Venezuela freed 131 people considered to be political prisoners on Friday, marking the latest step in the country’s ongoing transition following the removal of former President Nicolas Maduro by US forces in early January.
The 131 detainees had been granted “alternative measures from incarceration” under the government’s Program for Peace and Democratic Coexistence, the country’s interim government announced. Outside the El Rodeo I prison in Guatire, 50 kilometers east of Caracas, AFP reporters witnessed tearful reunions between former prisoners and their families.
US Hails Release as Reconciliation Milestone
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the release “a crucial step for the nation’s reconciliation process,” noting that since January 3, a total of 1,046 Venezuelans have been freed from detention. The Foro Penal rights group, which advocates for the release of political prisoners, confirmed that at least 40 of those released had been verified, including six women.
Among those freed was Emirlendris Benitez, who had been sentenced to 30 years in prison alongside her partner Yolmer Escalona following a 2018 drone attack on Maduro during a military parade. Human rights groups said Benitez was tortured during detention, leading to a miscarriage and partial paralysis.
Ongoing Transition Talks
The release came one day after opposition figure Dinorah Figuera pledged to fight for the release of remaining political prisoners in talks she is leading with the interim government. The first round of US-brokered talks concluded on Wednesday, with both sides agreeing to work on retrieving frozen overseas funds to aid recovery from devastating June earthquakes that killed over 6,300 people.
Foro Penal reported that as of Monday, 391 political prisoners remained behind bars. Figuera stated on X that “not everyone has been released, and they all deserve full freedom,” urging continued demands “until every citizen is reunited with their family.”
Maduro, who led Venezuela from 2013 with an increasingly authoritarian rule, was widely accused of arresting political opponents on fabricated charges. In the weeks after his capture, interim President Delcy Rodriguez’s government allowed hundreds of prisoners to be freed and pushed through a historic amnesty law in February.
Notably absent from the reconciliation talks is exiled opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, who has said she will not stand in the way of the process. Many Venezuelans remain hopeful the transition will lead to democratic elections, after Maduro’s contested 2018 and 2024 victories were rejected by the opposition and foreign governments.
Sources: AFP via France24; Al Jazeera; Foro Penal; Reuters
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