Caracas announced on Thursday the release of a “large number” of prisoners, including foreign nationals, in what appears to be a concession to the United States following the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces during a special operation.
This is the first decision on prisoner releases since former Maduro deputy Delcy Rodríguez was approved as Venezuela’s interim leader. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to allow Rodríguez to govern the country if Caracas cooperates with Washington and grants access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
The announcement was made by Venezuelan parliamentary speaker Jorge Rodríguez, the brother of the country’s acting president. According to him, “a significant number of Venezuelan citizens and foreign nationals are being released immediately for the sake of peaceful coexistence.” Rodríguez did not specify which prisoners would be freed or their exact number.
The Venezuelan human rights organization Foro Penal reports that 806 political prisoners remain behind bars. The group welcomed Rodríguez’s statement as “good news,” but said it is still verifying the information, Reuters reports.
Spain’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Venezuela had released five Spanish citizens as part of the large-scale prisoner release, one of whom holds dual citizenship.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump told Republican lawmakers that the Rodríguez administration was shutting down a torture chamber “in central Caracas,” but provided no further details.
