The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to advance a resolution that would restrict President Donald Trump from carrying out further military action in Venezuela without approval from Congress. The move came even as Trump said that U.S. oversight of Venezuela could continue for several years.

The Senate passed the procedural vote by 52 to 47, allowing the war powers resolution to move forward. A small group of Republican senators joined all Democrats in supporting the measure. The resolution aims to limit the president’s authority to take military action without prior congressional authorisation.

Despite the vote, Trump said the United States could oversee Venezuela and manage its oil revenue for a long period. In an interview with The New York Times published on Thursday, Trump suggested that American involvement in the country would not be short-term.

“Only time will tell” how long the United States will oversee Venezuela, Trump said. When asked whether it would last three months, six months, a year or longer, he replied, “I would say much longer.”

Trump also said, “We will rebuild it in a very profitable way,” referring to Venezuela. U.S. troops carried out a night raid on Saturday to seize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump further stated that the United States was “getting along very well” with the government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez. Rodriguez is a long-time Maduro ally and previously served as his vice president.

In the same interview, Trump appeared to step back from earlier threats of military action against Colombia. He invited Colombia’s leftist president, Gustavo Petro, to visit Washington, despite having earlier referred to him as a “sick man.”

On Thursday, Venezuela’s top lawmaker, Jorge Rodriguez, announced that a significant number of foreign and Venezuelan prisoners would be released during the day. He said the move was a gesture of peace.

Rodriguez said the releases were unilateral and were not agreed upon with any other party. The release of political prisoners has been a long-standing demand of Venezuela’s opposition. These demands intensified after the U.S. captured Maduro.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s movement, along with other opposition figures and human rights groups, has repeatedly called for the release of political prisoners.

According to local rights group Foro Penal, there are currently 863 political prisoners in Venezuela. This number includes political leaders, human rights activists, protesters arrested after the disputed 2024 election, and journalists.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment regarding the planned prisoner releases.

Trump told Fox News Channel’s Hannity on Thursday that he plans to meet Machado when she visits Washington next week.

The New York Times reported that Trump declined to explain why he did not transfer power in Venezuela to the opposition, which the United States had earlier considered the legitimate winner of the 2024 election.

The Senate resolution still faces major hurdles before becoming law. It must pass the House of Representatives, which is controlled by Republicans loyal to Trump.

Even if both chambers approve the resolution, they would need a two-thirds majority to override a likely veto by Trump.

Still, Thursday’s vote marked a rare moment of resistance by congressional Republicans against the Trump administration.

Reacting to the vote, Trump criticised the senators who supported the resolution. In a social media post, he said, “Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America.”

Trump also addressed relations with Colombia in a social media post. He said, “It was a great honour to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had. I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future.”

Petro described the call as cordial and said it was his first conversation with Trump.

On Tuesday, Trump announced a plan to refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil that had been blocked under U.S. sanctions.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves. However, years of economic decline have forced nearly 8 million people to flee the country, creating one of the largest migration crises globally.

The U.S. government and Venezuelan opposition have blamed corruption, poor management, and repression by the ruling Socialist Party for the crisis. Maduro, however, has blamed U.S. sanctions for the economic damage.

Trump is scheduled to meet with executives from major oil companies at the White House on Friday to discuss ways to increase oil production in Venezuela.

Representatives from Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron are expected to attend, according to a source familiar with the planning.

Trump told Fox News that oil companies would invest at least $100 billion in Venezuela. The companies, all of which have prior experience operating in Venezuela, declined to comment.