WASHINGTON—Today, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, joined The National Report on Newsmax to discuss the U.S. seizure of Venezuelan-linked oil tankers, coordination across U.S. military, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies, and President Donald Trump’s actions to prevent narco-trafficking and corruption in Venezuela.
Partial Transcript
Hagerty on the classified briefing and U.S. coordination: “The meeting that I just left was classified, so the content of that meeting I’ll not be able to share the specifics. But I’ll say this: the level of coordination between every aspect of our military, our intelligence agencies, and law enforcement has been overwhelmingly, supremely executed. I could not be more impressed with the level of execution that has taken place. The leadership from President Trump and his cabinet has been extraordinary in terms of their ability to execute with the full force and effect of the United States military to deliver on law enforcement principles and objectives.”
Hagerty on the seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers and how the oil proceeds will be used: “What you see right now with the Venezuelan oil tanker that’s been seized is part of a much larger program. President Trump announced this today: 30 to 50 million barrels of oil will be taken from Venezuelan stockpiles. These tankers will be sold on the open market at market prices, not discounted to China, not discounted to other adversaries. They’ll be sold at market prices and used to deal with liquidity problems there in Venezuela. The Venezuelan military, the Venezuelan sanitation workers–you name it–the public workers there in Venezuela will be taken care of. Not the corrupt politicians. Not in other areas where it might be diverted. Under President Trump’s leadership, those funds would be directed exactly where they need to go to keep the Venezuelan economy moving and to stabilize the Venezuelan economy. It’s much better that the United States has control of this, so we can avoid it falling into the hands of corrupt politicians and individuals who have been in control of Venezuela.”
Hagerty on ownership of the seized vessel: “My understanding is that it’s actually owned by a Ukrainian oligarch. It’s interesting that you have Russia actually standing up or shielding Ukrainian interests in this case. It’s a complicated story, and there’s a lot of intel that needs to come together to explain this. At the end of the day, though, if the oil was sourced in Venezuela, we’re going to see that oil sold for the benefit of Venezuelans, not for corrupt politicians and not for gangsters that are running that country.”
Hagerty on the global message sent by U.S. action: “Secretary Noem’s message could not be clearer. The world is on notice that we’re not going to tolerate this anymore, and President Trump has delivered not with words, but with actions. This isn’t a presidency that’s doing press releases. What you saw in previous administrations was a lot of talk, but not a lot of action. President Trump has stepped up and taken decisive action here to take out one of the greatest narco-terrorists.”
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