
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he plans to travel to Venezuela, while acknowledging that no date has been set. “I’m going to make a visit to Venezuela,” he told reporters at the White House.

Washington has issued new authorizations that allow oil-and-gas-related transactions in Venezuela for companies including BP, Chevron, Eni, Repsol and Shell, in a shift that could unlock stalled projects and settle payments previously constrained by US sanctions.

A face-to-face poll reported by the Financial Times points to a sharp swing in public mood in Venezuela following the US military intervention and the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro. The paper said Venezuelans are “much more optimistic about the future”, while the same findings also show heightened concern over security.

Venezuela’s acting President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodríguez met on Wednesday at Miraflores Palace with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright to discuss what the Venezuelan government described as “an energy agenda that benefits both nations,” as bilateral contacts continue to reopen.

Venezuela said it has reopened its commercial airspace after restrictions that had disrupted international routes since late 2025, a shift that airlines are beginning to translate into a phased return of flights to and from Caracas.

Families of political prisoners and activists gathered on Tuesday outside Venezuela’s National Assembly in central Caracas, calling for the release of detainees who remain behind bars and challenging the scope of a government-backed amnesty bill.

Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa was re-arrested only hours after leaving prison, in a move that sparked renewed accusations of political persecution and raised fresh questions about the scope of the government’s ongoing release process amid a pending amnesty bill.

Opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa and several close collaborators of anti-government figure María Corina Machado were released from detention in Venezuela on Sunday, in a new round of politically sensitive releases that rights groups say must be measured not only by numbers but also by whether detainees regain full civil and political rights.

Venezuela’s main opposition coalition, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), on Friday challenged what it called “serious omissions” in a proposed amnesty law promoted by acting President Delcy Rodríguez and approved in a first debate by the chavista-controlled National Assembly.

Venezuela’s legislature is moving forward with a proposed amnesty law that would grant clemency to protesters and government critics jailed in recent years.