The Senate, with a Republican majority, approves the resolution to prevent Donald Trump from taking further military actions against Venezuela without the authorization of Congress advances in the Senate. With 52 votes in favor and 47 against, the senators dealt a blow to the president. Five Republicans voted along with Democrats to limit Trump. The measure now goes to the House, where the road appears more uphill.
If the resolution on war powers in Venezuela is approved, Donald Trump will veto it. This was stated by the White House, according to what the Bloomberg agency reports.
Meanwhile, the president of the Venezuelan Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, announced today the “release of a significant number of Venezuelan and foreign prisoners”. Rodríguez said that the decision was taken in a “unilateral” way by the Caracas government with the aim of “fostering and achieving peace”. Among them also Alberto Trentini, an Italian aid worker detained in Venezuela for over 400 days.
The shaky Venezuelan regime thus sends a signal of openness to the United States and the rest of the world in the hope of gaining legitimacy: the release of “a significant number” of political prisoners, including foreign citizens. An announcement that immediately rekindled hopes in Italy for the fate of Trentini, but also for that of the other over 25 compatriots imprisoned in the South American country.
Especially since news has already arrived on the release of some European citizens: five Spaniards, as confirmed by the Madrid government. “In order to promote peaceful coexistence, the Bolivarian government and state institutions have decided to release a significant number of Venezuelan and foreign citizens, and this process is ongoing,” announced the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodriguez, brother of interim leader Delcy Rodriguez. In a delicate phase for Chavismo, between anti-Western regurgitations and attempts to find a dialogue with the Americans to overcome Nicolas Maduro’s abrupt exit from the scene without trauma, maintaining continuity in the management of the country. Between December and early January, the Caracas authorities had already released around 200 people arrested during the protests for Maduro’s re-election, but in this case it is the first release of political prisoners decided by the new government since the American blitz against the regime leader.
The first European government to express itself after the Caracas announcement was the Spanish one: Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares began to confirm, albeit “with great caution”, that there would be “compatriots freed by the Venezuelan authorities”. Then the official note from his ministry arrived quickly: «The Spanish government welcomes the release which took place today in Caracas of five Spaniards, one of whom has dual citizenship, who are preparing to leave». According to public TV TVE, two of them had been accused of being Spanish intelligence agents and of being part of a conspiracy to kill Maduro organized by the CIA. In Rome the spotlight has turned especially on Trentini, the Venetian aid worker arrested on 15 November 2024 in the State of Apure, without formal charges, while working for the NGO Humanity and Inclusion, and then locked up in the maximum security prison El Rodeo in the capital.
In these over 400 days of detention, the Italian authorities at all levels, government, diplomacy and intelligence, worked secretly to bring him home, in extremely difficult conditions, having to deal with a regime that Rome does not recognize as legitimate and which exploits the so-called hostage diplomacy to obtain compensation. In this match there was frequent interlocution with the American government: several telephone calls between the minister Antonio Tajani and his colleague Marco Rubio, with Washington guaranteeing its full commitment. A possible turning point in this dossier began to be discussed after Maduro’s exit. Tajani himself estimated that the new president Delcy Rodriguez could be “more flexible than in the past” and also make a positive gesture towards police detainees”. And in fact some signals have started to arrive from Caracas: the opposition’s appeal (with Corina Machado in the lead) for a general amnesty for all political prisoners was shared by some parts of the regime.
The other Italian prisoners in Venezuela
Thus, the wait for the release of Italian and Italian Venezuelan citizens detained in Venezuela is growing because, in addition to Alberto Trentini, there would be a total of 27 other compatriots involved for reasons related to politics, professional activity or the expression of opinions considered inconvenient to Maduro’s government.
Among the best-known cases are Daniel Enrique Echenagucia, an entrepreneur from Avellino, arrested with his family on 2 August 2024. Once his family was released, he disappeared for weeks. After his forced disappearance, he is now detained in El Rodeo I, almost in a state of total isolation. Mario Burlò, a Turin entrepreneur, has also been in prison for over a year and was held without clear reasons according to his family. Burlò would have left in 2024 to go to Venezuela to explore new business opportunities, but he never returned. “I haven’t seen him since November 2024. He told me he was leaving for Venezuela,” his daughter said in an interview with Corriere della Sera in Turin, stating that she only heard from him “last October, after eleven months without any contact”. The family spoke of a “very short” call. «We didn’t say much to each other. Obviously the conversation was controlled. I’m sure of it, because I heard a voice in the background saying in Spanish: «Tres minutis, dos minutis, un minuti màs…». We talked a bit about our things and how much we missed each other”, the words reported by Corsera. But the list doesn’t stop at Burlò.
In fact, there are many Italians who find themselves in the infamous El Helicoide, a prison facility in Caracas, sadly known for its isolation and harsh interrogations. Among them is Biagio Pilieri, an Italian-Venezuelan journalist and politician, arrested on August 28, 2024 for his support for the opposition. To him are added other names, such as those of Luigi Gasperin, Gerardo Coticchia Guerra, Juan Carlos Marruffo Capozzi, Perkins Rocha and Hugo Marino, the latter who passed away in 2019. They too are included in the list of Italian citizens detained for political reasons. Their stories highlight long weeks of isolation and uncertainty, difficulties communicating with families and serious health risks. In the past, Amerigo De Grazia, a Calabrian and opponent of President Maduro, had also been held for over a year before being released in August 2025. The announcement from Caracas has therefore sparked hope. The prospect of a release or safe return to his homeland is now at the center of diplomatic monitoring and international initiatives.