US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the US is ready to work with Venezuelan leaders after the ouster of leader Nicolás Maduro, if they make “the right decision”, according to the transcript of the interview with the CBS Newsthis Sunday.
“We will evaluate everything based on what they do, and we will see what they will do,” he said. “I know one thing: if they don’t make the right decision, the US will maintain several pressure tools,” he added.
At the time, Rubio highlighted that Americans want to see Venezuela transform into a place “completely different from what it is today”, but ruled out the change happening quickly. “What we hope is that the country moves in this direction. We believe that this is in our national interest and, frankly, in the interest of the Venezuelan people”, he mentioned.
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For the secretary, oil continues to be crucial to the future of Venezuela, but the Venezuelan oil industry is bankrupt, in his opinion. Rubio stated that the South American country does not have the capacity to revive this industry and, therefore, needs investment from private companies, which will only invest under certain guarantees and conditions. “This investment needs to benefit the Venezuelan people. At the moment, all this wealth is stolen”, he argued.
The secretary assessed that the US is at war against drug trafficking organizations and not against Venezuela, in an interview with NBC News this Sunday. The comment comes after Washington justified the deposition of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro due to the lack of support in the fight against drug trafficking in the region.
“We continue to have the right to carry out attacks against drug trafficking ships that bring drugs to the US and are being operated by criminal organizations, including the Cartel de los Soles – whose leader is now in American custody,” he said.
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Rubio said that “changes in every way” are expected in Venezuela and that the most immediate changes are those that serve U.S. national interests.
“The first steps are to guarantee what is in the national interest of the United States and also beneficial to the people of Venezuela. No more drug trafficking, no more presence of Iran/Hezbollah in Venezuela, no more using the oil industry to enrich all our adversaries”, he highlighted.
Regarding “governing” the Latin country, he mentioned that “he wants Venezuela to go in a certain direction because not only do we think it is good for the Venezuelan people, but it is also in the American national interest.”
