Number of prisoners released in Venezuela rises to 18, rights groups say

The number of prisoners freed in Venezuela has increased to 18, human rights organisations reported on Saturday, up from nine on Friday afternoon.

The release of political detainees in the South American nation has long been demanded by rights groups, international bodies and opposition figures, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, who has several close allies still behind bars.

Both U.S. President Donald Trump and Venezuela’s leading lawmaker Jorge Rodríguez, brother of acting president Delcy Rodríguez, have described the releases as a gesture of peace; Trump added in a post on Truth Social that he had called off a second wave of attacks on Venezuela after securing cooperation from Caracas.

The announcements cap a week of intense political upheaval in Caracas, marked by the U.S. strike on Venezuela, the dramatic capture and arraignment of President Nicolás Maduro on narcoterrorism charges in New York, Rodríguez’s swearing‑in as acting president, and the U.S. plan to refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude.

Opposition and human rights groups have long accused the Venezuelan government of using detentions to suppress dissent — allegations authorities deny. There is no official list of those to be released, nor confirmation of how many will ultimately be freed.

Local rights group Foro Penal estimates around 811 political prisoners remain in the country, including more than 80 foreigners, among them two U.S. citizens and one U.S. resident.

Five Spanish nationals, including Venezuelan‑Spanish rights activist Rocío San Miguel, were the first confirmed freed on Thursday and arrived in Madrid the next day. Former opposition presidential candidate Enrique Marquez is also among those who have been released.

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