Venezuelan government releasing ‘important group’ of political prisoners
The interim government of Venezuela is releasing “an important group” of Venezuelan and foreign political prisoners to guarantee unity and peace, according to Jorge Rodríguez, the president of the parliament and brother of the new president in charge of the South American country.
Rodríguez, who also represented now-deposed Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro for years in political negotiations with the opposition and the United States, indicated Thursday that the government of his sister, Delcy Rodríguez, was working together with the rest of the state institutions to carry out what he defined as “a unilateral gesture” from the executive branch.
The measure comes three days after the swearing-in of Delcy Rodríguez, former vice president of Maduro’s government, following the armed Saturday morning incursion of U.S. military forces in Caracas that culminated in the capture of the socialist ruler and his wife Cilia Flores.
Jorge Rodríguez, recently ratified as leader of the national parliament, avoided referring to those being freed as political prisoners and said that the releases were taking place simultaneously to his announcement, made at noon on Thursday.
Rodríguez told the media that “in the next few minutes,” the identities of the people who benefited from the releases would be known. His announcement comes after unofficial versions about the release of political prisoners and the eviction of furniture and other items from the political prison in Caracas known as El Helicoide.
“To contribute and collaborate in the effort of all for national unity and peaceful coexistence, the Bolivarian government, together with the institutions of the State, has decided to release a significant number of Venezuelans and foreigners,” said Rodríguez, at the headquarters of the legislative branch, together with fellow deputies.
Rodríguez thanked, at times with a broken voice, the mediation of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, the government of Qatar, the former president of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and the institutions of the Venezuelan state that responded “in a prompt manner” to the order of his sister, the interim president.
“Consider this gesture of the government of broad intention in search of peace as the contribution that we must all make to ensure that our republic continues its peaceful life and in search of prosperity,” he added.
Regarding the economic agreements between the United States and Venezuela, including the sale of crude oil from the South American country announced by President Donald Trump, Rodríguez insisted that it is only a “commercial transaction” between two countries who have had ties for “many years.”
Rodríguez also said the ruling government is not talking with “extremist groups,” without specifying who he was referring to. There have been reports from citizens and journalists about the actions of paramilitary groups close to the Venezuelan government, better known as colectivos, this week.
“They are the negation of politics. We are talking to the institutions, agencies and political organizations that have attended to what is established in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” Rodríguez said.
Journalists, civic groups watching
According to the civil association Foro Penal, at the time of the announcement there were just over 860 political detainees in Venezuela.
“We will be verifying each release,” the organization’s director said just minutes after Rodríguez spoke. “We already know of some people on the way to freedom, including foreigners.”
Provea, one of the oldest civil organizations defending human rights in Venezuela, indicated a few hours before Rodríguez’s announcement that El Helicoide, El Rodeo, Las Crisálidas and Tocorón are some of the prisons in the country where detainees have been subjected to “torture” and “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.”
“The closure of a detention center is not enough to provide a ‘sense’ of justice,” the group said Thursday. “It is necessary to fully release all those deprived of liberty for political reasons and punish those responsible for these abuses, guaranteeing effective mechanisms of accountability and non-repetition.”
Civil organizations in Venezuela immediately posted pamphlets on social networks with the slogan “let them all go, free them all,” demanding that their political prisoners’ freedoms also be full and unconditional.
It is unclear how many foreigners are being held in Venezuelan prisons. In September last year, the Argentine expert of the United Nations Independent Mission to Verify Facts in Venezuela, Patricia Tappatá, said the agency had investigated the detention in the last year of between 120 and 150 foreigners.
The government of Nicolás Maduro denounced alleged conspiracies against it with the participation of foreign civilians and soldiers. Governments such as those of Spain and Italy demanded in vain the release of several of its nationals.
The United States maintains an active alert on Americans not to travel to Venezuela and to leave it as soon as possible if they are in the territory. According to the U.S. State Department, the situation in the country is “unstable”, the U.S. has no diplomatic representation on the ground and U.S. citizens in the country risk arrest and torture.
According to Venezuelan journalist and former political prisoner Luis Carlos Díaz, detainees of at least 25 nationalities are imprisoned in some 90 jails.
Skeptical of Rodriguez’s announcement, Díaz called on the public in a posting on X to prepare because “we will continue to protest, demand and document abuses.”
“We want you all free, without conditions, without subjecting you to precautionary measures, without threats so that you do not testify or demand justice.”
This is a breaking news story and may be updated.
This story was originally published January 8, 2026 at 12:44 PM.