The Trump administration has said it will dictate decisions to Venezuela's interim leaders and control the country's oil sales "indefinitely" after it captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.
Trump's assertion of US dominance over the oil-rich South American country comes despite its interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, saying there is no foreign power governing Venezuela.
In a briefing on Thursday, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said there would be a three-step plan for Venezuela that will start with stabilising the country after US special forces captured Maduro and his wife in a raid over the weekend.
The stabilisation would be funded through the sale of millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil, he said.
Rubio said the Trump administration is close to executing a deal to take 30 million to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil and sell it "at market value", using the proceeds for Venezuela's transition to a new government.
After the "stabilisation" phase, there will be a process of "recovery" and "transition", Rubio said.
Under the recovery phase, Rubio said, US and Western companies would have access to the Venezuelan market and "at the same time, begin to create the process of reconciliation nationally within Venezuela", including through the release of political prisoners.
He offered few details about the transition.
"The bottom line is that there is a process now in place where we have tremendous control and leverage over what those interim authorities are doing and are able to do," Rubio said.
"But obviously, this will be a process of transition. In the end, it will be up to the Venezuelan people to transform their country."
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the plan for Venezuela will involve a stabilisation, recovery and transition phase. Source: AAP / AP / Kevin Wolf
"We're going to market the crude coming out of Venezuela, first this backed-up stored oil, and then indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela," he said.
Seizure of two more oil tankers
Earlier in the day, the US moved further to stamp its authority on Venezuela when it seized two oil tankers, including a Russian-linked vessel that it pursued from Venezuela to the North Atlantic.
The US military also announced a second sanctioned tanker had been seized in the Caribbean Sea, bringing the total number of ships Washington has taken control of since last month to four.
The North Atlantic operation was condemned by Russia.
Its foreign ministry urged US officials to allow the swift return of Russian crew members from the ship, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists they may be taken to the US for prosecution.
The US said the tanker is part of a so-called shadow fleet that carries oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions, and seized it despite the ship being escorted by the Russian navy.
The vessel, formerly known as the Bella-1, had in recent weeks switched its registration to Russia, changed its name to the Marinera, and the tanker's crew reportedly painted a Russian flag on the vessel.
Leavitt said the US deemed the ship to be stateless.
Homeland security chief Kristi Noem posted on X that both vessels "were either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it" and included a video of armed US forces rappelling down from a helicopter onto an unidentified ship.
Democrat criticises 'insane plan'
Some critics said the plan amounted to stealing oil.
Democratic senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut called it "an insane plan".
"They are talking about stealing the Venezuelan oil at gunpoint for a period of time undefined as leverage to micromanage the country. The scope and insanity of that plan is absolutely stunning," he told reporters.
Brian Finucane, of the International Crisis Group, said the seizure of ships fitted the "overarching theme, both with respect to Venezuela and how this president approaches foreign policy in general, of taking the oil, quite literally in this case".
Congressman Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, praised the removal of Maduro, but said the focus on Venezuela's oil could be problematic.
"America needs to show that we have altruistic goals, not just a desire to grab oil resources by propping up illegitimate leaders," he wrote in an opinion article for The New York Times.
"Otherwise, Mr Trump's decision to invade Venezuela will end in failure, with consequences for the United States and the world."
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