Venezuela on Thursday began releasing a "large number" of political prisoners, including several foreigners, in an apparent concession to the United States after its ouster of ruler Nicolas Maduro.

The releases are the first since Maduro's former deputy Delcy Rodriguez took over, with the backing of President Donald Trump, who says he is content to let her govern as long as she gives Washington access to oil.

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.

The releases were announced by Rodriguez's brother, parliament speaker Jorge Rodriguez, a key figure in "chavismo," the anti-US socialist movement founded by Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez.

He 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.

Renowned Spanish-Venezuelan activist Rocio San Miguel, imprisoned since February 2024 over a purported plot to assassinate Maduro, was among five Spanish citizens freed, according to Spain's foreign ministry.

Security was stepped up Thursday afternoon outside the El Helicoide detention centre in Caracas, as families gathered outside on Thursday for news of their loved ones.

"I'm nervous. Please God may it be reality," the mother of a detained activist from the party of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told AFP.

On Tuesday, Trump had told Republican lawmakers that Rodriguez's administration was closing a torture chamber "in the middle of Caracas" but gave no further details.

His remarks had sparked speculation that Venezuelan authorities had agreed to close El Helicoide.

As tensions with Washington climaxed in the past month Venezuela had already released dozens of dissenters in two phases.

Thursday's move by Caracas came as Trump suggested the United States could run Venezuela and tap into its oil reserves for years.

Shortly after Maduro's seizure in US airstrikes and a special forces raid that left 100 people dead, according to Caracas, Trump announced that the US would "run" the Caribbean country for a transitional period.

"Only time will tell" how long Washington will demand direct oversight of the country, he told The New York Times in an interview published Thursday.

When asked whether that meant three months, six months or a year, he replied: "I would say much longer." (AFP)