Venezuela freed 131 people considered political prisoners on Friday, marking the latest batch of releases under a reconciliation program launched after former President Nicolas Maduro was removed by US forces in January.
The detainees were granted “alternative measures from incarceration” under the country’s Program for Peace and Democratic Coexistence, the interim government announced. The releases took place across multiple detention facilities, with families gathering outside prisons in Guatire, Miranda state, and other locations to welcome their relatives home.
Post-Maduro Dialogue Yields Results
The releases followed the first cycle of dialogue promoted by Venezuela’s interim government under President Delcy Rodriguez, who succeeded Maduro after US forces captured and transported him to New York to face federal drug-trafficking charges. The freed prisoners include individuals who had been detained for years on charges that human rights organizations long classified as politically motivated.
Among those released were women held at the La Crisalida detention centre in Los Teques, where rights groups documented cases of torture and abuse during detention. One woman, who was four months pregnant at the time of her arrest alongside her partner, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Human rights organizations reported that she suffered a miscarriage and partial paralysis as a result of torture during her incarceration.
Thousands Still Detained
Despite the releases, significant concerns remain. The Penal Forum, Venezuela’s leading human rights organization, has verified only a fraction of the releases that the government claims. While officials say more than 8,600 individuals have benefited from the amnesty law since January, the organization has confirmed just 768 real releases and estimates that between 454 and 477 political prisoners remain behind bars.
“The discrepancy between official figures and verified numbers is staggering,” the organization noted, adding that many of those freed in recent months have not had their charges formally dropped, leaving them in legal limbo and barred from speaking publicly about their detention.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the latest releases as a “crucial step” in the transition process. The US has repeatedly called for the release of all political prisoners in Venezuela as a condition for normalizing relations with the interim government. The releases are being closely watched as a barometer of the sincerity of the post-Maduro government’s commitment to democratic reform.
Sources: AFP; Al Jazeera; The Washington Post; Penal Forum
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