Venezuela has freed 39 political prisoners following a second round of US-backed negotiations between the country's interim government and the opposition, human rights groups confirmed over the weekend. The releases, which took place between Friday and Saturday, included eight women who had been charged with "narco-terrorism" in 2021 and six individuals accused of involvement in a 2020 attempt to overthrow former President Nicolás Maduro. Among those freed was Wilder Vásquez, a student sentenced to five years in prison for alleged involvement in a 2018 assassination plot against Maduro — a charge he always denied — who had in fact completed his sentence back in 2023 but remained imprisoned until now.
The releases follow talks held in Caracas on Friday between the government of interim President Delcy Rodríguez and the Venezuelan opposition. Rodríguez, who served as Maduro's vice president, assumed the interim presidency after the Trump administration removed Maduro from power in January and transferred him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges. A first round of negotiations in August had focused on unfreezing Venezuelan assets held abroad — funds considered essential for recovery from June's devastating earthquakes, which killed more than 6,300 people — and on reforming the country's judiciary. Rodríguez enacted an amnesty law in February under US pressure, though rights groups note that its scope is limited: those prosecuted for inciting military action against the state are explicitly excluded.
Despite the latest releases, significant numbers of political detainees remain behind bars. Foro Penal, a Venezuelan human rights organisation that monitors political detentions, counted 344 political prisoners as of 18 September, down from 391 on 10 August. Another rights group puts the overall figure higher, at around 450, including approximately 20 foreign nationals. The human rights group Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón (JEP), which reported the 39 releases, said it would "remain vigilant and continue to demand full freedom for all those still waiting." Families of detainees have staged ongoing protests outside the US embassy in Caracas and El Rodeo I prison, a facility that rights organisations have described as a centre of torture.
The prisoner releases are unfolding against a broader backdrop of political uncertainty. Rodríguez was initially appointed interim president for six months but has now been in office for nine, with no firm commitment to elections. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly this week, she acknowledged that Venezuela had "begun a process of democratisation" and said elections would come — though she offered no date. US President Donald Trump, who has spoken with Rodríguez about the matter, has made elections a stated condition of ongoing engagement. Meanwhile, prominent opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado remains in exile, having repeatedly attempted to return to Venezuela without success, leaving the country's most recognisable opposition figure sidelined from the political process.