Venezuela Frees Prisoners After U.S. Capture of Maduro

Venezuela’s government announced on Thursday that 116 prisoners had been released “in the past few hours”, according to the Penitentiary Services Ministry.

However, the human rights organisation Foro Penal, which monitors political detentions in Venezuela, disputed the claim, saying earlier that only 41 people had actually been freed.

The releases follow a week of political upheaval after President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. authorities and appeared in a New York court on drug trafficking charges.

U.S. President Donald Trump reacted quickly on social media, framing the releases as a direct result of American intervention. He posted online, “Venezuela has started the process, in a big WAY, of releasing their political prisoners. Thank you! I hope those prisoners will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done. I hope they never forget! If they do, it will not be good for them.”

Among those pushing hardest for the releases is opposition leader María Corina Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Machado and human rights groups say many of the prisoners were not real criminals. Instead, they say people were jailed for speaking against the government, protesting, or sharing political opinions.

Human rights groups estimate that between 800 and 1,200 political prisoners may still be held in Venezuela.