María Elvira Salazar has publicly supported controversial international figures, including former Colombian President Iván Duque and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, attending Bukele's second inauguration and congratulating him on his reelection (Miami Herald, 6/5/24, El Nuevo Herald, 6/6/24).
Salazar has used strong rhetoric against left-leaning leaders, calling Colombian President Gustavo Petro a "thief, a socialist, a Marxist, a terrorist" and expressing that "we need a Bukele in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua" (Miami Herald, 11/3/22, Miami Herald, 6/5/24).
Her alignment with Bukele has drawn criticism from editorial boards, highlighting potential inconsistencies with her hardline stance against dictatorships and raising concerns about supporting a strongman leader in a region increasingly influenced by Russia and China (Miami Herald, 6/5/24, El Nuevo Herald, 6/6/24).
Salazar was targeted by Cuba's Communist Party media with personal and sexist attacks, which included unsubstantiated claims about her involvement with the CIA and terrorism (Miami Herald, 2/2/24).
She has publicly questioned the independence of Cuba's private sector, labeling it a government "ruse" during a congressional hearing and frequently using social media to criticize the Biden administration's approach to Cuban affairs (Miami Herald, 2/2/24, El Nuevo Herald, 12/11/23).
Potential vulnerabilities include accusations of political inconsistency---namely, advocating against dictators while supporting controversial leaders---and negative attention drawn from harsh international rhetoric and media attacks.
2021: Fabiola Santiago Stated Salazar's Votes Harmed the Cause of a Free Cuba According to an opinion piece by Fabiola Santiago in Miami Herald, "Their political cowardice also will harm the cause of a free Cuba, the homeland they purport to defend at a time when people are suffering the worst repression. By supporting a U.S. president attempting to stage a coup, they lost credibility to call out dictators." [Fabiola Santiago - Miami Herald, 1/15/21]
November 2022: Incumbent U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar Implied Support From Former Colombian President Iván Duque According to Miami Herald, "A day later, Salazar, who is Cuban American, tweeted out a photo of the incumbent shaking Duque's hand with the caption: 'Thank you, President Duque, for your support!'" [Miami Herald, 11/3/22]
2022: Salazar Called Colombian President Gustavo Petro A 'Thief, A Socialist, A Marxist, A Terrorist' According to Miami Herald, "Salazar, meanwhile, has called Petro a 'thief, a socialist, a Marxist, a terrorist.'" [Miami Herald, 11/3/22]
2023: Salazar Reaccionó En X Al Arresto De Un Presunto Espía Cubano En Miami According to El Nuevo Herald, "En plena forma, Salazar usó el presunto espía delatado por la administración Biden para decirle en el medio social X a esa misma administración y en dos idiomas que '¡despierte!' ante el espionaje de Cuba." [El Nuevo Herald, 12/11/23]
February 2024: Cuba's Communist Party Media Attacked María Elvira Salazar With Sexist Slurs According to Miami Herald, "A story in the Communist Party newspaper Granma on Friday lashed out at Miami congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, a former journalist who now chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs. The headline and the story called her 'the hyena.'" [Miami Herald, 2/2/24]
February 2024: Granma Made Unsubstantiated Claims Against Salazar According to Miami Herald, "Granma leveled a barrage of accusations against Salazar with no evidence -- from working for the CIA while she was a journalist to being close to terrorists to taking money from fellow Cuban-American congressmen." [Miami Herald, 2/2/24]
January 2024: Salazar Challenged Cuban Private Sector Independence In Congressional Hearing According to Miami Herald, "Salazar seems to have hit a nerve when she cast doubt on the independence of the emerging private sector on the island during a congressional hearing last month, calling it 'a myth' and a government 'ruse.'" [Miami Herald, 2/2/24]
2024: María Salazar Attended Nayib Bukele's Second Inauguration According to an editorial published in Miami Herald, "her travel over the weekend to El Salvador to attend the second inauguration of controversial strongman President Nayib Bukele -- along with a Republican delegation aligned with former President Donald Trump -- [was] concerning and baffling." [Editorial - Miami Herald, 6/5/24]
