Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday touted what he called a unique U.S. capability to refine Venezuela's abundance of crude oil,a linchpin of the Trump administration's takeover strategy for the country.
The big picture: Refineries in the Gulf of America (renamed from Gulf of Mexico) are generally better designed to handle Venezuela's "heavy" crude than the lighter grades from shale produced from fracking.
Marco Rubio is suddenly facing his most daunting puzzle in his 28 years in politics.
The U.S. secretary of state didn't just help mastermind the ouster of Venezuela's dictator on Saturday. Rubio is now in charge of making sure President Trump's risky move against Nicolás Maduro doesn't descend into chaos.
Why it matters: The U.S. is now effectively laying claim to the country with the globe's largest proven oil reserves — a move that could threaten global stability and complicate U.S. relations with China, a major buyer of Venezuelan crude.
