Before stepping away to brief the House in Washington, Marco Rubio tells reporters he wants to make one more point.
“One of those ships that were seized that had oil in the Caribbean, you know what the interim authorities are asking for in Venezuela? They want that oil that was seized to be part of this deal,” he says.
“They understand that the only way they can move oil and generate revenue and not have economic collapse is if they cooperate and work with the United States.”
Rubio says the US has a three-step plan for Venezuela that will begin with stabilising the country, overseeing its recovery and finally a transition.
He also says the US is in the midst of executing a deal to take 30-50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela.
As we’ve been reporting this afternoon, the US has seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker with links to Venezuela after seizing a separate tanker linked to the South American nation.
The sanctioned Russian-flagged tanker, originally known as the Bella 1 and now called the Marinera, is now in US custody, the United States European Command has confirmed.
The other vessel was seized in the Caribbean.
UK involved in US seizure of oil tanker with links to Russia and Iran, MoD says
