Almost one month after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by the US, the Trump administration has unveiled how it plans to "recover" the South American nation.
Until this week, US President Donald Trump and his team had provided few details about how involved they planned to be in the governance of Venezuela.
But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has laid out a plan that suggests they will look to hold the country's purse strings for some time
Here's what to know about the Trump administration's plans for Venezuela.
First, catch me up
After months of spiralling tensions, an American special forces team launched a raid on Mr Maduro's strongly fortified safe house in Caracas on January 2.
The mission, which was called Operation Absolute Resolve, was to snatch Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their compound and bring them to the US.
Soon after, Mr Maduro and Ms Flores were in New York City to face narco-terrorism charges from 2020.
They pleaded not guilty at their first court appearance.
In the immediate aftermath of Mr Maduro's capture, it was unclear who would be in charge of running the country.
On January 3, Mr Trump said his administration would be temporarily in charge.
But around the same time, Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as the country's interim president, and she vowed the country would not bowto any US demands.
Days later, Mr Trump told The New York Times he expected the US would be running Venezuela for years, but did not give an exact timeframe.
He insisted the Venezuelan government was "giving us everything that we feel is necessary".
Since the dust has settled, Ms Rodríguez has been walking a tightrope to cooperate with the US and keep loyalists of Mr Maduro at home happy.
On Tuesday she said her government and the Trump administration "have established respectful and courteous channels of communication" since Mr Maduro's capture.
But two days prior she told a group of oil workers in Puerto La Cruz that she has had "enough" of Washington's orders.
What is the US plan for Venezuela?
Mr Rubio appeared before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday to detail how the Trump administration planned to proceed with Venezuela.
Tap the cards below to read an outline of the US government's plan.
1: Revitalise oil industry
While Venezuela has the largest proven reserves of crude oil in the world, its exports only make up about 1 per cent of the world output.
That's partly because Venezuela's oil industry has been hollowed out by decades of mismanagement, corruption and a lack of skilled workers.
The US government sees this resource as the key to the country's development, but a massive rebuild would be needed to harness it.
Mr Trump has said previously he wants American oil companies to invest heavily to revive the industry, but it could be difficult to convince them.
2: Deposit revenue into offshore account
Revenue from oil sales would be deposited into an account set up in Qatar that the US government had oversight of, Mr Rubio said, adding that the US Treasury would control the process.
"It's an account that belongs to Venezuela, but it has US sanctions as a blocking mechanism," he told the committee.
It was decided an offshore account would be set up to avoid having the proceeds seized by American creditors, and to avoid other legal complications, he said.
3: Oversee spending
Mr Rubio said the Venezuelan government would only be permitted to use the funds "for the benefit of the Venezuelan people".
The US would give Venezuela instructions on how the money could and could not be spent, and would conduct audits to ensure it was being used as intended.
Venezuela's interim leaders would be required to submit to the US a monthly "budget" outlining how they intended to use the money to fund public services such as policing and healthcare, he said.
"We only control the dispersal of the money, we don't control the actual money."
Earlier this month, Ms Rodríguez said cash from oil sales would flow into two sovereign wealth funds: one to support crisis-stricken health services and another to bolster public infrastructure, such as the electricity grid.
The country's hospitals are so poorly equipped that patients are asked to provide supplies for their own care — from syringes to surgical screws.
They also have to pay for lab and imaging tests at private hospitals.
"This is simply a way to divide revenue so that there isn't systemic collapse while we work through this recovery and transition," Mr Rubio said at the hearing.
Neither Ms Rodríguez, nor her government's press office, immediately commented on Mr Rubio's remarks on Wednesday.
What are the sticking points?
Reviving the oil industry won't be simple.
Energy analysts have expressed doubt that a rebuild can happen as rapidly as the US is planning.
Major oil firms want certainty that their contracts will be honoured before they step in, the American Petroleum Institute says, and that's something that hasn't been guaranteed in Venezuela in the past.
Caracas nationalised the projects of several companies, including Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, nearly two decades ago under Hugo Chavez.
In the years since, both companies have sought billions in compensation for the takeovers.
Jaded by those past losses and wary of any ongoing political instability, American oil majors have already indicated they are not convinced that a return to Venezuela would be worth the risk.
Mr Rubio has said the US won't be subsidising investments either, meaning there is one less carrot to entice the oil firms to invest.
How did the committee react?
Democrats and some Republicans on the committee pressed Mr Rubio for more details.
Democratic senator Chris Murphy asked for assurances that the sale of Venezuelan oil would be fair and open, and not rigged to benefit oil companies allied with Mr Trump.
"You are taking their oil at gunpoint, you are holding and selling that oil … you're deciding how and for what purposes that money is going to be used in a country of 30 million people," Mr Murphy said.
"I think a lot of us believe that that is destined for failure."
Mr Rubio said under Mr Maduro's leadership, Venezuela's oil industry had been benefiting the country's corrupt leaders and countries such as China, which purchased the resource at a discount.
Now, Venezuela's interim leaders were assisting the US in seizing illegal oil shipments, he said.
ABC/AP
