WASHINGTON

US Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that the military operation in Venezuela is aimed at curbing funding for narco-terrorism and giving Washington greater control over global energy resources.

Speaking to the Salem News Channel, Vance said the US wants what is best for the Venezuelan people and for the American people.

"Whoever the leader of that country is, is going to have to play ball with the United States," he said, emphasizing that previous Venezuelan policies had allowed foreign competitors access to cheap energy while using revenue to fund activities that threaten the US.

President Donald Trump said Jan. 3 that the military operation resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and pledged to assert American control over Venezuela for the time being, with US troops if necessary.

"What the president did, and really the entire team made possible, is to cut off that flow of energy money to narcoterrorists to then, of course, cut off the amount of narcoterrorism that's being imported in the United States of America," said Vance.

He added that the move is expected to reduce gas and energy prices for Americans while saving lives.

"I think it's going to save lives. It's going to mean cheaper gas and energy prices for Americans. And maybe most importantly, it's going to mean that we have more control over the energy resources that exist in the world, which makes it possible for us, of course, to achieve better economic results for our people, and to use those energy resources as leverage to achieve greater peace and prosperity," he added.

The vice president called the operation “very important” and praised its execution as “flawless.”

Separately, on utilizing oil from Venezuela, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News that US energy strength allowed the country to take action against nations with large oil reserves without major disruptions to domestic fuel prices.

Burgum said US-built refineries on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico were were designed to be able to process heavy crude oil extracted in Venezuela, which boasts the world's largest proven reserves of the hydrocarbon.

"Then, you need to dilute that heavy crude with a lighter product, and of course, we have an excess of that lighter product here because of the shale oils," he added.

Burgum also framed the operation as an opportunity for Venezuela’s economy.

"Venezuela has an opportunity now to actually have capital come in and rebuild their economy," he said, comparing the South American nation’s potential to the energy wealth of Saudi Arabia.

"Saudi Arabia, one of the richest countries in the world. Venezuela, one of the poorest countries in the world. Doesn't have to be that way with American technology, American partnership. Venezuela can be transformed, and that's a win for this hemisphere. It's a win for the people of Venezuela," Burgum said.