An unidentified speaker defended the continuing U.S. quarantine and sanctions on Venezuelan oil shipments as necessary leverage to pressure a regime that, the speaker said, relies on oil revenues while ordinary Venezuelans see little benefit.

The speaker said the Venezuelan economy is “fueled by oil” and described its petroleum sector as outmoded and in need of significant overhaul. “None of the money from the oil gets to the people. It’s all stolen by the people that are on the top there,” the speaker said, attributing widespread diversion of revenue to senior officials.

The speaker portrayed the maritime quarantine and sanctions as an enforcement tool that remains in force until the speaker’s stated objectives are met. “There’s a quarantine right now in which sanctioned oil shipments... There’s a sanctioned oil shipments, there’s a boat and that boat is under US sanctions,” the speaker said, later adding, “We go get a court order, we will seize it.” The statement framed seizure under court order as an available measure to enforce sanctions.

Explaining why the measures are being maintained, the speaker said they serve U.S. national interests and could lead to gains for Venezuelans themselves. The speaker listed several policy goals that continued pressure is expected to produce: reforms so the oil industry “is run for the benefit of the people,” an end to drug trafficking and gang problems, the removal of FARC and ELN elements, and a reduction of the regime’s ties with Hezbollah and Iran.

The remarks did not specify particular legislative or executive actions beyond the existing quarantine and the possibility of seizure by court order. The speaker did not identify a timeline for the changes described or cite a specific public statement or statute establishing new measures.

The speaker concluded that the quarantine and sanctions “remain in place” as leverage until those changes occur.