2024: María Salazar Publicly Congratulated Bukele on Reelection According to an editorial published in Miami Herald, "My congratulations to President @nayibbukele for earning a second term to represent his people. Miami and its Central American community have a partner we can work with from Congress to successfully crush the gangs threatening our Hemisphere. ¡Felicidades, Presidente Bukele!" Salazar wrote on Instagram on Saturday. [Editorial - Miami Herald, 6/5/24]
2024: María Salazar Expressed Support for Bukele-Style Approach in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua According to an editorial published in Miami Herald, "Yet Salazar tweeted that 'We need a Bukele in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.'" [Editorial - Miami Herald, 6/5/24]
2024: María Salazar Defended Bukele Against Comparisons to Dictators According to an editorial published in Miami Herald, "Asked for comment on her trip, Salazar was firm in her support of Bukele and strongly rejected any comparisons to Castro: 'Bukele holds free and fair elections, engages with the press, respects the rule of law, supports religion, is rebuilding the private sector, ending gang violence, and is the most popular democratically elected leader in Latin America,' Salazar wrote in a statement to the Editorial Board." [Editorial - Miami Herald, 6/5/24]
2024: Miami Herald Editorial Board Criticized Salazar for Supporting Bukele According to an editorial published in Miami Herald, "Salazar, who was largely elected because of her hardline stance on the Cuban dictatorship, should know better than to support another power-hungry Latin leader in a region that is being courted by Russia and China more than ever. Other Cuban-American congressional members did not make the trip to El Salvador." [Editorial - Miami Herald, 6/5/24]
2024: Salazar Attended Bukele Inauguration With Trump-Aligned Delegation According to an editorial published in El Nuevo Herald, "su viaje a El Salvador el fin de semana para asistir a la segunda toma de posesión del controvertido presidente Nayib Bukele --junto con una delegación republicana alineada con el ex presidente Donald Trump-- sea preocupante y desconcertante." [Editorial - El Nuevo Herald, 6/6/24]
2024: Salazar Publicly Congratulated Bukele After Reelection According to an editorial published in El Nuevo Herald, "'Mis felicitaciones al presidente @nayibbukele por ganarse un segundo mandato para representar a su pueblo. Miami y su comunidad centroamericana tienen un socio con el que podemos trabajar desde el Congreso para aplastar con éxito a las pandillas que amenazan nuestro hemisferio. ¡Felicidades, presidente Bukele!', escribió Salazar en Instagram el sábado." [Editorial - El Nuevo Herald, 6/6/24]
2024: Salazar Defended Bukele and Rejected Comparison to Castro According to an editorial published in El Nuevo Herald, "Cuando se le pidió que comentara sobre su viaje, Salazar se mostró firme en su apoyo a Bukele y rechazó enérgicamente cualquier comparación con Castro: 'Bukele celebra elecciones libres y justas, se compromete con la prensa, respeta el estado de derecho, apoya la religión, está reconstruyendo el sector privado, acabando con la violencia de las pandillas y es el líder democráticamente elegido más popular de América Latina', escribió Salazar en una declaración al Consejo Editorial." [Editorial - El Nuevo Herald, 6/6/24]
2024: Salazar Suggested Bukele-Like Leaders Needed In Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua According to an editorial published in El Nuevo Herald, "sin embargo, Salazar tuiteó que 'necesitamos un Bukele en Cuba, Venezuela y Nicaragua.'" [Editorial - El Nuevo Herald, 6/6/24]
2024: Salazar's Support for Bukele Criticized by Editorial Board According to an editorial published in El Nuevo Herald, "Salazar, quien fue elegida en gran medida por su postura de línea dura sobre la dictadura cubana, debería saber mejor que apoyar a otro líder latino ávido de poder en una región que está siendo cortejada por Rusia y China más que nunca." [Editorial - El Nuevo Herald, 6/6/24]
María Salazar Attended Nayib Bukele Inauguration According to an editorial published in Miami Herald, "Yet she attended the inauguration this year of Salvadoran right-wing President Nayib Bukele, who's taken steps to dismantle the country's constitutional court and calls himself the 'world's coolest dictator.'" [Editorial - Miami Herald, 10/21/24]