Delighted that we have senator rubio here with us today to help us rule out the new report here. It is the product of the working group on transnational organized crime run by the visiting scholar. I dont think marco rubio needs a bath of introduction to this audience, but im going to give a word or two nonetheless and then hand things over and do a little housekeeping. Marco rubio is the senator from florida elected in 2010 and 2016 is a member of the committee on appropriations and the committee on Foreign Relations and has a resume much longer that im not going to keep reading but to us he has been a leader on International Affairs and somebody who increasingly a country turns to hear where we should be going on these issues and for us today i know we are very proud that hes been a leader on issues of extraordinary importance to us in maintaining support for u. S. Engagement globally. The report, you will hear more about it then youre going to hear from me at this very moment, but this is a report thats a little bit different than the things you usually see coming out of the American Enterprise institute. It is practical, its very tactical, its very focused on what we can do in the here and now and the main reason for that is frankly transnational organized crime is an issue we havent spent a great deal of time focusing on. Its at the nexus of the whole series of National Security threats to the country. It degrades our hemisphere and addresses press that otherwise wouldnt be here. Earlier this month to have been arrested on the panama canal. The report profiles the ms 13 which the Trump Administration has been going after and which is an instrument for all these disparate threats to the country to come together. So i know that they are going to spend a lot of time talking about these issues. I have a housekeeping item i have to read to you because i ii dont understand because im technologically inept. We are going to be taking questions from the audience in an Online System today. You can feel free to sit with your questions now, feel free to submit your questions now following the senators remarks. Is it a question into the code is very simple, type in your question and then it will be chosen to be read on stage. I hope it works. We can ask you to come up to the podium and then take questions from the audience. [applause] thank you for inviting me today. This is tha isnt a new crime ie United States. To transnational organized crime resides at the heart of every major threats confronting the americas today whether it is a deadly opioid crisis, catastrophic collapse or Gang Violence in the American Cities and can be traced back to networks from drugs, trafficking and extortion. The threat posed for too many years its not done enough and has led to the suffering of too many people. We begin with venezuela. Its called protesters, destroyed the nations economy is also rich in farmland. The regimes criminal networks are getting exposed. We see the government not just a dictatorship but a criminal enterprise. The Treasury Department that the sanctions against venezuela on the 13th of february this year naming him a specially designated narcotics trafficker under the kingpin act playing a narcotics trafficking. A federal court and his cousin for conspiring to ship cocaine. Officials said the former president of the assembly was the head of the drug cartel. Colombia we see growing concerns in the implementation of the agreement. Many remain unaccounted for and too many are joining groups and continue to profit on illegal war narcotics trafficking. The relationship must continue. Between fiscal year 2000 the congress appropriated more than 10 billion under plan colombia. Peace in colombia cannot come at any cost. Members have committed atrocities must be held accountable by the judicial system and colombia should extradite the members indicted in the United States and that they should face justice. In large part they come in from the jumble the explosion is another major concern. The production numbers have consistently risen during the peace negotiations increasing by more than 141 from 2012 to 2016 including a sharp rise beginning in 2015. These developments are likely to be the direct result of the 2015 physicians to end a the eradication of the plans. I believe it was a mistake in part as a concession to achieve a peace deal in colombia. Now the largest drug gang that deals with marxist terrorism and Drug Trafficking have paramilitary groups that have emerged as the renewed production. They control 70 of the cocaine productions according as an estimated 1500 fighters making it roughly one fifth the size of the mobilization military force. Mexico we found transnational organized crime is a problem. Some estimate 130,000 people have been killed thats roughly the population of Gainesville Florida nearly 60,000 died from drug related deaths and a concern mexican heroin and methamphetamine production and trafficking of fentanyl. In 2008 the congress appropriated 2. 