The three-step plan for Venezuela revealed by Marco Rubio in a secret meeting. Democrats, shocked by its 'scale and insanity'
The United States has a three-step plan for Venezuela, starting with stabilizing the country after U.S. forces arrested authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, ensuring that U.S. oil companies have access to the country during the recovery phase and finally overseeing the transition, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
President Donald Trump has warned that further military operations against Venezuela will follow if members of Maduro's inner circle, who have taken over the country's leadership, do not accept his demands, which focus largely on obtaining Venezuelan oil.
The Republican president said the US would refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, as US forces on Wednesday seized two tankers linked to embargoed Venezuelan crude.
“The bottom line is that there is now a process in place where we have enormous control and influence over what the interim authorities do and can do,” said Rubio, who spoke alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after a secret meeting with US senators on the Trump administration's plan for the Latin American country.
“But obviously this will be a transition process. Ultimately, it will be up to the Venezuelan people to transform their country,” the US secretary of state added.
Rubio did not provide other details about the planned transition.
Democrats say the plans boil down to “stealing” oil
Democrats expressed shock at the plans, which they described as “oil theft” without further details, and questioned why the plans could not be discussed in public hearings.
Rubio told reporters that the briefing included operational details that could not be made public, but said that after preventing Venezuela from “sliding into chaos,” the U.S. would begin a “recovery” phase that would mean “ensuring that American, Western and other companies have access to the Venezuelan market in a fair way.”
“Also, at the same time, the process of national reconciliation will begin in Venezuela so that opposition forces can be amnestied and released from prisons or brought back to the country and begin to rebuild civil society,” Rubio added.
“And the third phase, of course, will be a transitional one,” the head of American diplomacy also said.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut called it “a crazy plan.”
“They are talking about stealing Venezuelan oil at gunpoint indefinitely as leverage to micromanage the country. The scale and insanity of this plan is absolutely stunning,” Murphy told reporters.
Trump wants Venezuela to end relations with China and Russia
US President Donald Trump's administration has informed Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, that her country must sever ties with China, Russia, Iran and Cuba as part of a series of requirements before extracting and selling Venezuelan oil, US officials said Tuesday, as quoted by ABC News.
According to the quoted officials, Venezuela must give up China, Russia, Iran and Cuba as part of the US demands, which aim to be its sole partner in the oil sector and favor the United States in the sale of heavy crude.
According to one of those sources, Marco Rubio told a private conference with lawmakers that the U.S. believes it can put pressure on Caracas because its oil tankers are full, and warned that Venezuela will only have weeks before becoming financially insolvent if it fails to sell its reserves.
In an interview with ABC News, Senator Roger Wicker confirmed that the plan is based on controlling Venezuelan oil and assured that it does not involve the deployment of US troops.
Until now, Venezuela, temporarily led by Delcy Rodriguez, has not issued an official statement regarding Trump's request, EFE and Agerpres agencies note.
On Tuesday, during an extraordinary session of the Organization of American States (OAS), countries such as Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Brazil condemned the US actions in Caracas and warned that this kind of interference endangers the sovereignty of the region.
Beijing's reaction
And on Wednesday, China denounced what it called “intimidation” by the United States and asserted that the South American country is a sovereign state with full control over its natural resources.
Venezuela “is a sovereign country and enjoys full and permanent sovereignty over its natural resources and all economic activities on its territory,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news conference Wednesday when asked about reports by the US network ABC News about alleged requests from Washington to Caracas.
Mao described this alleged pressure as a “blatant use of force” and argued that the demand that Venezuela control its energy resources according to an “America First” approach constitutes “a typical case of intimidation” that “gravely violates international law”, “gravely violates the sovereignty of Venezuela” and “infringes on the rights of the Venezuelan people”.
“China strongly condemns this behavior,” the spokeswoman stressed, adding that “it must be emphasized that the legitimate rights and interests of China and other countries in Venezuela must be protected.”
Mao's remarks came amid escalating international tensions following the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and an intense diplomatic debate over the legality of the use of force and the management of Venezuela's energy resources.
