Zinke: U.S. Venezuela Strategy Aims to Contain Adversaries, Not Oil

Rep. Ryan Zinke stated Wednesday that U.S. actions involving Venezuela are “not about oil,” but about limiting the influence of American adversaries in the hemisphere.

A member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Zinke described Venezuela as a staging ground for hostile activity and criminal networks that directly impact U.S. security.

“You look at where their influence was,” he said. “Venezuela has the largest concentration of Hezbollah and Hamas outside of the Middle East, and they are actively conducting operations against the United States. They were involved in the drug operation.”

Zinke emphasized that the U.S. strategy includes controlling Venezuelan oil assets to direct them into an account for Venezuela’s recovery.

“The purpose is to make sure those oil assets go into [an] account, and then they’re distributed to help Venezuela rebuild,” he said. “Now, again, we don’t come as a conqueror. We come as a liberator.”

He added that Venezuelans have been “suffering” under Maduro’s rule, with the proceeds of oil assets intended to support democratic governance and societal rebuilding.

“But also Maduro robbed the Venezuelan people,” Zinke stated. “We want to make sure those resources go into an account, and then they’re distributed and make sure we support democracy, and we support Venezuela rebuilding its society.”

Zinke described the plan as a coordinated effort to deny access to assets while directing them toward the Venezuelan public. He noted regional support for U.S. actions in South America, saying that countries in the region have confirmed their backing of the operation due to understanding Maduro’s threats.