Venezuela frees longest-serving political prisoners, jailed for more than 20 years

Three police officers, accused more than 20 years ago of conspiring against the government of the late former president Hugo Chávez, have been released in Venezuela along with dozens of other political prisoners, amid promises from authorities that some 300 dissidents of Chavismo would be freed this week as a “gesture” of goodwill.

Héctor Rovaín, Erasmo Bolívar, and Luis Molina, three former members of the Caracas Metropolitan Police sentenced to 30 years in prison along with other officials for their actions during the coup attempt against Chávez in April 2002, were released Tuesday night from the Fénix Penitentiary Center in Lara state, about 220 miles from Caracas. They were considered the longest-serving political prisoners in Venezuela.

A video published by the rights group Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons showed Bolívar kneeling and giving thanks to God with his arms outstretched, describing his imprisonment as “a great ordeal” and urging the families of other political prisoners to “remain strong.”

The release of the former police officers is part of a process in which the government said it is freeing some 300 people this week. All have been accused of conspiring against the government of Nicolás Maduro, said Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly and brother of acting President Delcy Rodríguez.

Rodríguez said most of those released are over 70 years old, teenagers, pregnant and breastfeeding women, or suffer from illnesses.

“We are fulfilling a process of granting benefits to these people,” Rodríguez said during Tuesday’s parliamentary session. “We are not asking anything of anyone, only that they know how to be grateful for the gesture.”

Samantha Hernández, 16, whom Rodríguez accused of carrying explosives to carry out an attack in two Venezuelan plazas, and Merys Torres, the mother of a captain linked to a military operation against Maduro, were released on Monday.

The three former police officers released on Tuesday had been arrested in 2003 and were sentenced in 2009 to 30 years in prison for the crime of attempted aggravated homicide for their alleged role in the armed clashes of April 11, 2002 at the Llaguno Bridge in Caracas. The government accused those who participated of being part of the movement that deposed Chavez from power for a little over day.

The freed men first served their sentences at the Ramo Verde military prison, but were transferred to the Lara prison five years ago. Rovaín was a chief inspector with the now-extinct Caracas Metropolitan Police, Bolívar was an officer, and Molina was a patrolman.

Laura Pérez, mother of Molina’s daughters, Katherine and Lismar, told the Miami Herald that their family is awash in “happiness and tranquility” after his release.

“Our daughters lived entirely the injustice along with their father. These years have not been easy,” she said while waiting for Molina, who was traveling from the city of Barquisimeto to Caracas on Wednesday. “He can now know his grandson,” born while he was in prison, and “he’ll have to learn how to live in a different Venezuela” after so many years in jail, she said.

Erasmo Bolívar, who was 27 when he was arrested— he is now 50 —suffered from stomach pains, a detached retina, and had difficulty moving due to knee surgery, according to frequent reports from his family and civil organizations.

The former police officers were “innocent,” suffered “torture” at the hands of the national government, and “should never have been imprisoned,” said opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado on her social media accounts.

The opposition leader, who is exiled and plans to travel to Panama in the coming days, called the police officers “heroes” and demanded the release of all political prisoners in Venezuela.

According to the opposition and human-rights advocates, the group of cops only acted that day in Llaguno Bridge to defend civilians against snipers and Chavez’s armed supporters, known as colectivos.

Foro Penal, a civil association that has provided legal defense to more than 15,000 political prisoners in Venezuela, estimates that there are still more than 400 political prisoners in the country. Other organizations, such as Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón, claim that there are more than 600.

Foro Penal estimates that around 800 political prisoners have been released since U.S. military forces captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia in his compound in Caraca on Jan. 3, leading to Delcy Rodriguez taking power in Venezuela with the acquiescence of The White House.

Alfredo Romero, Foro Penal’s president, rejected the characterization of this week’s releases as a “gesture” by the government. “It is the state’s obligation to respect the rule of law,” the lawyer said, emphasizing that there are cases of detainees held without trial or conviction, such as many military personnel “unjustly deprived of their freedom.”

The announcement of the releases by the regime came two days after the death of Carmen Navas, 82, who had recently found out that her son. Víctor Hugo Quero Navas,. had died in prison almost a year ago. Both deaths sparked outrage among Venezuelans and human rights defenders, while the opposition and human-rights groups demanded justice in Quero’s case.

Last week, President Donald Trump said his administration would secure the release of “all” political prisoners in Venezuela and praised interim president Rodríguez for doing a “great job.”

The mass releases of political prisoners also come days after the Caracas government deported former minister and Maduro ally Alex Saab to the United States amid accusations that he falsified his Venezuelan nationality.

The new releases of political prisoners are also happening on the eve of a judicial reform that would renew Venezuela’s Supreme Court and strengthen the authorities’ efforts to punish corruption among prosecutors and judges.

The government appointed weeks ago a new attorney general, Larry Devoe, who is considered a close figure to the Rodriguez siblings. This week, he met with representatives of Amnesty International, who asked him to facilitate the release of all political prisoners in Venezuela.