, wow, that's exciting because there was an interview when Gary Bernstein was on with Lara Logan recently talking about his book Stolen Elections, and you know, all the work that he and Martin Rodill had done, he talked about when he was a chief of station down in Bolivia back in early 2000, that because of the G WAT there was kind of a, you know, a strategic shift away from our own hemisphere. Did you, did you notice that? And, and how did it, how did it present yourself and what were kind of the rumblings in inside and at Langley as to, hey, we're taking the, our eye off the ball here?

[Rick de la Torre]

Well, I, you know, again, these things just don't happen overnight. They kind of sneak up on you and you, you accept it until it's too late. Right? So in this case, I think what happened was that. And rightfully so, right? We've been attacked. 9, 11. We've got to go out. We got to get the guys who do this. We've got to protect. So, so we, you know, not just the agency, but the entire federal government, right, just focuses on that. And we do that really well, right? We go around killing terrorists left and right, you know, but when we were doing that, when we were focusing our attention on the Middle east, that changed the global dynamics in a lot of way. And our enemies were paying attention. They knew we weren't paying attention to Latin America. And that's when they started to really make those investments in places like Venezuela. Up until Saturday, Venezuela served as an aircraft carrier where all our adversaries could launch from and export their chaos all around them to include not just nation states like China, Russia, you know, Iran, but also Hezbollah, Hamas, farcd, eln, Segunda, Marketalia, right? All of these folks used Venezuela were under the protective cover of Nicolas Maduro so that they can do the stuff that they needed to get done.

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[Rick de la Torre]

Chris stapleton's all american road show.

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With Special guests.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

Get tickets Friday, January 16, [e-mail] Chris.

[Rick de la Torre]

Stapleton's All American Roadshow.

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[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

That's a great answer. Thank you for giving that context. One of the one of the things that I remember was, you know, when I was working, you know, as a contractor in particular when I was In Pakistan in 2011, I remember just the tempo of of all the different intelligence agencies seemed palpable to me. Where. Almost like where oh wow. Every, you know, behind every alleyway there's somebody tracking us or tracking them, which is obvious. But it Just seemed there to be like a. A growing palpable kinetic reality to all the people conducting operations there. As you're one of your last duty stations, as the chief of station, was that. I mean, obviously you're paying attention to that at the highest level. Was it palpable for you where you. Did you get that sense? And when they said, hey, you know, Rick, we're going to send you down here for this, this tour, did you volunteer or did. Were you assigned? And was that something that we're like, hey, this is a really significant area of, of espionage in the world right now?

[Rick de la Torre]

Yeah, no, it certainly was. But by, you know, by then, we kind of all knew where things were headed, you know, to two to slow rolling trains, you know, about to collide, just not knowing exactly when.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

Yeah.

[Rick de la Torre]

So that, that obviously created a lot of anxiety. Right. The way different administrations handled it, though, you know, I think early on, during Trump 1.0, I think some of his advisors may not have really provided the kind of guidance that he needed. Certainly now in the second administration, with Marco Rubio and others, you know, they got it definitely under, under Biden administration, they thought just throw more diplomacy at the problem and money and, and, you know, that will solve it. And, you know, obviously, that was not the answer either. So. So, you know, our enemies, they know our playbook. Our playbook has been very standard for the last 50 years, right. Since the end of the Cold War. In fact, a lot of our agencies and departments actually literally publish our playbook.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

Right, I know.

[Rick de la Torre]

And so they know, right. You know, they know what to ask, how far to take it, what our legal constraints are, you know, what we won't do. And they play that. They play that very well. Right. You know, when I served in war zones, they knew, oh, here's the, you know, the next white guy from the agency, he'll be here for a year or two. We just have to tell him X, Y and Z. And by the time he figures it out, he'll be on his way out of the country, and then we could do the whole thing over again with the next guy that shows up.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

So that was the, that was the fascinating thing for me. Like, I, I mean, it's. You get this insane education. I got it, you know, at the smallest level for what I was doing. But it's like the, the exchanges with the government officials, meeting with their officials. You know, the diplomacy that's still engaging as all the other stuff is going on was. And I, I just find that that's fascinating. Like, you know, they do understand kind of the politics of the moment as well, too, and how they engage with us.

