The Venezuelan government has begun releasing detainees who human rights groups regard as political prisoners in a gesture of good will.
Spain’s Foreign Ministry said five of its citizens, including one dual citizen, had been released. Among them is thought to be human rights activist Rocío San Miguel.
The move comes after the United States raided the capital Caracas and arrested Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday to face drug trafficking charges in New York.
The release of political prisoners in Venezuela has been a long-standing demand from the United States, especially during times of heightened repression surrounding elections and protests.
Jorge Rodriguez, Venezuela’s National Assembly speaker and the brother of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, announced on state television that a “significant number” would be released immediately, without specifying the number or identity of the freed prisoners.
There are hundreds of political prisoners held in Venezuelan prisons, and only a few have been released.
Jorge Rodríguez said the interim government was releasing them for the sake of “national unity and peaceful coexistence.”
The release of San Miguel, a Venezuelan security, defense and military expert, was confirmed as the first release. She was arrested at Myketia Airport near Caracas in February 2024.
It was claimed that San Miguel, who was a strong critic of Maduro at the time, was involved in a plot to assassinate the then-president and was indicted on charges of treason, conspiracy, and terrorism.
Venezuelan human rights groups — some of whose members or founders are in prison — welcomed the news cautiously.
Despite being a key lieutenant to Maduro, Delcy Rodriguez’s interim administration has shown a willingness to work with the United States after the United States elected its leader and made sweeping declarations about the South American country’s future.
About 50 to 80 inmates are believed to be held at the notorious El Helicoide prison, which US President Donald Trump announced would close after Maduro’s arrest.
The prison gained international notoriety for detaining suspected political opponents, with human rights groups reporting torture, including beatings and electrocution.
The announcement comes shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had “ordered the prisons to close” in what has become one of the most infamous symbols of political oppression in the United States.
Venezuelan human rights group Provea warned that the expected closure of El Helicoide should not divert attention from other detention sites still operating across the country.
Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has several close allies in prison and has repeatedly called for their release.
In an interview with the Fox News show Hannity, Trump said Machado was expected to come to the United States “sometime next week.”
Machado told host Sean Hannity earlier this week that he would like to present the Nobel Peace Prize to the President of the United States. “It would be a great honor,” Hannity said when asked if Trump would accept the offer.
Venezuelan opposition parties and human rights groups have argued for years that the government has used detentions to suppress dissent and silence critics.
Since the widely disputed 2024 election, opposition parties have claimed an increase in legal cases against activists, journalists and political opponents.
Justice Minister Tarek Saab and government officials have repeatedly denied that Venezuela has held political prisoners, insisting those detained were arrested for genuine crimes.
Additional reporting by Norberto Paredes.
