US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there will be “more deals to follow” with the interim Venezuelan government and said the Trump administration is planning three phases for Venezuela: stabilization, recovery and transition.
Speaking after an all-senators briefing today, Rubio said they are starting with stabilization because “we don’t want it descending into chaos.” He reiterated that the administration believes it has significant leverage on the interim Venezuelan government led by Delcy Rodriguez.
He described the oil deal as part of the stabilization phase, noting the administration expected to soon be able to sell millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil and generate revenue, controlled by the US, that will be “dispersed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people.”
“We’re already seeing progress with this new deal that’s been announced, and more deals to follow,” he said, without providing details on the additional deals.
The “recovery” phase, Rubio said, “is ensuring that American, Western, and other companies have access to the Venezuelan market a way that’s fair.”
“At the same time,” they want to “begin to create the process of reconciliation nationally within Venezuela, so that the opposition forces can be amnestied and released from prisons or brought back to the country, and begin to rebuild civil society,” he said.
The third phase will be “one of transition.”
“In the end, it will be up to the Venezuelan people to transform their country,” Rubio noted.
“Some of this will overlap. I’ve described this to (senators) in great detail. We’ll have more detail in the days to follow, but we feel like we’re moving forward here in a very positive way,” he said.