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{"text":[[{"start":12.93,"text":"The US will monitor and approve payments to Venezuela from the proceeds of oil sales via an offshore account in Qatar, as Washington fleshes out how it intends to manage affairs in Caracas following the capture of Nicolás Maduro."}],[{"start":29.52,"text":"Secretary of state Marco Rubio admitted the scheme, under which Caracas will send Washington spending plans for this portion of its national income, was a “novel” quick fix as the administration got to grips with overseeing affairs in the country."}],[{"start":45.9,"text":"But he promised it would be “temporary” and would result in oil proceeds being spent in the US rather than to benefit Russia or China."}],[{"start":55.379999999999995,"text":"The plan drew raised eyebrows from senior Democrats at a Senate foreign relations committee hearing on Wednesday, some of whom questioned its legality and transparency."}],[{"start":66.42999999999999,"text":"In his first appearance since US troops captured Maduro on January 3, Rubio said US sanctions on Venezuela meant a third-party account had been needed to ensure that creditors owed money from Venezuelan seizures of American assets could not bring legal claims on the oil funds."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":85.25999999999999,"text":"Venezuela has a stockpile of up to 50mn barrels of crude that is under sanctions, which it was unable to sell after the US naval task force that President Donald Trump last year sent to the Caribbean choked off access to the “shadow fleet” of tankers, which had been used to ship the oil to Asia to sell on the black market."}],[{"start":108.79999999999998,"text":"Venezuela used to receive as little as $20 a barrel for that oil. The new US scheme, which has been put in place for funds to flow from that oil, will allow the South American country to sell its oil at market prices."}],[{"start":123.84999999999998,"text":"Under the scheme, which leaves US sanctions in place as a pressure mechanism on the government, Venezuela “will submit every month a budget of ‘this is what we need funded’. We will provide for them at the front end what that [oil] money cannot be used for,” Rubio said."}],[{"start":141.79999999999998,"text":"Trump pledged after Maduro’s capture that the US would “run” the oil-rich nation."}],[{"start":148.32999999999998,"text":"Rubio said the government led by Delcy Rodríguez had been “very co-operative in this regard. In fact, they have pledged to use a substantial amount of those funds to purchase medicine and equipment directly from the United States”."}],[{"start":163.32,"text":"One $300mn payment has already been made to Caracas “because they had to meet payroll”, he said, but about $200mn is still held in Qatar."}],[{"start":176.07,"text":"The scheme relates to the proceeds from the sale of oil, but the Venezuelan government receives other income — from taxes, customs duties and illegal gold mining, for example."}],[{"start":186.7,"text":"Chris Sabatini, senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, a think-tank, said Rubio had admitted it was a “seat-of-the-pants plan” and noted there were “a lot of questions that have to be answered”."}],[{"start":201.48999999999998,"text":"Rubio admitted the plan was hastily devised to ensure that “the oil proceeds . . . on the sanctioned oil goes to the benefit of the Venezuelan people, not to fund the system that existed in the past”."}],[{"start":213.68999999999997,"text":"He added: “I understand it’s novel, but it’s the best we could come up with in the short term.”"}],[{"start":219.71999999999997,"text":"Rubio said that the Qatar account would eventually become a US Treasury account and that payments would be audited, but he gave no timeframe."}],[{"start":228.96999999999997,"text":"“This is not going to be the permanent mechanism,” Rubio said."}],[{"start":233.51999999999998,"text":"The Gulf state has hosted negotiations in the past between the US and Venezuela and has good relations with both governments."}],[{"start":242.21999999999997,"text":"He said the US was making strides following the “gangster paradise” he said had prevailed under the Maduro regime. The former strongman is in jail in the US awaiting trial on drug trafficking and weapons charges."}],[{"start":257.21,"text":"Rubio praised Venezuela’s government for working constructively with the US, including through a new hydrocarbons law to roll back a quarter-century of state dominance and open the socialist country’s oil sector to private companies."}],[{"start":272.96,"text":"“It’s not going to be like, from one day to the next, we’re going to have this thing turn around overnight,” Rubio said. “But I think we’re making good and decent progress. It is the best plan.”"}],[{"start":287.2,"text":"Rubio told senators that the administration did not “intend or expect” to have to use force in Venezuela, while noting in a written submission — which he did not read out — that the US was “prepared to use force to ensure maximum co-operation” if other co-operation with the government failed."}],[{"start":316.38,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1769729340_9295.mp3"}