Only a handful of political prisoners freed so far in Venezuela. A look at who they are
The Venezuelan socialist regime had been slow as of Friday morning to release what it called a “significant number” of political detainees in an announcement Thursday, a move tied to a U.S.-backed plan unveiled this week by the Trump administration to stabilize Venezuela and push the country toward a democratic transition.
So far, fewer than a dozen political prisoners — about half of them foreign nationals — have been released, according to human rights groups. The releases mark the first such action by regime leader Delcy Rodríguez since she assumed the role of interim president following the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined a three-point plan aimed at stabilizing Venezuela. Its final component included a commitment by Caracas authorities to begin releasing a significant number of detainees, both Venezuelan and foreign.
Venezuela’s leading human-rights group, Foro Penal, estimates that more than 800 people remain imprisoned for political reasons, including at least 175 members of the military.
Below is a list of the prisoners whose release has been confirmed so far:
Rocío San Miguel
One of Venezuela’s most prominent human-rights defenders and a leading expert on civil-military relations, San Miguel is the founder and president of Control Ciudadano, a Caracas-based organization that for more than two decades has monitored the armed forces, military spending and border security.
A lawyer by training, she was detained in February 2024 at Caracas’ international airport and later charged with treason and terrorism-related offenses. Her arrest triggered international condemnation from the United Nations, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and multiple governments, which described her detention as emblematic of the criminalization of dissent in Venezuela.
Through reports, media commentary and court filings, San Miguel became a leading independent voice on issues the Venezuelan state traditionally treats as taboo, including military corruption and the erosion of civilian oversight, making her both a frequent international source and a target of sustained harassment by the regime.
Biagio Pilieri
A veteran Venezuelan opposition figure, Pilieri had spent more than 16 months in detention before his release. He is the national coordinator of Convergencia, an opposition political party, and a former deputy in Venezuela’s National Assembly, where he represented the western state of Yaracuy from 2011-21. He is also a journalist and businessman with decades of involvement in anti-government politics.
He was arrested on Aug. 28, 2024, shortly after attending a rally in Caracas in support of opposition leader María Corina Machado. Authorities accused him of security-related offenses that human rights groups and opposition leaders denounced as politically motivated. Pilieri was held at El Helicoide, the headquarters of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service, a detention center long criticized by international organizations for allegations of torture and abuse.
During Venezuela’s disputed 2024 presidential election, Pilieri played a central role in the opposition campaign, backing candidate Edmundo González and helping coordinate political strategy . Born in 1965, Pilieri holds Italian-Venezuelan citizenship and is the son of Sicilian immigrants. Earlier in his career, he served as mayor of the Bruzual municipality from 2000-04. His release has been welcomed by opposition allies, who continue to press for the freedom of remaining political detainees.
Enrique Márquez
A former opposition presidential candidate, Márquez is an academic and engineer whose career has spanned electoral politics, legislative leadership and election oversight.
He served multiple terms as a deputy in the National Assembly and was First Vice President of the legislature between 2016-17, during a period of intense confrontation between the opposition-controlled parliament and Nicolás Maduro’s government.
In 2024, Márquez ran for president as the candidate of the Centrados party and later became a leading critic of the official election results, calling for the release of detailed voting records. He was arrested in January 2025 on accusations of involvement in an alleged coup attempt. Human rights groups denounced his detention as arbitrary. He had been imprisoned at El Helicoide.
Luis Alfredo Alvarado
A political activist with María Corina Machado’s Vente Venezuela party, Alvarado was arrested on July 27, 2024, in the Dolores parish of Barinas state, one day before presidential elections the opposition says it won by a wide margin.
Officials from the Bolivarian National Police, the military intelligence agency DGCIM and the National Guard detained him at his home. His arrest was widely characterized by opposition leaders and civil society groups as arbitrary. Authorities later linked him to “Operation White Bracelet,” an alleged conspiracy denounced by Attorney General Tarek William Saab as an effort by “Nazi fascist” groups to plunge the country into violence.
Franklin Alvarado
Attorney General Tarek William Saab accused Alvarado of belonging to criminal groups allegedly linked to the opposition and charged him with crimes including conspiracy, treason, disclosure of military secrets and illicit arms trafficking.
According to Saab, Alvarado was part of a civilian group involved in conspiratorial plans since late 2023. He was arrested in May 2024 and publicly named by the attorney general during press conferences denouncing alleged plots against Maduro.
Larry Osorio Chía
A second-rank sergeant major in the Venezuelan Army and father of six, Osorio Chía was arrested on Aug. 6, 2021. He was later charged with terrorism, treason and incitement to hatred.
His case was linked to proceedings against the civil association FundaRedes, though relatives and human-rights groups believe the real target was his brother, who had deserted the armed forces two years earlier. Foro Penal reported that Osorio Chía had been held at El Helicoide, where his health deteriorated severely, including a bout of chronic gastritis caused by an ulcer.
José María Basoa
A Spanish citizen, Basoa was arrested in September 2024 in Puerto Ayacucho, Amazonas state, accused of participating in a plot to carry out “terrorist acts” against Maduro. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello alleged Basoa was an undercover agent of Spain’s National Intelligence Center tasked with inserting mercenaries into Venezuela.
Spain repeatedly denied the accusations. Foro Penal said Basoa and another Spaniard arrested with him were tourists. Before their arrests, both had been last seen in Inírida, Colombia, before entering Venezuelan territory.
Andrés Martínez Adasme
A 32-year-old Spanish citizen of Basque origin, Martínez Adasme was arrested alongside Basoa in Puerto Ayacucho. Venezuelan authorities accused both men of plotting to destabilize the government and assassinate Maduro, allegations denied by Spanish officials and civil organizations, which said the two were traveling for tourism.
Their arrest occurred amid heightened diplomatic tensions between Caracas and Madrid following the exile in Spain of opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.
Miguel Moreno Dapena
A 34-year-old Spanish journalist of Canarian origin, Moreno Dapena was arrested on June 13, 2025, while aboard a marine exploration vessel operating in Venezuelan waters. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said the ship exhibited “suspicious behavior.”
The crew maintained they were searching for World War II shipwrecks. Before losing contact, Moreno Dapena told relatives he had been treated well by Venezuelan military authorities.
Ernesto Gorbe Cardona
A 52-year-old Spaniard from Valencia, Gorbe Cardona was arrested in December 2024 in the city of Valencia, in Carabobo state, amid post-election tensions.
He was held at El Rodeo I prison, administered by the military intelligence agency DGCIM. He received a visit from Spain’s consul in Caracas, though little has been publicly disclosed about the charges against him.
A Miami Herald correspondent in Venezuela contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 9, 2026 at 9:58 AM.