[Rick de la Torre]

Yep, yep. No, no, they, they know us better than we know them. They really do. You know, they, they study us for years. We study them when we get told that you're deploying to this area. So, but you know, what we, what we witnessed on Saturday was, was really the world turning on, on its end because now, for the first time, the United States controls the, the majority of all the oil production on this globe.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

Right.

[Rick de la Torre]

That, that will change the dynamics in Beijing, that will change the dynamics in Tehran, that will change the dynamics in Moscow. For the simple reason now we have leverage going into negotiations with Putin regarding Ukraine because we could control now the price of oil around the world. Right. You know, it's just that simple. Now it's a very, very different position to be in, and it's a wonderful, it's a wonderful one for us to be in, as opposed to, say, China. So, so hopefully we'll continue to, to build on this and work on it.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

Me, too. I really think I commented on my show last week about that. I think that's what's taking place. There's a, a new hegemony being instituted, you know, and Trump, you know, has been quoted as saying there's a new, there's a new boss in the region and there's a new sheriff in town, and it's me.

[Rick de la Torre]

Right.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

I love it, Rick. I know you got to run, and I really appreciate coming on. Last couple questions or question in a statement. Why is Marco Rubio so suited for this type of, of diplomacy, this type of action? And then also just finish and let everybody know where they can follow you and a little bit about what your firm does and, and what you're going to be doing in the future.

[Rick de la Torre]

Yeah. So look, Senator Rubio, my home state senator from Florida, I had, I was blessed to have the opportunity to interact with him towards the latter end of my career when, when I worked in a lot of the, the COVID action programs that the agency focused on. And I would, you know, I'd go down to the Hill and I, and I'd have to brief oversight and Sisi. And at that time, he was Senator Sisi. And, and one thing I immediately learned and recognized in him was he had done his reading. He would read his intel reports. He, he was engaged. He understood. And he had an amazing memory far better than mine. He had an amazing memory knowing who is who, what they were doing, what their motivations were and where things were headed while Other politicians, and I've been in situations where I've briefed the, the members, some of them falling asleep behind their desk. Right. And, and, you know, which, I don't know, maybe it says more about me and my briefing skills, but. Right, yeah. You know, but he, he, you know, he and his staff got this, they understood the, the complexities, the risks and, and, and, and obviously the solutions. So when, when he was nominated to be Secretary of State, I, I, for the first time in a long time, felt, finally we've got someone at State in a leadership position that gets it, that knows what's going on there. Right. And I think that's one of the reasons why he is best suited for certainly Latin American affairs on the global scale. He's doing amazingly well, too. Right. With his experiences on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But when it comes to Latin America, he knows these folks, he knows these players. And also, I think what's happened is his brand has serves now as a beacon to a lot of Hispanics and Latinos living in Latin America that, you know that the United States is a country of opportunity. Here's a guy just like, you know, my background and so many other Cuban Americans, you know, we, you come here with nothing in your pocket. You work really, really hard, and lo and behold, you have opportunities. Right. And that's, that's his story in a nutshell, like so many other Cuban American stories. Right. So other people, that resonates with other folks. Right. That resonates with other people in the hemisphere. And they're like, we want more of that. So, so I think, I think if he continues to do what he's doing now, this hemisphere is going to be in a much better position than it was at the beginning of the Trump administration.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

That's good to hear. All right, last little. Tell us where people can follow you and then how can they get in touch with your firm?

[Rick de la Torre]

Yeah, yeah, sure. So on X, I am vrk Underscore Rick, you can find me there. And then our corporate website, towerstrategydc.com what we do is we help companies and individuals who have challenges here in Washington, D.C. and abroad, and we come up with the kind of lobbying and strategic solutions that they need to move their companies or their issues forward.

[Interviewer / David Rutherford]

Fantastic, Rick. God bless you. Thank you for your service and looking forward to seeing you in the future. Take care.

[Rick de la Torre]

Great seeing you again. Anything you need, let me know.

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