The interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, called on Saturday to “reach agreements” with the opposition to achieve “peace” in the country, after the military incursion of USA who deposed President Nicolás Maduro.
Formerly Maduro’s vice president, Rodríguez assumed duties temporarily after the leftist was captured on January 3 in a military attack that left nearly a hundred dead.
The representative marked a turn in the battered relationship between Caracas and Washington, while pledging to release a “significant number” of political prisoners.
“There can be no political or partisan differences when it comes to peace in Venezuela”Rodríguez told state television from the coastal state of La Guaira. VTVreviewed by AFP.
“From the differences we have to speak to each other with respect. From the differences we have to meet and reach agreements,” he added.
“A nationalized political dialogue”
The day before, the president asked the head of Parliament, her brother Jorge Rodríguez, for a meeting with the different political sectors in the country with “concrete, immediate results.”
“Let it be a Venezuelan political dialogue where external orders are no longer imposed, neither from Washington nor from Bogotá or Madrid, a nationalized political dialogue (…) that it be for the common good of Venezuela,” he said on Friday.
His government claims to have carried out a total of 626 releases since December, although the figure contrasts with reports from NGOs. Foro Penal, defender of those detained for political reasons, counts 269 in the same period.
More than 700 people remain detained for political reasons, according to that organization.
The relatives, meanwhile, denounce a gradual process since January 8, chen a “significant number” of releases were officially announced.
Venezuela has experienced years of tight state control. Spontaneous protests against Maduro’s disputed re-election in 2024 ended in repression and the arrest of more than 2,000 people in 48 hours.
In addition, a state of commotion prevails that punishes anyone who supports the American attack with imprisonment.
