Venezuela frees 39 political prisoners after post-Maduro talks

More than three dozen political detainees were released in Venezuela following a second round of negotiations between the country’s interim government and opposition forces, human rights group Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón (JEP) said. The group reported 39 people were freed from various prisons between Friday and Saturday, including eight women accused of ‘narco-terrorism’ in 2021 and six people accused of working with the United States in a 2020 attempt to overthrow former President Nicolás Maduro. The talks that produced the latest releases were held on Friday and have been conducted with US approval, according to reporting on the negotiations. These discussions follow an initial round in August that focused on recovering Venezuelan funds frozen overseas to support recovery after June’s earthquakes and on reforms to the judiciary. The June quakes were reported to have killed more than 6,300 people. The interim government is led by Delcy Rodríguez, who previously served as vice president under Maduro. Rodríguez enacted an amnesty law in February amid US pressure, but observers and rights groups have noted that the pace of releases has been uneven. Foro Penal, which tracks political detentions, said the number of people classified as political prisoners fell to 344 as of September 18 from 391 on August 10. Families of those held have continued public protests, including demonstrations outside the US embassy in Caracas and at El Rodeo I prison, which rights organizations describe as a centre where torture has occurred. JEP said it will remain vigilant and continue to press for the release of those still detained. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously said that more than 1,000 Venezuelans had been released since Maduro’s removal, calling earlier releases an important step toward reconciliation.