WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the weekend’s surprise military operation taking Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro into US custody, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, told congressional members the US has “tremendous control” and “leverage” over Venezuela. Following that closed-door briefing, Democrats claim not all of their questions were answered. In the briefing, Secretary Rubio said he shared their three-part plan for Venezuela.
“Step one is stabilization in the country,” said the Secretary. “We don’t want it to descend into chaos.” Rubio adds the second and third phases of their plan are called “recovery” and “transition”. He adds part of their stabilization will involve their efforts to “quarantine” Venezuelan oil.
“We are going to take between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil,” said the Secretary. “We’re gonna sell it in the marketplace at market rates not at the discounts that Venezuela was getting. That money will then be handled in such a way we will control how its dispersed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people. Not corruption, not the regime.”
The Secretary reiterated the Administration’s stance: “We have a plan in place with tremendous control and leverage over what those interim authorities are doing what they’re able to do, but obviously this is a process of transition and in the end it will be up to the Venezuelan people to transform their country,” said the Secretary.
But Democrats are calling for public hearings and said their questions weren’t answered.
“We need answers as to how long this is going to last,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D- NY) following the briefing. “We need answers on how many troops, how much money, are there guardrails?”
He adds there’s a cost of going to war and reiterated there should be more public discussions about the operations in Venezuela.
“It’s always the American people who pay the price when we do this regime change through blood and pressure,” said the Senator. “We need answers. We need answers to these questions and we need them to be made publicly.”
The Administration also announced they took control of two additional oil tankers in the Caribbean on Wednesday. One of the tankers was reportedly carrying a Russian flag.
