On the eve of the new year, the Chavista regime authorized the exincarceration of 87 more political prisoners in Venezuela. The information was confirmed by civil organizations linked to the prisoners’ cause, such as Justicia Encuentro y Perdón and the Committee of Madres en Defensa de la Verdad. The vast majority of them were incarcerated in Tocorón prison, an hour and a half from Caracas, for having participated in massive popular demonstrations questioning Nicolas Maduro’s triumph in the 2024 presidential elections.
Once the excarcerations were authorized, the civil association Justicia Encuentro y Perdón informs that at present 33 of them have materialized. Information about political prisoners in Venezuela often contains subtext, leading to confusion and frequent misinterpretation. It sometimes happens that the Venezuelan regime does not release all the prisoners announced or, in any case, delays the conclusion of numerous cases, thus generating mockery from the families concerned. Last year, Maduro’s government announced the release of 99 political prisoners. The Penal Forum organization, which enjoys enormous authority in the matter, has recorded 61 cases since December 30.
Currently, including announced releases, there are still around 720 political prisoners in Venezuela, the highest figure in the entire Western Hemisphere. Maduro’s government authorized these free measures over the past year, which benefited hundreds of people, but ended up with a furious attack on the population in the weeks following the presidential elections in July 2024. In the second part of last year he provoked these controversial rallies, 2,000 people were imprisoned. The prison of Tocorón, in the state of Aragua, traditionally a judicial center for common law prisoners, then underwent some expansions to open the field to new political prisoners, killed in other prisons.
Political prisoners receiving benefits, such as those excarcerated on Christmas Day, will not enjoy complete freedom: they will follow precautionary measures, with a court appearance regime and some additional restrictions.
To recognize the relief that such a measure produces on these activists and their families, civil organizations linked to the defense of human rights have received a new call to the authorities of the Chavista regime to declare a general amnesty. Everyone describes the arrests and legal sanctions of these citizens as “arbitrary and unjustified”.
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