8 billion for its efforts to combat the cartels. The fight cannot be won only with money and guns. We must also provide assistance to the mexican Law Enforcement and public officials. The report released notes fewer than 12, notes that at least 12 are accused of corruption, Money Laundering or narcotics trafficking and also notes that an astounding seven of ten crimes in mexico are not even reported. People do not trust their institutions, the local police and the prosecutors and elected officials the Mexican Government is going to struggle to win this fight which is one of the reasons why i continue to work to ensure we keep foreign assistance strong. We are not just going to the worlds poor they are going to g to programs that work with other countries to bolster Law Enforcement and of the rule of law and promotion of stability and democracy with a direct impact and they are essential. What are some of the solutions and i hope we will get into them some today that the first is to continue the funding have developed and security programs in trouble to come to Transnational Criminal Organizations in the western hemisphere. In venezuela those in power or the real problem and i hope we can build International Pressure in every possible form. In addition to ratcheting up sanctions on anyone in venezuela suppressing the people not just of the lowerlevel wheels is up for the venezuelan people in their struggle for freedom which is why as a member of the senate Appropriations Committee in asking for funding for the democracy programs in hope for transitional funds so that when they are removed there will be Funds Available from this long nightmare. In colombia we need to assure they support the implementation. We will need to work with a new colombian government to ensure the crimes committed do not go unpunished and the victims are adequately compensated and we need to encourage our allies to resume the eradication of coca plants, the threat of terror and missiles on the risis also on te cultivation of present in colombia and guatemala and mexico we hope to work with them to target that as well. Bad actors and Transnational Networks must be brought to justice by fully utilizing all of the tools to target the traffickers including the kingpin in mexico as i said earlier we continue to support against the cartels while working with our partners in the Mexican Government on improving its legal system, its Law Enforcement and respect for human rights. It will only begin to swing against the cartels when the government is there for them and has the ability to keep them safe and here at home we must confront directly the scourge of drug abuse and dependence and the demand and pressure that it predates which is a major contributor to all these problems. In conclusion let me say as i said at the beginning, receiving far too little attention our security here at home relies on the country in the region sharing our values and creating freea free, stable and democratc societies to protect people and reward citizens with opportunities for their hard work and entrepreneurship. In colombia we have seen how they combine with the courage and the dignity, hard work and sacrifice yielded that the return for the foreign assistance investment and an excellent starting point to ensure that america remains a priority in the new report today. As it makes clear in its recommendations, we have a lot of work to do but these are all things that given the proper motivation we can do and must do and i believe we will end we must do so before our neighbors and for ourselves. So i thank you for the chance to make these remarks and i look forward to answering questions and hopefully learning more about the way forward. Thank you. [applause] please go to the site and enter the code where you will be prompted. Your remarks summarized the problem. You are in the senate where i used to work at the end of the Intel Committee and member of the Appropriations Committee which makes you my new best friend as we go after these important issues. How did the microphone worked even when i had it off . [laughter] the report to be presented here makes recommendations in a couple of areas, the use of the total sanctions as a way of getting kingpins but also to identify where the assets are in freeze the assets this is extraordinarily important to those having venezuela and those that claim that the Justice Department called the biggest cocaine producer in the world because they dont have any money except a few ranches here and there whenever they carry any knapsack but there are others that possibly they have anywhere between two to 10 million. How would you react to the idea of an initiative that insisted the branch go after these things targeted as priority is to seize the assets and new legislation to give authority to repatriate the money to colombia or stolen assets to venezuela . I think it is a matter of policy directive in all of the elements to identify where they are being placed and to use our influence to gain access to the funds but rather to send them to these countries to help fund their efforts and in the meantime also make clear to the groups that the world Banking System is not at the point they will be allowed to continue. For many of the agencies that isnt going to happen unless there is a policy initiative and it is one of the strongest recommendations to turn to the productive. Re colombia, lets see one of the most important issues we are confronting in the insurgency in the Armed Conflict that hasnt pronounced its object is how can we best assist them in that process as we endeavor not just to the criminality . First and foremost the leaders are elected and responsive to the people of colombia as the partner i think it is our obligation to make them understand we are prepared to contribute to these efforts which took the nation that was on the verge of collapse almost being a failed state and brought it to the point of relative prosperity and security in a significant period of time and i think we are prepared to continue in that regard but i dont think we can allow, someone that needs to answer the people in florida and the country held their taxpayers dollars are being spent any of them can be used unfairly to benefit for example we want to make sure funds are being used for things like ensuring the victims thavictims that the syst up and compensated and [inaudible] we want to make sure there isnt a creation whereby the people that partnered to confront these groups are now being put on trial and being treated like criminals themselves and we want to make sure