The president of Parliament and chief negotiator of the Venezuelan Government, Jorge Rodríguez, declared this morning that more than 400 people have been released from prison, as part of an ongoing release process initiated after the defenestration of the previous president, by the United States. However, what should be good news is surrounded by controversy, because numerous NGOs and local human rights groups estimate that the figure is much lower, between 60 and 70 people.
The war of numbers is much more than that, due to the enormous sensitivity of the situation, due to the emotional gatherings of relatives at the doors of prisons, in search of joy or, at least, information, and due to the anguish of waiting.
The US Administration has reported that Caracas has released multiple US citizens who were imprisoned in the South American country, without specifying number, name or state.
Why it matters
The current president in charge of Venezuela, , and the American president, , guaranteed last week that a large number of prisoners would be released as a gesture of peace after Maduro’s capture, so we are talking about a commitment from both the new Chavismo and the man who, from the White House, says he is “in charge” of the country. If there is non-compliance, it can not only generate disruption in the streets, but also a reprimand from Washington, which is willing to attack the country again, as it did on January 4.
The release of people considered political prisoners by the opposition has been one of its long-standing demands. The Venezuelan government has always denied that it is holding people for political reasons and has stated that it has already released most of those following protests over the controversial 2024 elections.
The official version
“The decision was granted to release some prisoners, not political prisoners, but some politicians who had violated the law and the Constitution, people who incited the invasion,” Rodríguez declared during a parliamentary session on Tuesday, adding that this was aimed at promoting “peaceful coexistence.”
More than 400 people have been released, stated the top legislator (Delcy’s brother, too), without specifying a clear deadline: first he said that this figure was achieved by counting from the first 160 releases, which occurred on December 23, 2024. Later, legislative sources indicated that he was referring to December 2025, the EFE Agency explains.
Hours later, in a message on Telegram, the official reiterated that there are “400 people released” and insisted that the first releases took place at the end of 2024, “as a unilateral gesture – he said – by the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.” According to figures provided by Rodríguez and the Government of Venezuela, 160 people have been released in December 2024; 99 on Christmas 2025; 88 in New Year’s Day also in 2025 and 116 announced this Monday. This means that since December 2024, 463 prisoners have been released and since December 2025 there have been 303.
Rodríguez assured that the releases will continue as part of a “unilateral gesture” by the Government, he praises.
The NGO complaint
Local NGOs have indicated, however, that the number of prisoners released since Thursday is much lower and have denounced the slowness and lack of information about the releases. On Monday, the Venezuelan prison authority announced the release of 116 people. , a major local NGO working on legal support for detainees, stated that at least 800 political prisoners were behind bars earlier this year. According to their data, the releases are 56, while the opposition coalition reports 76.
Although the president of the Assembly made the “lists” of those released available to the families, they have not yet been made public, which has given rise to NGOs, activists, relatives and political parties to question the figures, with arguments.
For its part, -an organization dedicated to the defense of human rights- stated that “undue delays and authoritarian abuses continue”, and that this prevents – it indicated – the completion of the releases announced last Thursday by the president of Parliament.
Opposition demands
Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate , who is expected to meet with Trump on Thursday, has been one of the leading voices demanding the release of the prisoners, some of whom are close allies. His Human Rights Committee of the Vente Venezuela (VV) party affirms that the Venezuelan Government “always lies” and demanded a public list of those released from prison.
Machado and the opposition leader Urrutia – who claims the Presidency of Venezuela from exile – also denounced that “the mass release” of prisoners “is not being carried out in the announced terms.”
In a statement, they pointed out that “the figure of 116 released from prison, released by the regime on Monday, does not correspond to reality,” since “human rights organizations have only been able to verify that of 56 people” so far.
Machado and Urrutia denounced the mistreatment that “the lists of people who will be released have not been published nor have the relatives been notified about the release process,” which is why “hundreds of them remain vigil camped in front of the detention centers, spending money they do not have and putting their own health at risk.”
