The United States will retain control in the short term to ensure the oil revenue is used to stabilise Venezuela, Rubio said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. The US will not subsidise oil industry investments in Venezuela, Rubio said, and is only overseeing the sale of sanctioned petroleum as an interim step. Democrats and some Republicans on the committee pressed Rubio for more details about Trump’s plans for Venezuela’s oil. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., asked for assurances from Rubio that the sale of Venezuelan oil will be fair and open, not rigged to benefit oil companies allied with Trump. Under Maduro, Rubio said Venezuela’s oil industry benefited the country’s corrupt leaders and countries such as China, which purchased Venezuelan oil at a discount.