Trump administration on Venezuela government: ‘Decisions will continue to be dictated by us’

US plan for Venezuela will have three phases and includes transition of power, says Rubio The United States is in “direct correspondence” with the Venezuelan government, including influencing its decisions, the White House said this Wednesday (7). “The United States works with Venezuela, the Trump administration maintains direct correspondence with the interim authorities. Their decisions will continue to be dictated by us,” declared government spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. President Donald Trump’s spokeswoman, who spoke to journalists after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a three-step plan for Venezuela, also said that thinking about an electoral calendar for the country is still “very premature”. After the capture of Nicolás Maduro, on Saturday (3), his vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, took office as interim president. The leader of the Venezuelan opposition, María Corina Machado, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize last year and who denounced alleged fraud in the last presidential elections, has already made statements saying that her candidate, Edmundo González, should take power. White House Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque According to Leavitt, the US is working on an agreement with the Venezuelan government and the oil industry to resolve issues relating to the country’s oil trade and is “selectively lifting sanctions.” A meeting with sector executives will take place next Friday (9). US plan has 3 phases The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said this Wednesday (7) that the American plan for Venezuela is made up of three phases — the last of which is the transition of power from the hands of Chavismo. According to Rubio, the US plans to stabilize the country, followed by economic recovery and then a transition of power. Since the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the USA, on Saturday (3), power has been exercised by his deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, one of the main names in Chavismo. “The first step is to stabilize the country. We don’t want it to descend into chaos,” said Trump’s secretary. According to Rubio, part of the stabilization includes a “quarantine” of Venezuela on the international market, and the seizure of oil tankers is part of that plan. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool “They have oil that’s stuck in Venezuela. They can’t move it because of our quarantine and because it’s sanctioned. We’re going to take between 30 and 50 million bars of oil. We’re going to sell it on the market, at market rates, not at the discounts that Venezuela was getting,” Rubio said. “This money will then be handled in a way that we will control how it is distributed, in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people, not corruption, not the regime.” “The second step will be a step we call recovery, and that is to ensure that Americans, East Asians and other companies have access to the Venezuelan market in a fair way.” “Also, at the same time, begin to create the process of national reconciliation, within Venezuela, so that the opposition forces are amnestied and released from prisons or brought into the country and begin to rebuild civil society. And then, the third phase, of course, will be the transition,” said the Secretary of State.

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