Caracas, Venezuela – The joy sparked by the news that Venezuela will release a “large number” of prisoners has given way to pain for many of their loved ones. A week later, a small portion of the more than 800 political prisoners believed to be held by the repressive regime have been released, and the future of those released is uncertain.
“We don’t know how many people will be released,” said Maria Constanza Cipriani, whose husband Perkins Rocha has been detained for nearly 19 months. “This blackout makes us victims again.”
Rocha, lawyer for opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, He was arrested After the 2024 elections, he was held incommunicado for a year, according to Cipriani. It is located in the spiral-shaped El Helicoid prison, famous as a torture center. Cipriani said that prison authorities had allowed calls every two or three days in recent months, and described her husband as “calm” and “calm and strong” during their last conversation.
However, they are consumed with anxiety.
“I follow what credible social media accounts post and stick to that — nothing else,” Cipriani said. “Where does this process stand?”
Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez pledged to continue the work Release prisoners During a press conference on Wednesday, he said the government was entering a “new political moment.”
She said that the process of releasing hundreds of detainees “is not over yet.”
The Venezuelan government said so on Monday 166 prisoners They were released, but did not provide a list of names or evidence. The next day, the head of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, Rodriguez’s brother, said that more than 400 people had been released, but that this number included two rounds of releases carried out before the US arrest of Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
Human rights groups question these numbers. 79 says Foro Penal, a leading human rights organization that tracks and defends Venezuelan prisoners He was released as of Wednesday night. It is believed that between 800 and 900 political prisoners were being held in Venezuela at the time of Maduro’s arrest.
The US State Department announced on Tuesday that several Americans who were detained in Venezuela have been released. Many of the detainees hold Spanish nationality They were also left behind Last week.
Diego Casanova, spokesman for the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners, told NBC News that members of the group have gone to prisons across the country awaiting their release. He added that concern increased due to the circulation of unofficial lists of names and names of political prisoners, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
He added: “If only a partial release takes place, it means that the repressive policy continues. All these people will remain unjustly detained, which is why we insisted on the full and immediate release of all political prisoners.”
Casanova said that even after their release, former political prisoners do not enjoy complete freedom. The government does not view them as political prisoners, but instead as “politicians who broke the law and called for invasion,” according to a recent speech by Rodriguez.
For example, they must appear periodically in court to prove their presence in the country and their compliance with orders.
“The judicial process is still open, which is very unfair because the crimes they are accused of are lies,” he said.
The releases come as the interim government intensifies its campaign against citizens, looking for signs of support for Maduro’s arrest. 15 minors and two 18-year-olds were arrested last week in Barcelona, Anzoategui state, under the pretext of celebrating the American operation. Within 48 hours, they appeared in court where the judge ordered them to remain in detention.
The fifteen were released on Tuesday after continued pressure from their parents and neighbors. But the two 18-year-olds remain in custody.
Meanwhile, communications continue between President Donald Trump and the Venezuelan leadership.
Trump spoke with the acting president on Wednesday, and both described the call as positive.
“We just had a great conversation today and she is a wonderful person,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “I think we get along very well with Venezuela.”
Machado met with Trump at the White House on Thursday, after he denied her ability to run the country. “She is a very nice woman, but she is not respected inside the country… I think it will be very difficult for her to be the leader,” Trump said during a press conference on January 3 following the US military operation that captured Maduro.
Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who was recognized by the United States as the winner of last year’s presidential election, also raised concerns about irregularities in the recent prisoner release.
“Our message to the regime, Venezuela and the international community is clear and unambiguous: true democratic transformation is impossible while political prisoners remain behind bars, and Venezuela cannot be truly free as long as anyone faces persecution for their political beliefs.” They said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
They also condemned the death of Edilson Torres on Saturday while in prison where he was being held incommunicado. The family of Torres, a police official, was awaiting his release when he died of a heart attack. He was imprisoned last December for criticizing the government via WhatsApp messages. According to Machado and González Urrutia, this is the eighth death in state custody since the 2024 election.