Rubio says mediators of Gaza ceasefire shared information to uncover a recent threat

Rubio said discussions are ongoing over the creation of an international stabilisation force for Gaza, with multiple nations expressing interest in joining but seeking clarity on the mission’s scope and rules of engagement.

“The US could call for a UN resolution supporting the force so that more countries can take part,” he said, noting that Washington has been in talks with Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, and that Indonesia and Azerbaijan had also shown interest.

“Many of the countries who want to be a part of it can’t do it without that,” he added, referring to the need for an international mandate.

Rubio also said Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would soon visit Israel — the latest in a series of senior US officials dispatched to support the fragile ceasefire. Earlier this week, Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump adviser Jared Kushner were in Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Addressing the Trump administration’s newly announced sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family, and a senior official, Rubio said the move was a response to alleged links to international drug trafficking.

“This is not a US vs. Colombia thing,” he said. “This is us reacting to the actions of what’s turned into a hostile foreign leader.”

He added that the administration did not want to harm Colombia’s economy and had therefore held off on imposing tariffs — even though President Trump had earlier hinted at the possibility.

Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, criticised the sanctions in a post on X, writing, “I believe the current US government violated its rule of law by sanctioning me as if I were a mobster, when I dedicated my life to fighting the mafia.”

Rubio also addressed growing concerns over US-China relations and Taiwan’s security, saying the US remained committed to the island’s defence and would not use it as leverage in trade negotiations.

“If what people are worried about is we’re going to get some trade deal or favourable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan — no one is contemplating that,” he said.

Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea during his Asia tour. Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has not ruled out taking it by force.

On questions regarding recent US military activity in Latin America, Rubio said Washington’s actions — including strikes on suspected drug-running boats in the Caribbean and Pacific — were part of a regional counter-narcotics campaign, not a regime-change effort.

“When the US deploys assets in its own hemisphere, everyone sort of freaks out,” he remarked.

He again accused Venezuela’s government, led by Nicolás Maduro, of being complicit in drug trafficking, calling it a “very destabilising problem for the hemisphere.”

Rubio added that several nations, including Ecuador, Mexico, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, were cooperating closely with the US on anti-drug operations.