Caracas, Jan 9 (EFE) – Relatives of Venezuelan political prisoners have waited 24 hours for their loved ones, as the government ordered the release of a “significant number” of detainees.
This has been interpreted as a conciliatory gesture by the administration of acting President Delcy Rodríguez amid increased pressure from the United States.
So far, the government has not published an official list detailing the number and names of those to be released.
Several NGOs and the main opposition coalition verified the release of between eight and 11 people, out of the 811 political prisoners counted by Foro Penal, an organization that provides assistance to political prisoners in Venezuela.
On Friday at noon, family members continued to seek information about their relatives after spending the night outside of several detention centers, including Rodeo I in the northern state of Miranda and El Helicoide, the headquarters of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service in Caracas.
“We have already waited a long time. Waiting a little longer won’t make our anxiety or vigilance go away. We must ensure that this process is carried out fully and completely,” Martha Cambero, wife of political scientist and Punto de Corte media outlet director Nicmer Evans, told EFE at El Helicoide.
She said that the prison guards are waiting for the necessary release papers. In the meantime, other family members are trying to find out where their loved ones are.
Mireya Martínez told EFE that her nephew, Víctor Borges, was arrested on November 26, but she does not know where he is.
“We are here without any certainty, but with every faith that this will be definitively resolved. We hope this will be the case. We are confident he will be released in the next few hours,” she added.
The announcement of the releases came after U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned the alleged closure of a “torture chamber” in Caracas on Tuesday amid pressure on the Rodríguez government following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in an operation that left at least a hundred civilians and military personnel dead.
So far, organizations such as Foro Penal and the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners have reported the release of Spaniards Andrés Martínez Adasme, José María Basoa, Miguel Moreno Dapena, and Ernesto Gorbe Cardona.
Also released were Spanish-Venezuelan activist Rocío San Miguel, Sergeant Major Larry Osorio Chía, former presidential candidate Enrique Márquez, and political activist and María Corina Machado collaborator Biagio Pilieri.
Roberto Enríquez, the executive secretary of the Democratic Unity Platform, told EFE that the opposition coalition reported the release of the eight aforementioned prisoners, as well as Italian Luigi Gasperín, lawyer Alejandro Rebolledo, and Aracelis Balza, an activist with Machado’s party, Vente Venezuela. EFE
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