Marco Rubio says the U.S. doesn’t need Venezuela’s oil

Washington.— The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated that his country does not depend on Venezuelan oil and has sufficient internal production to cover its energy needs.

“We don’t need Venezuela’s oil. We have plenty of oil in the United States,” Rubio declared, referring to U.S. energy policy and the relationship with the South American country in an interview this Sunday with ABC News. However, the head of US diplomacy warned that Washington will not allow the Venezuelan oil industry to fall under the control of countries considered strategic adversaries. “What we are not going to allow is for the oil industry in Venezuela to be controlled by adversaries of the United States,” he stressed. Rubio also questioned the interest of foreign powers such as China, Russia, and Iran in Venezuela’s energy resources. “You have to understand: why does China need Venezuela’s oil? Why does Russia need it? Why does Iran need it? They are not even on this continent,” he said.

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The statements are made after the capture of the Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. The ruler was arrested in the early hours of this Saturday in a Washington lightning operation dubbed ‘Absolute Resolution’ along with the Venezuelan first lady, Cilia Flores, to then be transferred to New York, where he faces charges of drug trafficking and corruption. In his intervention, Rubio assured his country does not maintain troops in Venezuelan territory and insisted that Washington will only act to protect its interests.