Marco Rubio detailed mechanisms ensuring Venezuela’s petroleum revenue funds essential services including law enforcement and healthcare through Treasury Department budget approval processes during Senate testimony Wednesday. The framework theoretically guarantees governmental functionality while preventing corruption.
The Secretary of State explained that monthly budget submissions must allocate appropriate funding for police, medical services, and other essential governmental functions before receiving Treasury approval. He suggested this oversight ensures interim authorities prioritize critical needs rather than political patronage or authoritarian consolidation.
Rubio characterized the approval process as protecting ordinary Venezuelans by verifying that oil revenue serves public welfare rather than enriching corrupt officials or financing repressive apparatus. He argued that strict oversight addresses historical patterns of resource mismanagement under Maduro and Chavez.
Democrats questioned whether American officials possess sufficient expertise or legitimacy to determine appropriate Venezuelan governmental budget allocations. They challenged whether monthly approvals constitute helpful oversight or inappropriate interference in sovereign nation’s domestic policy decisions.
The hearing also addressed preferential energy sector access arrangements, mandatory American goods purchases, Cuban oil subsidy termination, and prisoner releases as cooperation indicators. Rubio projected optimism about Venezuela’s trajectory over multiple timeframes while acknowledging complete recovery requires years.