Venezuelan Government: 1,046 political prisoners released
Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, announced on Saturday that the number of released political prisoners had reached 1,046, a figure that contradicts those provided by human rights organizations.
The government had announced on Friday the release of 131 political prisoners, following a general pardon issued in January and an agreement reached with the opposition.
Rodriguez wrote on the X platform, “Venezuela reaffirms its commitment to national reconciliation. 1,046 citizens who were deprived of their freedom have returned home under agreements reached among Venezuelans.”
For its part, the human rights organization Foro Penal stated on Saturday that it had verified the release of 72 out of the 131 prisoners announced for release on Friday.
This step comes just days after a political dialogue convened between some opposition parties and the ruling party, under U.S. sponsorship, to discuss the transitional phase.
Since Delcy Rodriguez assumed power following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro in January, the pace of releasing political prisoners has been slow.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the release of more than 130 political prisoners in Venezuela constitutes “a fundamental step in the national reconciliation process.”
Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado thanked U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, saying, “By bringing Maduro to justice, they paved the way for the release of all political prisoners and also for the freedom of all Venezuelans.”
Edmundo González, whom Machado considers the winner of the 2024 presidential election, called for the release of political prisoners still behind bars and demanded accountability for those responsible for the arrests.
He wrote on the X platform, “Those who regained their freedom yesterday should not have been imprisoned in the first place.”
According to Foro Penal, the number of political prisoners in Venezuela stood at 391 as of last Monday, prior to the releases that took place on Friday.
