The political world is in an odd state of confusion. After nine years of non-stop panic and rage at Donald Trump, Democrats have temporarily given up — or, more likely, are taking a long breath before starting up again. One benefit of this pause in the outrage machine is the opportunity to take a more measured view of the president-elect and his actions.

While all the heat and light are on Trump’s immigration policy, Elon Musk and Pete Hegseth, Trump has made four smart below-the-radar moves that could yield significant political and policy dividends in the future.

First, isolationist conservatives may not like it, but his designation of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as secretary of State may be Trump’s sharpest transition move. While some in the MAGA world are unhappy with Rubio’s position on Russia and Ukraine, he likely won’t be driving the bus on that issue – it’s just too high-profile for a secretary of State to dominate.

It is the mounting crises in Latin America where Rubio will be most useful. While President Biden and his incompetent national security team were sleeping, important Caribbean basin states were falling deeper into authoritarianism and dysfunction. Haiti is a flat-out failed state (no thanks to the grifting Bill Clinton and his fumbling foundation). Venezuela and Nicaragua became practically dictatorships under Biden’s watch.

But, worst of all, Cuba is collapsing. Millions have fled, the electric grid is collapsing regularly and the economy is in free-fall. It is not out of the question that Cuba's government could degrade into “Lord of the Flies” chaos. Would Ortega........

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