The Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), Venezuela’s main opposition coalition, reported this Monday that has confirmed the release of 65 political prisoners. This figure arises after the announcement of the Ministry of Penitentiary Service on the release of 116 people.
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“They have to accelerate the release processes so that the suffering of political prisoners and their families finally ends,” he said. the platformadding that it will maintain its monitoring “until the freedom of all political prisoners is achieved”.
Among the names published on the PUD list are the five Spanish citizens, the former presidential candidate Enrique Márquez, the leader Biagio Pilieri, the former deputy Marco Bozo and the nurse Yanny González Terán. The release of the Italian aid worker Alberto Trentini and the Italian businessman Mario Burlò was also confirmed. those who remained imprisoned in Caracas since the end of 2024.
The official announcement, made by the Ministry of the Penitentiary Service in a statement, spoke of 116 “new releases” in the last hoursreferring to people linked to “facts associated with altering the constitutional order and attacking the stability of the nation.”
This statement comes days after Jorge Rodríguez, head of Parliament and brother of the acting president, announced on Thursday the release of a “significant number” of people. So far, the government has not made public the total number, names or specific conditions of these releases.
Human rights organizations have offered figures that do not entirely coincide: the Penal Forum confirms 40 releases, while Justice, Encounter and Forgiveness (JEP) reports 67. In parallel, since Thursday, Relatives of political prisoners have camped in front of penitentiary centers such as El Rodeo I, awaiting the release of their loved ones.
