Rubio revealed Washington's three-step plan for Venezuela

On January 7, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed a three-stage plan of the United States for Venezuela, which includes stabilizing the situation in the country and preventing chaos.

"As we move forward, we will describe our approach — it is a three—stage process with regard to Venezuela. <...> The first stage is the stabilization of the country. We don't want it to descend into chaos," Rubio said.

According to him, the first part of the process is stabilization, for which the United States uses its "quarantine" and sanctions, and is also preparing for a deal to seize from 30 to 50 million barrels of oil stuck in the country. The proceeds, he said, will be distributed in a controlled manner for the benefit of the people.

The second stage, "reconstruction," includes providing Western companies with access to the Venezuelan market and forming a national reconciliation process. The third stage is a "transitional" one, which will partially overlap with the previous ones. Rubio promised to provide more details in the coming days.

Hotly contested: how the United States is building relations with Venezuela after Maduro's arrest

Washington expects to achieve full access of American companies to the oil infrastructure

On January 6, US President Donald Trump announced that the Venezuelan authorities would transfer from 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States for subsequent sale on the market. According to Trump, we are talking about high-quality sanctioned oil, which will be sold at a market price. The American leader will personally take control of the revenue.

The New York Times reported on January 4 that the death toll from the US attack in Venezuela had risen to 80 people. It was clarified that there are dead among both the civilian population and the military. Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez has declared seven days of mourning for the soldiers who died as a result of the US operation to capture Maduro.

On January 3, Trump announced that the United States had successfully launched a large-scale strike against Venezuela. He noted that the President of the republic, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Celia Flores, were captured and taken away from the territory of the state.

Maduro was taken to New York Federal Court on January 5 to face charges. In court, he declared his innocence and said that he was still the president of his country. The American court agreed to schedule a visit by consular officers to Venezuela. The judge ordered Maduro to appear in court on March 17 for a hearing.

On January 5, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced that the United States had violated international law in Venezuela. Guterres also noted that the future of Venezuela after the US operation remains uncertain and causes great concern.

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