Rubio: Venezuela will submit monthly budget to Washington

Venezuela’s interim government has agreed to submit a monthly budget to the Trump administration, which will control disbursement of funds from the country’s oil sales, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. 

The account will initially be managed by Qatar, drawing sharp criticism from Democrats, Caliber.Az reports via US media.

Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio described the arrangement as “novel” and “the best we could come up with in the short term.” The plan is designed to help Venezuela fund basic government services amid a fiscal crisis.

“They needed money in the immediacy to fund the police officers, the sanitation workers, the daily operations of government,” Rubio said.

“They have pledged to use a substantial amount of those funds to purchase medicine and equipment directly from the United States.”

Rubio also said the funds would initially be held in an offshore account controlled by Qatar before eventual transfer to a U.S. Treasury account, citing U.S. financial sanctions on Venezuela and potential legal claims by creditors.

Democrats expressed scepticism over the legality and transparency of the plan. Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, said, “I think this is novel. I think it’s funky. I think it may not even be permissible,” questioning whether the administration had the legal authority to manage such an account.

Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas called the plan “unlawfully refusing to honour debts owed to U.S. institutions” and questioned why a country with stronger banking laws was not chosen.

Rubio’s testimony marked his first public appearance before Congress since American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. Rubio said the administration has established “a very respectful and productive line of communication” with Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed power after Maduro’s removal, and the U.S. does not “intend or expect” to use military force against Venezuela “at any time.”

However, a written statement that Rubio submitted but did not read aloud warned that the United States was “prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation” from Rodríguez’s government “if other methods fail.”

Rubio also noted that Rodríguez had committed to opening Venezuela’s energy sector to American companies, providing preferential access to production, and using revenues to purchase American goods.

Many Republicans praised Rubio and Trump for decisive action, while Democrats argued the approach risked failure. Senator Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut said, “You are taking their oil at gunpoint. You’re deciding how and for what purposes that money is going to be used in a country of 30 million people. I think a lot of us believe that that is destined for failure.”

The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

By Aghakazim Guliyev