At least 80 political prisoners were released on Sunday in Venezuela, where a detainee release process It is advancing slowly under pressure from Washington after the fall of Nicolás Maduro, reported the NGO Foro Penal.
The government of Delcy Rodríguez, who took power after Maduro’s capture in a US military operation on January 3, promised a “significant number” of releases.
The opposition and human rights NGOs denounce, however, the slowness of the process. Relatives wait outside the prisons and spend the night outdoors. Although with the hope of seeing their loved ones come out of the dungeons.
“At least 80 political prisoners that we are verifying have been released today throughout the country. More releases will probably occur,” wrote the director of Foro Penal, Alfredo Romero, on the social network X.
New releases of political prisoners occurred since early Sunday morning #25
Lawyer Gonzalo Himiob, also from Foro Penal, stated that the releases occurred during the early hours of the morning. “This number is not yet final and may increase as we do more verifications”added in X.
The Venezuelan government counts 626 releases since Decembera figure that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will ask to verify, Rodríguez said on Friday.
The official total contrasts with NGO reports. Foro Penal accounts for close to half since the same period.
Rodríguez, who governs temporarily, turned a corner in the battered relationship between Caracas and Washington.
On Saturday, the interim president called for “reaching agreements” with the opposition to achieve “peace” in the country, which the United States claims to control after the military incursion that deposed Maduro.
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores face trial in New York for drug trafficking.
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.
