From a vigil set up around the El Rodeo I penitentiary center, Margareth Baduel — who is the sister of political prisoner Josnars Baduel — stated that the count released by the government does not correspond to the situation seen by the families stationed in front of the prisons.
Human rights defender Margareth Baduel rejected in the early hours of this Saturday the official figures that ensure the release of 626 political prisoners in Venezuela, and assured that the reality in the detention centers is different.
From a vigil set up around the El Rodeo I penitentiary center, Baduel — who is the sister of political prisoner Josnars Baduel — stated that the count released by the government does not correspond to the situation seen by the families stationed in front of the prisons.
⚠️ #NOW | In the early morning of this #24Janhuman rights defender Margareth Baduel questioned the official figures that affirm the release of 626 political prisoners.
From the vigil in El Rodeo I, the sister of political prisoner Josnars Baduel, also denounced that said announcement was not… pic.twitter.com/13GxYEf4pu
— Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners. (@clippve) January 24, 2026
“The official announcement is not reflected in reality. The releases have not occurred as reported,” Baduel said in his statements in the early hours of January 24 from El Rodeo, where family and friends have spent days demanding information and answers.
The figures presented by the authorities on the release of 626 detainees for political reasons have been questioned by independent organizations. According to reports from human rights groups, such as Foro Penal, the freedoms confirmed since the beginning of January are significantly fewer, which opens a marked contrast with the official numbers.
Baduel assured that the relatives will remain “firm in prayer and demand” until the full freedom of all political prisoners in Venezuela is achieved, and rejected that inflated figures hide the real situation of dozens of people still behind bars.
This statement occurs in the midst of a release process announced by the government, in which the releases of political figures and activists have also been recorded, although civil organizations maintain that the number of political prisoners is still high and that transparency in the process is insufficient.
Relatives of detainees have documented cases that do not yet appear in the official lists and denounce that the opacity in the records makes it difficult to monitor those who continue to be deprived of liberty for political reasons. The demand for justice and sufficient releases continues to be a constant in the country’s penitentiary centers.
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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