By Staff Reporter |
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) was once again accused by Kari Lake, President Donald Trump’s pick for the U.S. ambassador to Jamaica, of being under the control of drug cartels.
Lake defended her claim during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), ex-running mate to Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential run, asked Lake about her accusation against Gallego, remarking that it was debunked by fact checkers and accusing Lake of “undiplomatic behavior.”
Lake said she didn’t know whether evidence existed to prove her claim that drug traffickers control Gallego, but that she had confidence in her position.
“I don’t believe my charge is wrong. Ruben Gallego’s father is a high-level drug trafficker who is a felon,” said Lake.
Kaine read aloud one of several X posts by Lake accusing Gallego of cartel ties. Lake has claimed Gallego kept up his ties with his “Mexican narco trafficker family.”
Lake has also accused Secretary of State Adrian Fontes of being a “cartel lawyer” who was “fraudulently installed” within a “puppet government” under Gov. Katie Hobbs.
Gallego responded with a denial of the charge. Gallego has maintained for years that his father, a convicted drug trafficker named Jose Angel Marinelarena, abandoned his family when he was a child, and that he was raised by his mother.
Gallego changed his last name from “Marinelarena” to his mother’s surname, Gallego, while serving as chief of staff to former Phoenix City Councilmember Michael Nowakowski.
Gallego said that he wasn’t ashamed of his origins.
“Kari Lake decided to take the hardest part of my family’s life and turn it into a weapon. She has claimed for years that I’m controlled by the cartels because of my father,” said Gallego. “I am not ashamed of where I come from. Kari Lake should be ashamed of what she is willing to say to get ahead.”
Much of Lake’s responses to senators during the hearing focused on cracking down on the narcoterrorism afflicting Jamaica.
Trump nominated Lake for the ambassadorship following an unsuccessful effort to dismantle the Voice of America (VOA). The president initially announced Lake as the director of VOA before shifting Lake into a special advisory role within VOA’s parent organization, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
It was within USAGM that Lake made moves to carry out the Trump administration’s desire to scale back VOA operations in order to cut bureaucratic bloat. These efforts were rebuffed by a federal court.
Lake addressed the USAGM exodus in brief at her confirmation hearing last week. Lake said VOA operations had improved under her leadership.
Other committee Democrats expressed dissatisfaction with Lake’s cuts to VOA and concerns that Lake would not work with Congress in her role as ambassador. Lake maintained that her work had improved VOA operations and promised that she would work with Congress.
Lake remains within her deputy CEO role at USAGM pending Senate confirmation.
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