Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez said Wednesday that her government will continue releasing prisoners detained under former President Nicolás Maduro, calling it part of a “new political moment” since his ouster by the United States earlier this month.
Rodríguez opened her first press briefing since Maduro’s arrest with a conciliatory tone, pledging that the release process “has not yet concluded.” A Venezuelan human rights group estimates around 800 political prisoners remain detained.
The 56-year-old lawyer emphasised a “Venezuela that opens itself to a new political moment, that allows for ... political and ideological diversity,” signalling a shift from Maduro-era rhetoric.
Rodríguez warned that “crimes related to the constitutional order are being evaluated” and stressed strict enforcement of the law, sending a message that messages of hatred, intolerance, and violence would not be permitted.
Venezuelan politician and journalist Roland Carreno was one of those freed on Wednesday (14 January).
So far, 72 political prisoners have been released, according to rights group Foro Penal. Acting President Delcy Rodriquez said later on Wednesday that 406 people had been released, though it was unclear what time period she was referring to or whether those included planned releases.
"Crimes related to constitutional order, hate crimes, violence and intolerance are being evaluated (for planned releases)," Rodriguez told journalists.
Crimes such as homicide and drug trafficking will be excluded from eligibility, she added.
Many of those the opposition and rights groups consider to be political prisoners are accused of crimes such as treason and acts of violence, which they deny.
Those released include Spaniards, Americans and a Peruvian, according to each country's government. The U.S. State Department celebrated the move on Tuesday, but did not confirm how many Americans were released or their identities.
The release of political prisoners in the South American country is a long-running demand of rights groups, international bodies and opposition figures, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who has several close allies imprisoned.
She was joined by her brother and National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, as well as hard-line Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who she said is coordinating the prisoner releases. Critics have said the process is slow and secretive.
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a new attack Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, Saudi ...
The 2026 Judo World Championships in Azerbaijan's capital came to a close with Japan claiming gold for the mixed team event of the competition,...
Russian strikes killed three people near a grocery store in Kharkiv and another three in western Ukraine on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said, hours...
The explosion at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon killed at least 12 people and injured a further 309, according to Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority. The airport remains closed until further notice.
Yemen's Houthis renewed warning to airlines, airport workers, and travellers against using Saudi airports, saying the warning should be taken seriously and that the kingdom “bore responsibility for failed interceptions”, a day after an attack on Riyadh's international airport that killed 12 people.
Ukraine is ready to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries if Moscow also halts strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a new attack Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported, a day after a strike claimed by Yemen's Houthis that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed surprise after Donald Trump mediated the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement in 2025, the U.S. President said at a rally in New York state on Friday.
Russian strikes killed three people near a grocery store in Kharkiv and another three in western Ukraine on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an immediate energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Monday, South Korea's military said, marking Pyongyang's fourth launch in a month and following Seoul's recent test of a hypersonic missile.
India’s ‘Cockroach’ movement began as an online satire-driven initiative and evolved into a protest group challenging political and institutional decisions. It has since drawn attention over education-related grievances and is now calling for the resignation of India’s Chief Election Commissioner.
The Pentagon’s plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former U.S. Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others at Fort Hood in 2009, has raised questions about the legality of broadcasting executions and the limits of military justice.
Within a week of the death of Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old worker at a Siberian plague institute, a neighbouring governor raised the possibility of plague, regulators found no evidence of it and Irkutsk lifted its quarantine. What killed her remains unexplained.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment