US Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined the next stages of U.S. strategy toward Venezuela, stating that Washington intends to move forward with the sale of the country’s oil and make it available on the international market.

He said that the oil revenues would be placed under U.S. control and distributed in a manner that, according to him, would benefit the Venezuelan people. “We have significant leverage to advance stabilization efforts,” he said.

Rubio described the second phase of the U.S. strategy as a “recovery phase,” which he said would include amnesty for opposition figures.

This would be followed by a period of “transition,” he stressed, without providing further details on how it would be implemented.

According to the U.S. official, Venezuelans “understand that the only way to continue exporting oil and generating revenue without triggering economic collapse is to work with the United States.”

He also argued that the regime can no longer sell oil or secure revenues without Washington’s approval, which he said gives the United States “enormous influence” and “control.”

Rubio said the United States had repeatedly attempted to reach a solution without arresting Nicolas Maduro, noting, however, that those efforts “unfortunately did not work.”

Finally, he stated that a president has the right to take action when there is a threat to national security.