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Venezuela has said it will immediately release an “important number” of political prisoners following the US capture of Nicolás Maduro, in an early sign the government is looking to unwind a decade of harsh repression in the Latin American country.
The move comes as Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former deputy and the country’s interim president, aims to stamp her imprint on the new government and show a willingness to collaborate with the US, especially on opening up the oil sector to American companies.
Her brother Jorge, president of the national assembly, said on Thursday that “to collaborate in the effort we must all make for national unity and peaceful coexistence”, the government “has decided to release an important number of Venezuelan and foreign nationals — immediately”.
Jorge Rodríguez called the move a “unilateral gesture” by Caracas, implying that the decision was made without US influence. He also thanked international mediators including Qatari officials and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who responded to the interim president’s call “to defend our right to a full life, to self-determination, to independence and to peace”.
He also acknowledged the contributions of former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who has been promoting “national coexistence” in Venezuela “for the past 10 years”.
It is yet unclear which political prisoners, some whom have been detained for years, would be released, or how many. High-profile captives include lawyer Rocío San Miguel and Rafael Tudares, son-in-law of the opposition’s candidate in the 2024 election, Edmundo González.
The Spanish foreign ministry said five Spanish nationals were being released, including an individual with dual citizenship.
“Spain, which maintains fraternal relations with the Venezuelan people, welcomes this decision as a positive step in the new phase that Venezuela is entering,” it said in a statement.
The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Before his downfall, Maduro’s regime was characterised by intense repression, with authorities often violently suppressing protests. Scores of opposition figures and critics were harassed, arrested or forced into exile.
Alfredo Romero, president of local rights watchdog Foro Penal, hailed the move as “good news” and that his organisation “already knows of some people who are on their way to freedom, including foreigners”.
Hours before Rodríguez’s announcement, Romero said this was a “timely moment” for the release of 806 political prisoners, including 85 foreign nationals, and the “cessation of the repressive machinery”.
The interim government launched a crackdown on Monday, as Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim president.
Some 14 journalists were detained, and later released, according to rights groups, while government-aligned militias searched the phones of ordinary Venezuelans for evidence of subterfuge or support for the US forces’ arrest of Maduro.
Additional reporting by Barney Jopson in Madrid
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