US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Venezuela cannot be turned "into an operational hub for Iran, Russia, Hezbollah, China, Cuban intelligence agents," as he said in an interview on the Meet the Press program on NBC, writes UNN.
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Rubio outlined US demands for Venezuela: "You cannot fill this country with gang members. You cannot fill this country with drugs coming from Colombia through Venezuela with the complicity of elements of your security forces. You cannot turn Venezuela into an operational hub for Iran, Russia, Hezbollah, China, Cuban intelligence agents who control this country."
Rubio also touched on one of Trump's stated goals at his Saturday press conference, namely, to allow US investment in Venezuela's oil infrastructure.
On Sunday, Rubio said: "We don't need Venezuelan oil. We have enough oil in the United States."
However, the US Secretary of State stated that the goal of the Trump administration is to limit investments by American competitors such as China, Russia, and Iran in Venezuela's oil industry.
"We will not allow Venezuela's oil industry to be controlled by adversaries of the United States. You must understand, why does China need their oil? Why does Russia need their oil? Why does Iran need their oil? They are not even on this continent," Rubio said. "This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live, and we will not allow the Western Hemisphere to become a base of operations for adversaries, competitors, and rivals of the United States."