MIAMI - As Marco Rubio emerges as a likely candidate for secretary of state in a second Trump administration, his hardline stance on Venezuela will likely shape U.S. foreign policy toward the troubled nation. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, would become the first Hispanic to ever serve as the nation's top diplomat.

While the announcement has not been made, it is expected President Donald Trump will name Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state. If selected, Rubio could be the first Hispanic to hold the high-ranking post, which dates to the country's founding.

The president-elect appears to have settled on the Florida senator, who has taken hard-line positions on China, Iran and Venezuela, to be the nation’s top diplomat.

President-elect Donald Trump’s expected nomination of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state signals a dramatic shift from the current U.S. policy towards Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro.

The president-elect said Senator Rubio would be “a strong advocate for our nation, a true friend to our allies and a fearless warrior who will never back down to our adversaries.”

President-elect Donald Trump has named Sen. Marco Rubio as his choice for secretary of state. Here are five things to know about the Republican from Florida, now in his third U.S. Senate term: Rubio,

The relationship between Trump and Rubio is an eight-year saga. It bottomed out during their nasty 2016 primary. They've grown close since.

The choices continued a pattern of Trump stocking his Cabinet with those he believes he can trust to execute his agenda rather than longtime officials with experience in their fields.