The Venezuelan regime announced this Thursday 1st the release of 88 other opponents of dictator Nicolás Maduro who had been arrested during demonstrations following the elections which took place in the country in July 2024.
It is the second mass liberation movement in two weeks and comes against a backdrop of American pressure on the dictator. The New Year’s Day release follows the regime’s announcement that it would release 99 people on December 26.
“These actions are part of the overall process of review of the file ordered by Nicolas Maduro,” the Venezuelan regime said in a statement.
The Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners, a local nongovernmental organization, said it had verified the release of at least 55 prisoners, all but one of whom were released from Tocorón prison in central Venezuela.
After the December 26 announcement, several NGOs questioned whether the regime had released as many people as it claimed. Venezuelan entities estimate that around 900 people are still detained in Venezuela, including people arrested before the elections.
Maduro’s regime has said it does not hold political prisoners, but rather imprisoned politicians, and that those detained seek to destabilize the country.
Those released were arrested in the context of a political crisis triggered by the dictator’s re-election in July 2024 for a third term, amid allegations of fraud by the opposition and renowned organizations.
Maduro’s proclamation sparked protests that resulted in the arrest of around 2,400 people, whom the dictator himself described as terrorists. More than 2,000 have already been released, according to official data.
The releases come amid pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has said it would be wise for Maduro to leave power.
The United States has built a huge military presence in the Caribbean, killed dozens of people in attacks on boats off the Venezuelan coast that it says were carrying drugs, and seized two fully loaded Venezuelan oil tankers.
Maduro opened the door to “serious discussions” with the United States on agreements regarding oil, immigration and the fight against drug trafficking, as he said in an interview this Thursday (1st).
“If (the United States) wants to talk seriously about an agreement to fight drug trafficking, we are ready,” Maduro said, followed by a pact on oil “for American investments, like Chevron,” and another on the votes of expelled Venezuelans. “Where and how we want,” said the dictator.
In the interview, Maduro also avoided confirming or denying an alleged attack on a drug trafficking center announced by the White House and which Trump said was carried out by the United States on Venezuelan territory.
Earlier this week, Trump claimed that the United States had destroyed a docking area for ships allegedly used to transport drugs to Venezuela, in what would be Washington’s first attack on Venezuelan territory.
“This is something we can discuss in a few days,” Maduro told Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, who asked for details after emphasizing that the Venezuelan regime “has neither confirmed nor denied this information.”
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