Marco Rubio Details Three-Phase Plan for Venezuela
White House says agreement with the provisional Venezuelan government includes oil stored on seized tankers.
HAVANA TIMES – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed this Wednesday the outlines of the United States’ strategy for Venezuela following the military operation that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3.
After participating in classified briefings for Congress, Rubio told reporters at the Capitol that the Trump administration’s plan is divided into three clear phases:
Stabilization: Prevent the country from falling into chaos. In this initial stage, the United States exercises “tremendous leverage” over Venezuela’s oil industry, including control over revenues from the sale of seized oil. Rubio highlighted that Venezuela is cooperating regarding an intercepted oil tanker and that US armed forces are prepared for similar operations.
Recovery: Ensure that US, Western, and other international companies have fair access to the Venezuelan market. At the same time, a process of national reconciliation will be promoted, including amnesty for opposition forces, the release of political prisoners, and the repatriation of exiles, with the goal of rebuilding civil society.
Transition: A final phase aimed at lasting reconciliation and the institutional reconstruction of the country.
Rubio rejected criticism from some lawmakers who accuse the administration of lacking a clear plan, stating that “we do not want this to descend into chaos” and that funds from oil sales will be managed to directly benefit the Venezuelan people, preventing corruption.
Maximum Influence in Venezuela
The White House said this Wednesday that it maintains “maximum influence” over the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez in Venezuela and confirmed that the United States has already begun marketing crude oil seized by Washington as part of an apparent agreement reached with Caracas.
“Obviously, at this moment we have maximum influence over the interim authorities in Venezuela,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explained at a press briefing. She added that President Trump has made it “very clear” that Venezuela is a country that “will no longer send illegal drugs to the United States.”
“(Venezuela) will no longer send or traffic people or work with criminal cartels to murder US citizens, as they have done in the past, and the president is fully implementing his foreign policy of peace through strength,” Leavitt added.
The official clarified that the crude oil Caracas allegedly agreed to transfer to Washington for commercialization includes “sanctioned” oil “aboard ships,” and said that the Venezuelan interim government “has agreed to release” those hydrocarbons.
Leavitt said that the deal announced the previous day by President Donald Trump “concerns sanctioned oil stored in barrels and ships due to the effective blockade imposed by the United States” on Venezuela as part of pressure on the captured president, Nicolas Maduro.
“The interim authorities have agreed to release that oil to the United States, so it will arrive in our country very soon,” Leavitt said, also announcing that Washington has already begun marketing Venezuelan crude on the global market.
First published in Spanish by Efecto Cocuyo and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.