Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Venezuela has said it would immediately release an “important number” of political prisoners following the US capture of Nicolás Maduro, in an early sign the government is looking to unwind a decade of harsh repression in the Latin American country.
The move comes as Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former deputy and the country’s interim president, aims to stamp her imprint on the new government and show a willingness to collaborate with the US, especially on opening up the oil sector to American companies.
Her brother Jorge, president of the national assembly, on Thursday said that “to collaborate in the effort we must all make for national unity and peaceful coexistence”, the government “has decided to release an important number of Venezuelan and foreign nationals — immediately”.
Jorge Rodríguez called the move a “unilateral gesture” by Caracas, implying the decision was made without US influence. He also thanked international mediators including Qatari officials and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who responded to the interim leader’s call “to defend our right to a full life, to self-determination, to independence and to peace”.
He also acknowledged the contributions of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain’s former prime minister, who has been promoting “national coexistence” in Venezuela “for the past 10 years”.
It is unclear which political prisoners, some of whom have been detained for years, would be released or how many. High-profile captives include lawyer Rocío San Miguel and Rafael Tudares, son-in-law of the opposition’s candidate in the 2024 election, Edmundo González.
Spain said five Spanish nationals were being released, including an individual with dual citizenship.
José Manuel Albares, Spain’s foreign minister, said those released included José María Basoa and Andrés Martínez Adasne. The men were arrested in October 2024 and Venezuelan authorities accused them of being involved in a plot to harm Maduro. Caracas said they also had links to the CNI, Spain’s intelligence agency, an allegation Madrid has denied.
“Spain, which maintains fraternal relations with the Venezuelan people, welcomes this decision as a positive step in the new phase that Venezuela is entering,” the foreign ministry said.
Venezuela’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Before his downfall, Maduro’s regime was characterised by intense repression, with authorities often violently suppressing protests. Scores of opposition figures and critics were harassed, arrested or forced into exile.
Alfredo Romero, president of local rights watchdog Foro Penal, hailed the move as “good news” and said his organisation “already knows of some people who are on their way to freedom, including foreigners”.
Hours before Rodríguez’s announcement, Romero said this was a “timely moment” for the release of 806 political prisoners, including 85 foreign nationals, and the “cessation of the repressive machinery”.
The interim government launched a crackdown on Monday as Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim president.
Some 14 journalists were detained and later released, according to rights groups, while government-aligned militias searched the phones of ordinary Venezuelans for evidence of subterfuge or support for the US forces’ arrest of Maduro.
Additional reporting by Barney Jopson in Madrid