Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to advance a resolution aimed at curbing President Donald Trump’s authority to carry out further military action in Venezuela without explicit congressional approval, even as Trump indicated that U.S. oversight of the crisis-hit country could extend for years.
In a 52–47 vote, senators approved a procedural step to move forward with a war powers resolution that would require congressional authorization for any additional military operations in Venezuela. A small number of Republican senators broke ranks to vote alongside Democrats, marking a rare instance of bipartisan resistance to Trump’s foreign policy approach.
The vote came as Trump, in an interview with The New York Times published Thursday, suggested that the United States could oversee Venezuela’s governance and control its oil revenues for an extended period. “Only time will tell” how long U.S. oversight would last, Trump said, adding that it would likely be “much longer” than a few months or even a year.
Trump defended the U.S. intervention, which included the deployment of troops to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a nighttime raid last Saturday. He said Washington plans to rebuild Venezuela “in a very profitable way,” leveraging the country’s vast oil resources. Trump also said the U.S. is “getting along very well” with the interim government led by Delcy Rodríguez, a longtime Maduro ally who previously served as vice president.
Despite the Senate vote, the resolution faces significant obstacles to becoming law. It would need to pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and then secure two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override an expected presidential veto. Still, the measure highlighted growing unease among some Republicans about the scope of Trump’s unilateral use of military power.
Trump reacted angrily on social media, accusing Republican senators who supported the measure of attempting to weaken America’s ability to defend itself. “Republicans should be ashamed,” he wrote, claiming the vote sought to strip the president of essential national security powers.
Meanwhile, developments inside Venezuela suggested a potential easing of internal tensions. Jorge Rodríguez, the country’s top lawmaker, announced that a significant number of both Venezuelan and foreign prisoners would be released later on Thursday. He described the move as a unilateral “gesture of peace,” though it was not coordinated with the opposition or international actors.
The release of political prisoners has been a longstanding demand of Venezuela’s opposition and human rights groups. The local rights organization Foro Penal estimates that at least 863 political prisoners remain detained, including politicians, activists, journalists, and protesters arrested after the disputed 2024 election. The White House declined to comment on the planned releases.
The New York Times reported that Trump declined to explain why his administration chose not to transfer power to the opposition, which Washington had previously recognized as the legitimate winner of the 2024 vote.
Regional tensions also appeared to ease slightly. Trump seemed to walk back earlier threats against Colombia, inviting its leftist president, Gustavo Petro, to Washington after a phone call Trump described as cordial. Petro also characterized the conversation as positive, marking the first direct contact between the two leaders.
On the economic front, Trump recently unveiled a plan to refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil that had been stranded under U.S. sanctions. Venezuela, which holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, has seen its economy collapse over the past decade, triggering one of the world’s largest migration crises, with an estimated 8 million people fleeing the country.
Trump is scheduled to meet at the White House on Friday with executives from major U.S. oil companies, including Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron, to discuss strategies for boosting Venezuelan oil production. All three companies have prior experience operating in Venezuela but declined to comment ahead of the meeting.
As Congress debates the limits of presidential power and the administration pushes forward with plans to reshape Venezuela’s political and economic future, the unfolding situation underscores a deepening divide in Washington over intervention, sovereignty, and the long-term consequences of U.S. control abroad.
