The Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), which brings together the majority opposition in Venezuela, urged the government this Saturday to publish a “detailed list” of the releases of political prisoners in recent weeks. This after the president in charge, Delcy Rodríguez, estimated the number of people who have been released at 626.
In a statement published in X, the opposition coalition indicated that They have only confirmed “rigorously” the release of 173 people. While, he added, “more than 939 political prisoners remain behind bars.”
“The vast majority of these releases do not constitute full freedoms, but rather are burdensome precautionary measures,” explained the political group.
What is the list of releases in 2026?
Likewise, the PUD released its list of verified releases and reported that it will be sent, along with its registry of political prisoners in the country, to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, with whom the president in charge assured that she will speak to request that he verify the releases.
Likewise, he demanded the dismissal of what he described as “perverse mechanism of dropper releases”. And he called for the “massive and unconditional” release of all political prisoners.
This Friday, when leading the installation of the Program for Coexistence and Peace at the Miraflores Palace (headquarters of the Executive), the president in charge stated that 626 people have been released from prison in the country. In addition, he said that on Monday he will speak by telephone with the high commissioner to verify, through his office, the lists of those released.
The president of Parliament and the brother of the president in charge, the Chavista Jorge Rodríguez, announced on January 8 the release of “a significant number” of people. Although without detailing identities, the conditions of the measures or the total number of beneficiaries.
Days later he made the lists of those released available, but to date they have not been released.
After the announcement, dozens of relatives have gathered outside detention centers to request information about their loved ones and demand their freedom. While NGOs have denounced delays and opacity in the process.
This Friday, the NGO Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) revealed that the authorities have released people whose cases “were not public.”
