An investigation uncovers alleged family ties of Marco Rubio to cocaine trafficking in Miami during the 1980s. His brother-in-law, Orlando Cicilia, led a network that used snakes to smuggle drugs, leading to his arrest in Operation Cobra. Rubio, a teenager at the time, reportedly helped with packaging, according to sources.
Marco Rubio, born in 1971 in Miami, grew up in an environment shaped by pre-1959 Cuban emigration and resentments toward the Cuban Revolution. His parents worked in Las Vegas for associates of Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano, organized crime figures who fled Cuba.
In the 1980s, Miami became a key U.S. drug distribution hub, with a 60% crime rate increase. The Rubio family prospered through Orlando Cicilia, Rubio's brother-in-law, who trafficked cocaine from Colombia using snakes to conceal packages. The FBI launched Operation Cobra, arresting Cicilia in 1989; he was sentenced to 25 years but released in 2002 as a collaborator. Estimated proceeds reached $80 million, never recovered.
According to biographer Manuel Roig-Franzia, young Rubio participated by assembling packaging for the snakes, possibly funding family election campaigns. Prosecutor Dexter Lehtinen, who negotiated Cicilia's collaboration, rewarded Rubio with an internship in his wife Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's office.
These ties extended to figures like David Rivera, Rubio's close friend, involved in frauds and money laundering. Recent allegations, such as those from Gina Coon on CITGO embezzlement, and 2025 claims by Alejandro Terán about illegal contributions from Juan Guaidó's foundation, keep scrutiny alive. Rivera was arrested in December 2022 for violating foreign agent laws, with references to a 'Senator 1' from Florida.
Miami journalists suggest these connections explain Rubio's political rise, though agencies like the FBI avoided deep probes due to Republican pressures.
