The US’ top diplomat detailed how the US will control Venezuela’s finances, less than one month after Washington ousted Nicolás Maduro.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified to a Senate committee that Caracas will have to submit a monthly budget, and the Trump administration’s review will determine how the funds from oil proceeds can be spent.
The unusual arrangement has drawn comparisons to Iraq’s reconstruction, in which the US took control of Baghdad’s oil fund and lost track of $8.7 billion, Politico noted.
One leader of the Iraq rebuilding effort called on Trump to use the oil revenues to pay dividends to Venezuela’s citizens, “preventing old Maduro cronies from looting the country’s wealth.”