What We Won’t Allow Is Venezuelan Oil Being Controlled By China, Russia, Or Iran -America

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended Washington’s hardline posture on Venezuela, insisting that America’s interest is not driven by a need for Venezuelan oil but by broader strategic and security concerns in the Western Hemisphere.

In a statement that underscored the administration’s foreign policy outlook, Rubio said the United States has sufficient domestic energy resources and is not seeking to exploit Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. “The U.S. doesn’t need Venezuela’s oil—we have plenty,” he said. However, he warned that Washington would not tolerate a situation in which Venezuela’s energy assets fall under the control of rival powers.

Rubio specifically named China, Russia, and Iran as actors the United States views as strategic adversaries, arguing that their growing footprint in Latin America poses a direct challenge to regional stability and U.S. national security. According to him, allowing such countries to dominate Venezuela’s oil sector would give them economic leverage and geopolitical influence close to U.S. borders.

“This is the Western Hemisphere, and we won’t let adversaries use it as a base of operations,” Rubio said, framing the issue within the long-standing U.S. doctrine of limiting extra-regional powers’ influence in the Americas.

His remarks come amid heightened tensions following recent U.S. actions in Venezuela, which have drawn global attention and sparked debates over sovereignty, international law, and great-power competition. U.S. officials have consistently argued that their approach is aimed at countering authoritarian alliances and preventing hostile states from entrenching themselves in strategically sensitive regions.

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