Venezuela's interim government has announced the release of 131 political prisoners under the country's Program for Peace and Democratic Coexistence, granting detainees "alternative measures from incarceration" as part of broader national reconciliation efforts. The releases, which took place at El Rodeo I prison in Guatire (a town roughly 50 kilometres east of the capital, Caracas), come amid US-brokered talks between the government and opposition that concluded their first round this week. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the move as "a crucial step for the nation's reconciliation process," noting that over 1,000 Venezuelans have been freed since the removal of former president Nicolás Maduro in January, though rights groups and opposition figures are pressing for the unconditional release of the estimated 391 political prisoners still held.