they dont end up in the hands of the groups we still associate and that includes leaders that wanted for those crimes as long as we are fair and frank and direct and to the point we will have an opportunity to work with the administration. In the absence of that that dollars are not producing results and it could be challenging continuing the partnership and i think to me this isnt just about preserving the relationship but two m. Sure we can justify direct and indirect. The president took some steps engaging with the regime. One of the things the administration is proud of in this operation in the government we were told by the administration in private briefings that that sort of thing would continue. How would you assess the value of that kind of cooperation and how do we ensure that its use ud for our essential National Security interests . If benefits the government not find themselves in that situation with strong allegations about what they allowed. Our goal was pretty straightforward and that is we want a nation that has the same right as people virtually everywhere in the hemisphere. Every country in the western hemisphere has at least one free and fair except for cuba and that may not be the case any longer in places like nicaragua and bolivia and venezuela but theyve had some experience over the last two decades except for cuba and we remain hopeful understanding its not going to be from one day to the next but we want to ensure american policy towards cuba is incentivizing that as opposed to providing funds for the status quo to become embedded and take even deeper roots which is the goal of the castro regime to and of the military controls the economy and has kind of a concrete ion mass to become a permanent fixture in the hemisphere thats something the Foreign Policy shouldnt be encouraging and in that realm it behooves the government even the repressive want to cooperate with everyone when it comes to Drug Trafficking the worst thing that can possibly happen is to cooperate with because i believe that it would further isolate them in the region do you think it is possible if those of us that understand what is going on in venezuela cuba is playing a role. Not just the advice in the agency apparatus for key functions are obligated for that purpose there is a direct invasion in venezuela whether its the personal protections, the passports and Documentation Office or even how the National Guard is confronting protesters in the street all these things are being directed directly participating in these acts so theres no doubt in the minds of many and there should be no doubt in the minds of the people in the hemisphere that the cuban government is the reason why it is unconstitutional. The protesters and the opposition are asking for them to follow the constitution. It calls for elections every two years and the assembly to achieve in all these things have been canceled and ignored. Fair enough, very clear. We call it a narco state and say the family is directly involved, the Vice President is involved. If that is the case, cuba is managing venezuela and the cuban government. They are well aware of how these people made their money and what they do and obviously their conscience is not heavy in terms of being cooperative in that regard. I imagine why youve probably seen the last 15 years is that they a lot of them not supporting the networks and theres a reason why they were the host for many of these negotiations and that is the relationship that they knew was a narco trafficking and they also provided support for them and silent and or protection. There are some who are skeptical of the war on drugs, the overall course of strategy and someone here asks what will you say to those who disagree with your views on that . The impact it has in this country is illegal. There is an adage if something is not illegal it cant be that bad. Without consumption, they are a parasitic entity undermining and threatening the rule of law they controlled territory for bringing them into ungoverned spaces, they undermine the security, corrupt institutions, they undermine the international communitys confidence in the countries that they are in, they have enormous security threats in many parts of the countries they directly rivaled the government in terms of ability to provide money and security or whatever they call security. All these things are major threats and if you look at the migratory pressures we face, a lot of the spaces clean. In the end is our hope is to have stable nation where people are prosperous and come to the United States because they either come here legally or they come here to invest or as tourists if that is our goal you can do that as a nation with a significant amount of its capital being spent managing or attacking these and you can do that in places in which these groups undermine the very legitimacy of the state. Another one of our friends says you called them a willing partner. Are they at risk in the Upcoming Elections . I hope not. Its not venezuela and its not cuba they will not have a Fair Election and it will be debated. We are prepared to work with whoever because it is an important relationship and so obviously that is a question that will be answered but my hope is that it remains steady and i think it is in the best interest of mexico and the United States. On one of the concerns going back to columbia. Its very difficult if you dont have Security Companies are not going to invest capital in places they feel threatened or think the rule of law doesnt apply. People are not going to visit places they think are dangerous. We had a bombing that killed three people as an example. If we are going to return to those days that is problematic and also a state cannot find Governmental Services unless it has an economy to gener