US secretary tells senators Beijing received discounted crude via opaque debt deals, saying Maduro’s removal was key to curbing influence.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused China of profiting from Venezuela’s long-running economic collapse by securing discounted oil, telling senators that removing Nicolas Maduro was necessary to end energy arrangements that he said “favoured Beijing at the expense of the Venezuelan people”.
During a hearing of the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Rubio portrayed China as a central beneficiary of the Maduro government, arguing that Beijing had taken advantage of sanctions and economic isolation to secure access to heavily discounted crude while expanding its influence in the western hemisphere.
