US to maintain oil embargo on Venezuela as Rubio clarifies governing role

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Sunday that his government would not assume a daily role in the administration of Venezuela, other than implementing the existing “oil quarantine” on the country.

This comment comes a day after President Donald Trump announced that the US would manage the country.

According to the AP, Rubio’s statements on television talk shows appeared to be intended to soothe concerns over whether the harsh US stance to ensure regime change would lead to another long-term foreign intervention or a failed nation-building attempt.

Trump’s remarks had implied the establishment of a governing structure where Caracas would be controlled by Washington.

However, Rubio adopted a more nuanced approach, stating that the US would maintain the oil embargo already applied to sanctioned tankers before Maduro’s kidnapping on Saturday, and would use this pressure as a tool for policy changes in Venezuela.

Rubio also addressed the matter of allowing US investments in Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, which was one of the goals Trump announced during his Saturday press conference.

The President had stated on Saturday, “We will send our giant US oil companies, the largest oil companies in the world, there; they will spend billions of dollars, repair the severely degraded infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.”

On Sunday, Rubio said, “We don’t need Venezuela’s oil. We have plenty of oil in the US,” but the Secretary of State added that the Trump administration’s goal was to prevent “enemies of the US” such as China, Russia, and Iran from investing in Venezuela’s oil industry.

“We will not allow the oil industry in Venezuela to be controlled by enemies of the US. You must understand, why does China need their oil? Why does Russia need their oil? Why does Iran need their oil? They are not even on this continent. This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live, and we will not allow the Western Hemisphere to be an operating base for enemies, competitors, and rivals of the US.”

The Secretary stated that the primary objective of the US military operation was to stop drug trafficking into the country and said that holding elections in Venezuela would be “premature right now.”

Regarding the invasion, Rubio said, “We care about elections, we care about democracy, we care about all of these things, but what we care about most is the security, safety, prosperity, and well-being of the US, and that is what we will focus on here primarily.”

Rubio stated that there is “no war” between the US and Venezuela, adding, “I mean, we are at war with drug trafficking organizations, we are not at war with Venezuela.”

Rubio praised the American-backed opposition figure María Corina Machado as “fantastic,” but added that US officials hope to achieve their immediate goals in Venezuela more quickly than the country’s opposition party could come to power.

“Unfortunately, the vast majority of the opposition is no longer in Venezuela. We have short-term problems that need to be addressed immediately,” the Secretary said, adding that they “expect to see more alignment and cooperation than we previously received” under the leadership of the country’s de facto leader, Delcy Rodríguez.

Speaking on NBC, the Secretary of State said that Cuban officers were the ones “supporting Maduro” and claimed, “His entire internal security force, the internal security apparatus, is completely controlled by Cubans.”

“It is surprising that this poor island has, in some cases, taken over Venezuela. One of the biggest problems for Venezuelans is that they have to declare their independence from Cuba. Essentially, they have tried to colonize this place in terms of security.”

Prior to the announcement that 32 Cuban citizens were killed in the American invasion, Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night while returning to Washington from Florida, “You know, many Cubans were killed yesterday. There were many deaths on the other side. On our side, there were no deaths at all.”