Diaz-Balart: When I Said that, “They’re Already There,” I was Reiterating that the Russians are Already There

WASHINGTON, D.C. ­­–– Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart provided the following clarification after several press reports misinterpreted comments that he made on Tucker Carlson's show broadcast on Fox News on April 30, 2019.

"In response to some media outlets misinterpreting what I said during a nationally televised, primetime broadcast last night, I would like to clarify my comments. When I said that, "they're already there," I was reiterating that the Russians are already there – a point that I made repeatedly throughout the interview and have stated publicly multiple times. I believe that Tucker's response, "Why should I care if they're there?" indicates that he understood my point as well. The points I was making was that Russia's undue influence at our doorstep is a threat, but I was not indicating that Russia had placed nuclear weapons in Venezuela. I raised the Cuban Missile Crisis to remind viewers of the serious threat once posed to our national security by the alliance between Cuba and the Soviet Union which was a particularly malevolent, anti-American alliance that brought us dangerously close to nuclear war. Russia and Cuba have a long history of threatening U.S. interests, and so their collaboration in Venezuela today is alarming.

"Numerous administration officials and press reports have said that Russia sent military personnel and other military support, including nuclear-capable planes, to Venezuela. The Russians, Chinese, Cubans, and other bad actors are supporting the Maduro regime and undermining democracy in Venezuela. My point, which I have made consistently, was simply that their active support of the Maduro dictatorship poses a national security threat to our interests in our hemisphere."