Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar slammed top Venezuelan official Diosdado Cabello for slamming Secretary of State Marco Rubio after nationals in the U.S. lost Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
"Dictator Maduro's puppet, Diosdado Cabello, does not have any moral authority to discuss human rights when he is one of the most dangerous criminals in the hemisphere," Salazar said in a social media post.
La marioneta del dictador Maduro, Diosdado Cabello, no tiene ninguna autoridad moral para hablar de derechos humanos cuando es uno de los criminales más peligrosos del hemisferio.
— María Elvira Salazar 🇺🇸 (@MaElviraSalazar) October 7, 2025
Sí, los venezolanos necesitan el TPS porque huyeron de su narco–régimen brutal, corrupto y asesino.… https://t.co/QDJZC8XAxE
Cabello, Minister of Interior and Justice in the Maduro regime, said Marco Rubio, along with Salazar and Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart actually requested to end TPS for all Venezuelans.
"They are the ones who asked for the end of TPS, but now ask Latinos to vote them because they need them to be reelected," Cabello said this week.
Salazar promptly reacted, not only rejecting the claim but doubling down: "Yes, Venezuelans need TPS because they fled your brutal, corrupt and murderous narco-regime. While this criminal dictatorship remains in power, there won't be freedom or justice in Venezuela, and Venezuelans must be protected," the lawmaker added.
"Your regime days are about to end. We will continue denouncing and facing you from the U.S.," she concluded.
Salazar has, however, called on the Trump administration to not deport Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders after the Supreme Court again allowed the administration to more forward with their removal.
The high court determined on Friday that the administration could move forward with the decision to strip hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans from the protection, making them move vulnerable to deportation.
In this context, Salazar said that while she applauds the Trump administration for going against authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro, "the end of TPS has created deep anxiety for thousands of Venezuelan families in Miami, hardworking taxpaying members of our community, now living in fear of being forced back to Maduro's narco-dictatorship."
"We must not send a single law-abiding Venezuelan back until conditions change, and right now they are only getting worse," she added.
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