Trump's Venezuela Strategy: Stability Over Democracy

Trump's Venezuela Strategy: Stability Over Democracy (Full Transcript)

US eyes stability, oil restoration in Venezuela. Officials see VP Rodriguez as key to cooperation, but swift democratic change remains unlikely.

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[00:00:00] Speaker 1: So what do we know about how President Trump actually wants to run Venezuela? So with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in custody in New York, U.S. officials are telling CNN Trump wants to prioritize stability and oil infrastructure ahead of a turn to democracy. So who's in charge? Well, U.S. officials are focusing on the country's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez. She's also the finance and oil minister and has been a prominent figure in Venezuelan politics, criticizing Maduro's capture. But behind the scenes, U.S. officials are confident she can provide stability and is someone they can work with. Rodriguez has since appeared to soften her tone too, calling for cooperation with the U.S. and, quote, balanced and respectful international relations. As for how Trump plans to run Venezuela's aging oil infrastructure, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright have been tasked with convincing American energy companies to return to the country. But the gutted infrastructure will be expensive to rebuild and could be a hard sell for the U.S. oil giants. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that discussing a timeline for elections in Venezuela was premature. A swift return to democracy therefore seems unlikely, possibly leaving Maduro's cronies at the actual levers of Venezuela's power.