U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State/National Security Advisor Marco Rubio spoke to reporters, and later to Senators, on Jan. 7, where they discussed details about the administration’s operations in Venezuela. Rubio told reporters they were executing “a threefold process.” The first was “stabilization,” where the U.S. plans to “take between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil. We’re going to sell it in the marketplace—at market rates, not at the discounts Venezuela was getting.” The U.S. will then disburse that money so that it “benefits the Venezuelan people,” and so that it won’t be controlled by “corruption” in Venezuela. The second phase is “recovery,” which includes giving amnesty to opposition figures and releasing them from prisons. And the third is “transition” to a new government, he claimed.
They then delivered a briefing to the entire U.S. Senate. While complete details about the briefing have not been released, they reportedly told the senators that the administration does not plan to use ground troops in Venezuela. They also said that American military forces will remain deployed around the South American country indefinitely in order to provide “leverage” in stabilizing the region, according to more than a dozen lawmakers who attended the event.
At the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the U.S. already controls all proceeds from Venezuelan oil. “The United States government has already begun marketing Venezuelan crude oil in the global marketplace for the benefit of the United States, engaged the world’s leading commodity marketers, key banks to execute, and provide financial support for these crude oil and crude product sales,” she said. “All proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan crude oil and products will first settle in U.S.-controlled accounts at globally recognized banks to guarantee the legitimacy and integrity of the ultimate distribution of proceeds. Those funds will be dispersed for the benefit of the American people and the Venezuelan people at the discretion of the United States government.”
