At least 80 political prisoners are released in Venezuela, says NGO

At least 80 political prisoners were released this Sunday (25) in Venezuela, where a process to release detainees is progressing slowly under pressure from Washington, the NGO Foro Penal reported. The government of Delcy Rodríguez, which took power after Maduro’s capture in a US military operation on January 3, has promised an “important number” of releases. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp The opposition and human rights NGOs denounce, however, the slowness of the process. Family members wait outside prisons and spend the night in the open in the hope of seeing their loved ones leave their cells. “At least 80 political prisoners that we are checking were released today across the country. More releases are likely to occur,” wrote the director of Foro Penal, Alfredo Romero, on the social network “This number is not yet definitive and could increase as we carry out more checks,” he added in X. Releases under question The Venezuelan government has recorded 626 releases since December, a number that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights will ask to verify, Rodríguez said on Friday. The official total contrasts with reports from NGOs. Foro Penal accounts for around half in the same period. Rodríguez, who governs temporarily, promoted a sudden change in the frayed relationship between Caracas and Washington. On Saturday, the interim president called on the opposition to “reach agreements” to achieve “peace” in the country, which the US says it controls after the military incursion that deposed Maduro. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are being prosecuted in New York for drug trafficking. Venezuela has experienced years of strict state control. Spontaneous protests against Maduro’s contested re-election in 2024 ended in repression and the arrest of more than 2,000 people in 48 hours. Furthermore, a state of commotion is in force that punishes anyone who supports the American attack with imprisonment. Vigil of family members of political prisoners in Venezuela in front of the El Elicoide prison, in Caracas, Venezuela awaiting the release of their relatives on January 11, 2026. Reproduction/Realidad Helicoide no

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