Trump halts 2nd wave of attacks on Venezuela

US President Donald Trump said he had canceled a second wave of attacks on Venezuela following cooperation from the South American nation.

The president said yesterday that Venezuela was releasing a large number of political prisoners as a sign of “seeking peace”, following last week’s dramatic US military operation that resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, reports Reuters.

“This is a very important and smart gesture. The USA and Venezuela are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“Because of this cooperation, I have canceled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks, which looks like it will not be needed, however, all ships will stay in place for safety and security purpose,” his post added.

Trump also said that the world’s biggest oil companies pledged to invest $100 billion to revive Venezuela’s oil sector as he prepared for a meeting with top industry executives later yesterday.

Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez insisted Thursday her country was not “subjugated,” despite Trump’s claim to be in charge there after removing her predecessor Nicolas Maduro.

“We are not subordinate or subjugated,” Rodriguez said during a ceremony for the 100 Venezuelans that her government says were killed during the US assault.

“Nobody surrendered. There was fighting for the homeland” when the US forces attacked on January 3, she said.

Venezuela on Thursday began releasing a “large number” of political prisoners, including several foreigners, in an apparent concession to the United States, reports AFP.

Former Venezuelan opposition candidate Enrique Marquez -- who opposed Nicolas Maduro in the contested 2024 presidential election -- was among those released Thursday.

“It’s all over now,” Marquez said in a video taken by a local journalist of him and his wife, accompanied by another released opposition member Biagio Pilieri.

The White House credited Trump with securing the prisoners’ freedom.

“This is one example of how the president is using maximum leverage to do right by the American and Venezuelan people,” Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to AFP.

Trump broadened his threat to drug traffickers in a Fox News interview that aired Thursday night, saying he would target cartels in land strikes -- the US military has already destroyed at least 31 vessels in maritime attacks in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean, killing at least 107 people.

“We are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels. The cartels are running Mexico,” Trump told broadcaster Sean Hannity.

Interim leader Rodriguez’s brother, Parliament Speaker Jorge Rodriguez, said “a large number of Venezuelan and foreign nationals” were being immediately freed for the sake of “peaceful coexistence.”

He did not say which prisoners would be released, nor how many or from where.