The United States says it will control Venezuela’s oil sales “indefinitely” and decide how to use the proceeds from those sales, as President Donald Trump’s administration tightens control over the South American country. Kidnapping its president.
The US Department of Energy said on Wednesday that it had begun “marketing” Venezuelan oil on the global market and that all proceeds from the sale would “first be settled in US-controlled accounts in globally recognized banks”.
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“These funds will be distributed at the discretion of the US government for the benefit of the American people and the people of Venezuela,” it said.
“These oil sales begin immediately with expected sales of approximately 30-50 million barrels. They will continue indefinitely.”
The announcement comes days after the Trump administration The kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Legal experts said on Saturday it was a clear violation of international law.
The US has said it plans to “run” the country and control its vast oil reserves, with Trump saying on social media on Tuesday that Caracas will contribute during the. 30 and 50 million barrels of oil to Washington.
The US action against Venezuela comes amid a months-long pressure campaign by the Trump administration against Maduro, who has been indicted in New York on drug-trafficking charges. That he denies.
That includes partial US Naval blockade against Venezuela and the seizure of several ships that the Trump administration says are transporting oil to and from the country in violation of U.S. sanctions.
Earlier on Wednesday, the US Special Forces took over Two vessels bound for Venezuela – including a Russian-flagged ship in the North Atlantic – for violating those sanctions.
The seizures came as senior US officials briefed lawmakers on Capitol Hill about the Trump administration’s plans in Venezuela.
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said most Republicans supported Trump’s actions while Democrats raised many questions.
That includes “how long this operation in Venezuela will continue, what it will cost, (whether) any U.S. troops will actually be deployed on the ground in Venezuela, and what Venezuela’s response will be,” Fisher explained.
He added, “The Trump administration (is) hoping to get everyone on board before the end of the day.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on social media that Wednesday’s briefing was “worse” than imagined.
“Oil company executives seem to know more about Trump’s secret plan to run Venezuela than the American people. We need public Senate hearings now,” she said.
A three-step plan
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Wednesday that the Trump administration is pursuing a three-phase plan that begins with the sale of Venezuelan oil.
“That money will then be handled in such a way that we will control how it is dispersed in a way that benefits the people of Venezuela, not corruption, not the regime,” Rubio said.
The second phase will see the US and other companies gain access to the Venezuelan market and “start a reconciliation process at the national level … so that opposition forces can receive amnesty and be released from prison or brought back to the country”.
“And then the third phase, of course, will be the transition,” Rubio added.
Gregory Brew, senior analyst on Iran and energy at the Eurasia Group, said the US announcement of curbs on oil sales to Venezuela signaled a “return to the concession system” of the pre-1970s.
Brew explained Social media posts that, under that system, “producer states own the oil but Western companies, which manage production and marketing, ultimately retain a large share of the profits”.
A group of United Nations experts Also warned Recent statements from Trump and other administration officials about plans to “run” Venezuela and exploit its oil reserves would violate international law.
Specifically, experts said the US position violates “people’s right to self-determination and their respective sovereignty over natural resources, a cornerstone of international human rights law.”
“Venezuela’s vast natural resources, including the world’s largest proven oil reserves, must not be cynically exploited through thinly veiled pretexts to legitimize military invasion, foreign occupation or regime-change policies,” he said.
Political situation unstable
Renata Segura, program director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Crisis Group, noted that Venezuelan officials have not commented on the U.S. plans to control the country’s oil sales.
“And so we have to assume that either (Venezuelan authorities) accept these conditions or they will be forced to accept them,” Segura told Al Jazeera.
The Vice President of Venezuela was Delcy Rodríguez Sworn in as president After Maduro’s abduction earlier this week, he insisted on Tuesday that “there is no foreign agent ruling Venezuela” despite US claims to “run” the country.
Segura explained that “(Venezuela’s) regime itself has a lot of debate about how to move forward” amid US announcements, stressing that the political situation remains stable.
“What the military can do is very important,” she said.
“The military forces in Venezuela control a tremendous amount of power – both economic but also on the streets – and there may be a moment when they think they will not participate in this particular arrangement that the United States is presenting.”