State Department warns US citizens to leave Venezuela

Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Kevin Lunday said that elite crews "flawlessly" conducted the seizures of two Venezuela-linked oil tankers this week, calling the Coast Guard the “only agency in the federal government that can do these kinds of operations."

Lunday lauded the interagency teamwork that accomplished the seizure operations under the "clear direction" of President Donald Trump "to stop the flow of this illicit oil out of Venezuela that’s fueling international terrorism, that’s fueling drug trafficking and human trafficking, and to work together to do it."

"That’s what you saw yesterday," Lunday told ABC News’ Kyra Phillips in an interview on ABC News Live.

When asked about Russia’s deployment of submarines to the Caribbean and if the Coast Guard encountered any of its assets, Lunday said, "We did see two Russian military aircraft overfly the Coast Guard cutter in the North Atlantic that was escorting the Bella 1. That was a couple of days ago. But at no time ... was the Coast guard concerned at all about Russian military presence, interfering with our legal authority and our operation that was ongoing."

Notably, Lunday did not confirm or deny the presence of Russian submarines.

-ABC News' Kyra Phillips, Joshua Ascher, Thomas Santomarco, Diana Paulsen, Luke Barr and Olivia Osteen

Following the Senate vote to advance a Venezuela war powers resolution, President Donald Trump is publicly calling out the Republican Senators who voted for the resolution, saying they “should be ashamed” and “never be elected to office again."

“This Vote greatly hampers American Self Defense and National Security, impeding the President’s Authority as Commander in Chief,” Trump said in a post on social media.

Dealing a rather striking rebuke to the Trump administration, a small group of Senate Republicans joined with all Democrats to narrowly advance a war powers resolution that would block the use of the U.S. Armed Forces to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress.

The legislation advanced by a vote of 52-47. It needed 51 votes to move forward.

Republican Sens. Rand Paul, Lisa Murkowski, Todd Young, Susan Collins and Josh Hawley voted with all Democrats in favor of the legislation.

This was a test vote. The Senate will still have to take a vote on final passage of the legislation, and it is not yet clear when that vote will be. Still, this afternoon's vote is a strong indication that the Senate will formally pass the resolution.

If the Senate ultimately passes this bill, it will still need to be approved by the House and signed into law by President Donald Trump.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

A “significant number” of prisoners will be released as a gesture from the Venezuelan government to “seek peace,” Venezuela’s National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said during a press conference Thursday.

"Consider this gesture by the Bolivarian government, which is broadly intended to seek peace, as the contribution that we must all make to ensure that our Republic continues to live in peace and in pursuit of prosperity," he said, according to an Associated Press translation.

-ABC News' Othon Leyva and Ismario Rodriguez Perez