President Trump said Wednesday that Washington expects to maintain a governing role in Venezuela well beyond the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 3 operation that led to the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on U.S. drug and weapons charges.

In a wide-ranging interview, Trump outlined an economic vision centered on Venezuela’s energy sector. “We will rebuild it in a very profitable way,” he said. “We’re going to be using oil, and we’re going to be taking oil. We’re getting oil prices down, and we’re going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need.”

Pressed on how long the United States would retain influence over Venezuela’s internal affairs, the president initially demurred, saying “only time will tell.” When reporters floated timelines of up to a year, Trump responded candidly: “I would say much longer.”

The president offered no timetable for elections in Venezuela, even as he indicated support for Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to lead the Caracas government following Maduro’s arrest, rather than backing opposition figure María Corina Machado.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has argued that elections should come only at the conclusion of a broader transition away from what he has described as a quarter-century of left-wing authoritarian rule that drained Venezuela’s economy and institutions.

Trump said Wednesday that he has not personally spoken with Rodríguez since the arrest, but emphasized that communication channels are open. “Marco speaks to her all the time,” he said. “I will tell you that we are in constant communication with her and the administration,” adding that the current leadership is “giving us everything that we feel is necessary.”

“They’re treating us with great respect,” Trump continued. “As you know, we’re getting along very well with the administration that is there right now.”

Earlier in the day, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the United States would take open-ended control of Venezuelan crude oil sales. “Instead of the oil being blockaded, as it is right now, we’re gonna let the oil flow … to United States refineries and around the world to bring better oil supplies, but have those sales done by the US government,” Wright said.

The president had said the previous day that Venezuelan authorities would transfer between 30 million and 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the United States, and that he instructed Wright to oversee the process.

Trump said the oil would be shipped to the U.S., sold at prevailing market prices, and managed under American authority, with proceeds intended to serve what he described as the interests of both nations.

In a separate interview with NBC News earlier in the week, Trump suggested that restoring Venezuelan oil production could take up to 18 months, while expressing optimism it could be accomplished sooner. “I think we can do it in less time than that, but it’ll be a lot of money,” he said.

“A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent, and the oil companies will spend it, and then they’ll get reimbursed by us or through revenue,” the president added.

Trump is expected to sit down with executives from Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and ConocoPhillips to discuss possible investments, though industry analysts have warned that the cost and complexity of rebuilding Venezuela’s long-neglected oil infrastructure could make the administration’s plans difficult to execute.

{Matzav.com}

Jooish News

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