State Department warns US citizens to leave Venezuela

Two prominent Venezuelan opposition politicians, five Spanish nationals, one dual Spanish-Venezuelan national and two Colombian nationals will be released by Venezuelan authorities Thursday, Venezuelan and Spanish officials confirmed to ABC News.

One of the prisoners being freed is Juan Pablo Guanipa, a Venezuelan opposition politician who served as the coordinator of the political party Justice First during the 2000s.

Enrique Marquez is also a Venezuelan opposition politician who was a vocal critic of the Maduro regime. He ran as an independent presidential candidate in the July 2024 elections.

Rafael Tudares is a lawyer and the son-in-law of opposition presidential candidate Edmund Gonzalez Urrutia, who the opposition party says defeated Maduro in the disputed 2024 election.

The names of the Venezuelan and Colombian nationals who will be released, according to the Venezuelan Communication Ministry:

• Juan Pablo Guanipa
• Enrique Marquez
• Rafael Tudares
• Juan Caguaripano

The names of the Spanish nationals who will be released, according to the Spanish president’s office:

• Ernesto Gorbe -- detained in December 2024
• Miguel Moreno, journalist -- detained in June 2025
• Rocio San Miguel, lawyer and NGO worker -- detained in February 2024
• Sofia Sahagún, a family member of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado — detained in October 2024
• Andres Martinez Adasme, accused of attempting to assassinate Maduro -- detained in September 2024

-ABC News' Aicha El Hammar

At least 100 people were killed in the U.S. raid on Venezuela that captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, according to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.

"Venezuela was the victim of a crafty, barbarian attack," Cabello said.

President Donald Trump said some U.S. personnel were injured in the Jan. 3 operation and no American deaths were reported.

The U.S. military action in Venezuela is a good thing for "peace" in the Caribbean region, Vice President JD Vance claimed Thursday, saying a major source of illegal cartel revenue is now eliminated.

When asked at a press briefing on Thursday whether he’d be able to guarantee that the Caribbean region would remain a "a zone of peace," Vance first referenced President Donald Trump’s phone call on Wednesday with Colombian President Gustavo Petro and then suggested that Nicolas Maduro's capture has impacted the illegal drug trade.

“This is the president of peace. One of the ways that you establish peace in your own hemisphere is to make it clear that the United States is willing to take power away from criminal cartel organizations and give it to legitimate governments. That's how we see the future of the Western Hemisphere. We think it's going to be much more peaceful than it was,” Vance said.

Later, Vance was asked about his specific role in the future of Venezuela, saying he’s been tasked to do “whatever the president asks me to do,” but claiming he’s been thus far “very involved.”

"I want to be as involved as the president wants me to be. So far that's been very involved,” he said.

Vance also rebuked any assertion that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had been cut out of planning for the Venezuela operations based on her past military involvement.

-ABC News' Isabella Murray

After the Senate voted to move forward on a Venezuela war powers resolution, a group of House Democrats led by Rep. Jim McGovern introduced their own resolution that would ban U.S. military action in Venezuela without Congressional approval.

The legislation mirrors the resolution that the House voted on in December that failed narrowly by a vote of 211-213, with three Republicans voting in favor.

Democrats are hopeful now, however, that they can get Republican support to pass the resolution following the U.S. operation to capture Nicolas Maduro.

"So, we applaud the Democrats and the Republicans that supported Senator Kaine's resolution. We call on the Speaker of the House to bring that up immediately, and we ought to have that debate, and we ought to have that vote. If he doesn't, we have introduced a war powers resolution, which will be ripen in 15 days, so we will be able to vote on it," McGovern, of Massachusetts, said at a news conference Thursday.

A vote in the House on this measure is expected to occur by the end of January.

-ABC News’ Lauren Peller