@cspanofficial: Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday outlined the U.S. plan for Venezuela, telling reporters on Capitol Hill the administration was "not just winging it."   Secretary Rubio said the first phase would focus on stabilizing the country by seizing and selling between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil.   "We're going to sell it the marketplace — at market rates, not at the discounts that Venezuela was getting," he said. "That money will then be handled in such a way that we will control how it is disbursed, in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people, not corruption, not the regime. So, we have a lot of leverage to move on the stabilization front."   The second phase of the plan, which the administration is calling "recovery," would aim to ensure that "American, Western and other companies have access to the Venezuelan market in a way that is fair."   "Also, at the same time, 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," Secretary Rubio said.   The third phase, the secretary said, would involve a "transition" to a new government, though he declined to provide details publicly.   He indicated the administration plans to use oil as leverage to push a new government in a pro-Western direction and open the country up for business with more foreign companies.   #marcorubio #venezuela #cspan

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Wednesday 07 January 2026 20:07:49 GMT