The Venezuelan authorities They announced this Thursday the release of 88 detained people in demonstrations after the re-election of Nicolás Maduro in the 2024 presidential elections, which the opposition denounced as fraudulent, indicates a statement.
The 2024 presidential election protests that left 28 deaths and 2,400 arrests due to the intensification of police repression after the Venezuelan opposition denounced fraud and ratified the victory of Edmundo González Urrutiacandidate sponsored by the opposition leader María Corina Machado.
The venezuelan justice has released more than 2,000 detainees since then, according to official records.
“There have been 88 new releases in the last few hours, people deprived of liberty for crimes committed in the context of violent actionsfrom extremist sectors after the electoral process of July 28, 2024,” reported the Ministry of the Penitentiary Service.
The text details that the President Nicolás Maduro instructed to evaluate “each situation individually and adopt, in accordance with the law, precautionary measures.”
Hours before, various NGOs had reported on the release of at least 87 people, one less than what the authorities had said, the majority coming from the Tocorón prison, Aragua state (north).
He Committee of Mothers in Defense of the Truth He explained that they do not have full freedoms, because “they continue in court and with precautionary measures.”
The NGO insists that “the country needs a General Amnesty that grants full freedom to all people arbitrarily detained for political reasons.”
These releases coincide with an increase in pressure against the Maduro government by the United Stateswhich since August mobilized troops to Caribbeandetermined an informal closure of Venezuelan airspace and is now seizing sanctioned oil tankers near Venezuela.
“Despite the context of permanent siege against the Nation, the Venezuelan state guarantees dignified treatment, respect for their human rights and comprehensive care to people deprived of liberty,” the ministry statement alleges.
More liberated
On December 25, the release of a group of 99 people was announced, although NGOs such as Foro Penal only managed to verify 61 cases at that time.
It is estimated that there are still more than 700 detainees for political reasons in the country.
Tocorón was an operations center for the Venezuelan gang Tren de Araguawhich was closed in 2023 and reopened in 2024 specifically to house hundreds of detainees in post-election protests.
Foro Penal, an NGO that leads the judicial defense of many of the detainees, highlights that the measure of this January 1 also includes two “political prisoners” from the Rodeo I prison, located in the state of Miranda.
Recent arrests
In recent weeks there has been an increase in arrests for political reasons, which contrasts with recent releases.
He Intelligence Service (Sebin) stopped Jose Elias Torresleader of the main union center in the country, already Nicmer Evansdirector of a news portal. The families of both report their cases as forced disappearances.
They were also arrested Jose Patinesunion leader, and Melquíades Pulidoa member of Machado’s Vente Venezuela party, although both were released shortly after.
A team of UN experts warned in September of a worsening of the persecution for political reasons in recent months in Venezuela.
The Venezuelan opposition maintains that these releases function as a “revolving door” strategy, through which some prisoners leave and others enter. He also considers that the detainees are used for political purposes.
“They are hostages!, people arbitrarily detained, used to send messages, exert pressure, discipline society and then released selectively, without truth or guarantees, when it suits the power,” González Urrutia, who has lived in exile in Spain since 2024, denounced last week.
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