Cuba regime change, Iran faltering: 5 takeaways from Rubio’s testimony to Congress
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio mounted a strong defense of the so-called “Donroe Doctrine” during Wednesday’s marathon session with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Rubio, with his trademark assurance, fielded questions on Venezuela, Iran, Greenland, and much more. The appearance came at a pivotal moment for President Donald Trump’s foreign policy agenda, which has dominated headlines since he returned to the White House.
Here are five top takeaways from Rubio’s hearing:
Rubio defends Maduro’s capture
Rubio, anticipating that the committee would be interested in the administration’s strategy for Venezuela, opened the hearing by speaking off the cuff as to what comes next after the Jan. 3 capture of former dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Rubio remained adamant that the administration has a three-phase approach to a “friendly, stable, and prosperous” Venezuela, which starts with the country’s stabilization before pivoting to its “recovery.”
“It was an enormous strategic risk for the United States, not halfway around the world, not in another continent, but in the hemisphere in which we all live,” he said of Venezuela. “It was having dramatic impacts on us, but also on Colombia and on the Caribbean Basin, and all sorts of other places. It was an untenable situation, and it had to be addressed. And it was addressed.”
Rubio sought to counter concerns related to the prospect of a “forever war,” contending the administration has been “making good and decent progress” and that “we are certainly better off today in Venezuela than we were four weeks ago.”
To that end, Rubio previewed that the U.S. would have a diplomatic presence in Venezuela led by Laura Dogu, the former U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua and Honduras. This comes amid the slower-than-expected release of Maduro’s political prisoners and uncertainty about a timeline for new democratic elections.
Although there were questions about the lack of congressional consultation before Maduro’s capture, many of the lawmakers were concerned about the administration’s management of Venezuelan oil reserves, with revenue being held in offshore bank accounts in Qatar.
“We’re using that short-term mechanism both to stabilize the country, but also to make sure that the oil proceeds that are currently being generated through the licenses we’ll now begin to issue on the sanctioned oil goes to the benefit of the Venezuelan people, not to fund the system that existed in the past,” Rubio said.
That did not stop Sen. …
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio mounted a strong defense of the so-called “Donroe Doctrine” during Wednesday’s marathon session with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Rubio, with his trademark assurance, fielded questions on Venezuela, Iran, Greenland, and much more. The appearance came at a pivotal moment for President Donald Trump’s foreign policy agenda, which has dominated headlines since he returned to the White House.
Here are five top takeaways from Rubio’s hearing:
Rubio defends Maduro’s capture
Rubio, anticipating that the committee would be interested in the administration’s strategy for Venezuela, opened the hearing by speaking off the cuff as to what comes next after the Jan. 3 capture of former dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Rubio remained adamant that the administration has a three-phase approach to a “friendly, stable, and prosperous” Venezuela, which starts with the country’s stabilization before pivoting to its “recovery.”
“It was an enormous strategic risk for the United States, not halfway around the world, not in another continent, but in the hemisphere in which we all live,” he said of Venezuela. “It was having dramatic impacts on us, but also on Colombia and on the Caribbean Basin, and all sorts of other places. It was an untenable situation, and it had to be addressed. And it was addressed.”
Rubio sought to counter concerns related to the prospect of a “forever war,” contending the administration has been “making good and decent progress” and that “we are certainly better off today in Venezuela than we were four weeks ago.”
To that end, Rubio previewed that the U.S. would have a diplomatic presence in Venezuela led by Laura Dogu, the former U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua and Honduras. This comes amid the slower-than-expected release of Maduro’s political prisoners and uncertainty about a timeline for new democratic elections.
Although there were questions about the lack of congressional consultation before Maduro’s capture, many of the lawmakers were concerned about the administration’s management of Venezuelan oil reserves, with revenue being held in offshore bank accounts in Qatar.
“We’re using that short-term mechanism both to stabilize the country, but also to make sure that the oil proceeds that are currently being generated through the licenses we’ll now begin to issue on the sanctioned oil goes to the benefit of the Venezuelan people, not to fund the system that existed in the past,” Rubio said.
That did not stop Sen. …
Cuba regime change, Iran faltering: 5 takeaways from Rubio’s testimony to Congress
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio mounted a strong defense of the so-called “Donroe Doctrine” during Wednesday’s marathon session with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Rubio, with his trademark assurance, fielded questions on Venezuela, Iran, Greenland, and much more. The appearance came at a pivotal moment for President Donald Trump’s foreign policy agenda, which has dominated headlines since he returned to the White House.
Here are five top takeaways from Rubio’s hearing:
Rubio defends Maduro’s capture
Rubio, anticipating that the committee would be interested in the administration’s strategy for Venezuela, opened the hearing by speaking off the cuff as to what comes next after the Jan. 3 capture of former dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Rubio remained adamant that the administration has a three-phase approach to a “friendly, stable, and prosperous” Venezuela, which starts with the country’s stabilization before pivoting to its “recovery.”
“It was an enormous strategic risk for the United States, not halfway around the world, not in another continent, but in the hemisphere in which we all live,” he said of Venezuela. “It was having dramatic impacts on us, but also on Colombia and on the Caribbean Basin, and all sorts of other places. It was an untenable situation, and it had to be addressed. And it was addressed.”
Rubio sought to counter concerns related to the prospect of a “forever war,” contending the administration has been “making good and decent progress” and that “we are certainly better off today in Venezuela than we were four weeks ago.”
To that end, Rubio previewed that the U.S. would have a diplomatic presence in Venezuela led by Laura Dogu, the former U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua and Honduras. This comes amid the slower-than-expected release of Maduro’s political prisoners and uncertainty about a timeline for new democratic elections.
Although there were questions about the lack of congressional consultation before Maduro’s capture, many of the lawmakers were concerned about the administration’s management of Venezuelan oil reserves, with revenue being held in offshore bank accounts in Qatar.
“We’re using that short-term mechanism both to stabilize the country, but also to make sure that the oil proceeds that are currently being generated through the licenses we’ll now begin to issue on the sanctioned oil goes to the benefit of the Venezuelan people, not to fund the system that existed in the past,” Rubio said.
That did not stop Sen. …
0 Comments
0 Shares
44 Views
0 Reviews
