U.S. Energy Secretary plans to visit Venezuela, insisting that the removal of Maduro is "not about oil, only about geopolitics"

According to Politico, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick is on track to become the highest-ranking Trump administration official to set foot in Venezuela since Maduro's arrest. In an interview, Rick said he is soon to visit Venezuela, meeting with the interim president Rodrguez to discuss the future of the country's state-owned oil company - but he insisted that the Trump administration's interest in this resource-rich country is not centered around oil. Rick stated that the former leader Maduro "was not ousted to gain more oil supply" and that the country's world-leading crude oil reserves have never been "an important consideration in decisions." "This is a geopolitical issue: this country used to pose a threat to all its neighboring countries, to the Western Hemisphere, and is a large-scale exporter of firearms, drugs, and criminals," Rick said. "Oil is Venezuela's main product and a huge resource, that may be a nice coincidence, but it's just a coincidence." Rick claims that the plan to transition Venezuela to democracy "has not changed" and he expects the country to hold democratic elections within the next 18 to 24 months. However, he said that this work requires cooperation with the interim authorities and leveraging economic leverage, such as the oil industry.