Venezuela continues to be a concern for Republicans and the Donald Trump administration.

During an interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Nicolás Maduro is seen as a “horrible dictator who is instilling all kinds of instability.”

And asked if Maduro “should go” and “leave,” Rubio suggested that there still is a path to remove the leader — whose election the United States disputes — from power.

“We’re going to work on that policy because I’m going to tell you something,” Rubio said. “He is allowing Iran to operate out of Venezuela. He is allowing the Chinese to operate out of Venezuela. He’s threatening his neighbors in the region. He has flooded us with gang members — flooded with these Tren de Aragua gang members that are in this country doing terrible things. Why would we want someone like that to be there?”

Though the former Senator would not “discuss publicly what our work is going to be in that regard,” he said Maduro “remains the same threat today that he was two years ago, three years ago, four years ago.”

“That’s going to have to be dealt with,” Rubio added.

How Maduro will be “dealt with” is worth watching, given conflicting statements from the administration.

Special Envoy Richard Grenell, who reportedly had been considered for Secretary of State before Rubio was selected, told the Epoch Times that the Trump administration did not want “to do regime change,” even as the administration is “clear-eyed” about Caracas.

Grenell was key to securing the release of six American hostages earlier this year.

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Sarasota Republican Sen. Joe Gruters has filed new legislation (SB 1266) that aims to further strengthen protections for crime victims by ensuring their personal information remains confidential to reduce the risk of harassment and revictimization.

In March 2024, Florida celebrated five years since enshrining Marsy’s Law into the state constitution. Those provisions created a clear set of rights for crime victims. Marsy’s Law was named after Marsalee Ann Nicholas, a student at the University of California Santa Barbara who was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983.

After her murder, Marsy’s family was confronted by the perpetrator despite receiving no notification from the courts that he had been released on bail. States that have adopted Marsy’s Law into their respective constitutions aim to give crime victims meaningful and enforceable constitutional rights equal to the rights of the accused.

Gruters’ bill states that the Legislature recognizes the critical need to safeguard specific information that could be used to identify or harass crime victims or their families. The measure seeks to ensure that certain public records, routinely generated by any agency dealing with crime victims, are made confidential and exempt from certain Florida Statutes, and Article I of the State Constitution.

The bill aims to block disclosure of personal identifying and location information due to fears that victims and their family members could face threats.

The new measure would revise the existing public records exemption for documents that reveal certain information about victims of crimes. It includes only those records that reveal personal identifying or location information that could be used to locate or harass the victim or their family.

The legislation notes that confidential information must be released as needed for judicial proceedings, and access cannot be denied to criminal defendants. Individuals who are authorized to access the confidential and exempt information during any judicial proceeding must not disclose any such information to external parties, except as reasonably necessary to prepare a defense and pursue legal remedies.

The bill provides criminal penalties for violations including a potential penalty of up to one year in jail. It further provides for a potential repeal of the exemption on Oct. 30, 2030, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.

If passed, the bill would come into effect July 1.

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