Venezuela claims it is releasing a significant number of detainees to 'solidify peace'.
Five days after the US detained Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela has announced it is releasing an 'important number' of detainees, characterized by the congressional president as a gesture to 'solidify peace'.
The exact number of people being freed remains unclear. Human rights organizations estimate that Venezuela holds between 800 and 1,000 political prisoners, most detained for participating in protests following the 2024 election, widely believed to have been stolen by Maduro.
Jorge Rodríguez, the head of Venezuela's national assembly and the brother of acting president Delcy Rodríguez, stated the move was a 'unilateral gesture to reaffirm our unbreakable decision to solidify peace in the republic and peaceful coexistence among all'.
María Corina Machado, Venezuela's opposition leader, praised the move, saying it showed that 'injustice' would not prevail in the country. She added, 'This is an important day because it shows what we have always known: that injustice will not last forever and that truth, although it be wounded, ends up finding its way.'
Spain's foreign ministry confirmed the release of five Spanish nationals, including one with dual nationality, who were 'preparing to travel to Spain with assistance from our embassy in Caracas'. The ministry stated that Spain, maintaining fraternal relations with the Venezuelan people, views this decision as a positive step in Venezuela's new phase.
Spain's foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, identified the dual national as Rocío San Miguel, a Spanish-Venezuelan lawyer, activist, and human rights defender detained in February 2024 and accused by the regime of treason, conspiracy, and terrorism in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate Maduro.
Before Venezuela's announcement, estimates suggested over 40 foreign nationals were detained, including about 20 Spaniards and five US citizens. Among them was James Luckey-Lange, 28, who disappeared in December and was held at the military counterintelligence headquarters in Caracas.
Donald Trump stated that Venezuela had a 'torture chamber in the middle of Caracas that they're closing up', without providing details. Speculation has centered on the Helicoide de la Roca Tarpeya, an iconic structure inaugurated in 1956 as an avant-garde shopping center and later turned into a prison and torture site under Chavismo.
Martha Tineo, the general coordinator of the NGO Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón (Justice, Encounter and Forgiveness, or JEP), confirmed that some sections of El Helicoide are being vacated. However, she noted that the Helicoide complex is vast and houses not only the prison but also administrative offices of the Bolivarian National Police, which are being cleared.
JEP estimated 1,017 political prisoners before Rodríguez's announcement. By 10:30 p.m. UK time on Thursday, the organization had confirmed only 'around eight or perhaps 10 political prisoners' but chose not to disclose names to avoid raising anxiety among families waiting for news of their loved ones.
Activists approach the announcement of the detainees' release with caution. In the days leading up to the US operation, the regime claimed it would release 187 people, but organizations could only independently verify a portion of that total.
Alfredo Romero, the head of Foro Penal, an NGO estimating 806 political prisoners in Venezuela, confirmed only five releases by early evening. He expressed the expectation of freedom for all political prisoners, not partial and conditional gestures, referring to the conditional liberty granted to many in recent months, subject to travel bans, mandatory court appearances, and restrictions on media communication.
At a press conference, Jorge Rodríguez stated that the public would learn 'the nature of the people who are receiving the benefit of release' within minutes, but this information was not provided hours later. He added that the Bolivarian government, along with state institutions, has decided to free an important number of Venezuelan and foreign individuals, and these release processes are underway.
