In a briefing Wednesday with senators about the military strikes on Venezuela when U.S. forces captured President Nicolas Maduro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stressed a process ahead of "stabilization," "recovery," and "transition."
"Step one is the stabilization of the country. We don't want it descending into chaos," Rubio told reporters after the briefing.
"Part of that stabilization and the reason why we understand and believe that we have the strongest leverage possible is our quarantine."
He also said the U.S. would continue seizing oil tankers and sell sanctioned oil.
"We are going to take between 30 [million] and 50 million barrels of oil" quarantined and sanctioned in Venezuela, Rubio said.
"We're going to sell it in the marketplace, at market rates, not at the discounts Venezuela was getting. That money will then be handled in such a way that we will control how it is dispersed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people, not corruption, not the regime."
The recovery phase will ensure that American, Western, and other companies have fair access to the Venezuelan market, he added.
"At the same time, we will begin to create the process of reconciliation nationally within Venezuela, so that the opposition forces can be amnestied and released from prisons or brought back to the country and begin to rebuild civil society."
The third phase "will be one of transition," he said.
Rubio and Hegseth briefed congressional leaders on the military operation in Venezuela amid mounting concerns that President Donald Trump is embarking on a new era of U.S. expansionism without consulting lawmakers or a clear vision for running the South American country.
Republican leaders entered the closed-door session at the Capitol largely supportive of Trump's decision to forcibly remove Maduro from power.
But many Democrats emerged with more questions as Trump maintains a fleet of naval vessels off the Venezuelan coast and urges U.S. companies to reinvest in the country's underperforming oil industry.
"While this briefing was very extensive and long, it posed far more questions than it ever answered," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
"Their plan for the U.S. running Venezuela is vague, based on wishful thinking, and was unsatisfying. I did not receive any assurances that we would not try to do the same thing in other countries."
A war powers resolution that would prohibit U.S. military action in Venezuela without approval from Congress is heading for a vote this week in the Senate.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.