The United States and Venezuela are exploring the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations. On Friday, a delegation from the Trump administration arrived in Venezuela. The U.S. diplomats and their security detail are making a preliminary assessment about reopening the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.

President Donald Trump says American intervention in Venezuela will bring billions of dollars of investment in the country's infrastructure, a revival of its once-thriving oil industry and a new age of prosperity for the Latin American country. But those pledges of future prowess can be hard to digest for Venezuelans living through today's crumbling economy.

Venezuela released a number of imprisoned high-profile opposition figures, activists and journalists, in what the government described as a gesture to "seek peace".

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has used public comments and private briefings to lawmakers to tone down bombastic remarks from the president and other top officials even as he offers a full-throated defense of Trump’s more audacious plans.

The head of Venezuela's national assembly says a "significant number" of citizens and foreigners will be released from prison as a gesture to "seek peace." The announcement by Jorge Rodríguez on Thursday comes less than a week after former President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces to face federal drug-trafficking charges in New York.

President Donald Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, saying they had exchanged a friendly phone call and he'd even invited the leader of the South American country to the White House.

Immigration experts in the United States and Latin America and groups that track Venezuelan prisons said Venezuela has no known policy or practice of sending prisoners to the U.S., and Venezuelan prisons remain overcrowded.

COMMENTARY President Trump's "law enforcement" capture of Venezuela's dictator will be regarded a failure if it doesn't mean democracy restoration — which may require more U.S. military force.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth briefed lawmakers Wednesday on a threefold process for Venezuela's future.

Though "jarred" by President Trump's snub of opposition leader María Corina Machado, expats say they accept a transition to democracy in Venezuela will take time — and in the meantime they'll push the regime to accelerate it.