The abuses
Families and human rights groups have reported what they see as abusive treatment of detainees, including denial of medical care, use of solitary confinement, lack of access to legal assistance and even torture. “The cases of political prisoners completely isolated from their families and lawyers are a heartbreaking example of the brutality of repression in Venezuela,” he denounces.
This week, he also rejected that any person released from prison, “having been a victim of arbitrary detention for political reasons, continues to be subjected to arbitrary and discriminatory criminal investigations and processes by the Venezuelan authorities.” These processes usually include measures restricting personal freedom, such as a ban on leaving the country or periodic registration before courts, but they also perpetuate fear and re-victimization of victims.
“This is why the organization reiterates its call for the releases to be accompanied by the definitive and unconditional closure of the criminal proceedings against each victim,” it says in a statement. “One should not ignore the fact that the Venezuelan government’s policy of repression remains intact and in force. On January 3, a state of external commotion was decreed, which includes an article urging the authorities to search and capture throughout the national territory any person involved in promoting or supporting the armed attack of the United States of America against the territory of the Republic.”
Repeated reports from organizations such as the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, Human Rights Watch, and local NGOs such as Foro Penal y Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón (JEP) detail a series of violations:
- Torture and inhuman treatment: Numerous testimonies have been recorded from victims describing methods of torture that include suffocation with bags, beatings, and sexual violence by state agents.
- Prolonged incommunication: Incommunicado detention from the moment of apprehension has become an alarming pattern, extending in some cases for weeks or months, which can constitute torture.
- Degrading prison conditions: Many political prisoners face progressive physical deterioration due to the lack of adequate medical care and the restriction of food and basic supplies, which has been described as a “form of structural violence.”
- Arbitrary arrests and forced disappearances: Hundreds of people, including opposition leaders, activists, journalists and protesters (including minors and foreigners), have been arbitrarily detained, and sometimes temporarily disappeared, after the 2024 elections.
- Persecution of family members and NGOs: Attacks and a “repressive escalation” have also been reported against the relatives of political prisoners and the human rights organizations themselves that try to document the cases or provide aid.
Return to the networks
In the changing Venezuela of these days, a striking gesture has occurred: the return of the new leaders of Chavismo to X, the social network of . President Rodríguez returned to said network this Tuesday, after being suspended since August 2024 by the previous president, Maduro, who then accused Musk of being part of a “cyber coup d’état” against him.
“We resume contact through this means. Venezuela remains standing, with strength and historical awareness. Let us remain united, advancing for economic tranquility, social justice and the welfare state in which we deserve to find ourselves!” wrote Rodríguez.
In addition, a photo of the president with Rodríguez and Flores was published on Maduro’s X account, accompanied by a message that says “11 days have passed since his kidnapping.”
Previously, the Minister of the Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, announced his return to X and sent a hug “to the brothers and sisters of Venezuela and the world who have been watching” the country. “We are going to resume this path to communicate, pending. We will win,” Cabello concluded. Chavismo’s number two sometimes used the social network to share content from other users, although without adding comments.
Several senior officials of the Venezuelan Government, such as Foreign Minister Yván Gil, have returned to using that social network after the United States attack against Venezuela on January 3.
On August 8, 2024, Maduro ordered X to be taken out of circulation and gave the company a period of 10 days to present “receipts” to the authorities of the South American country. That day, the president wrote a message on
US movements
Tonight, in addition, the agency reported that the US government has requested court orders to seize dozens more tankers linked to the Venezuelan oil trade, according to four sources familiar with the matter. Washington thus consolidates control of oil shipments that enter and leave the Caribbean country.
The US Army and Coast Guard have already seized five vessels in international waters in recent weeks that were transporting Venezuelan oil or had done so in the past. Trump has stated that he plans to control Venezuela’s oil resources indefinitely as he seeks to rebuild the country’s deteriorating oil industry.
In December, Trump imposed a blockade to prevent sanctioned tankers from transporting Venezuelan oil, virtually paralyzing exports. Shipments resumed this week under US supervision.
The US government has filed multiple civil forfeiture actions in district courts, mainly in Washington, allowing the seizure and confiscation of cargoes and oil tankers involved in trafficking, the sources told Reuters. They declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The exact number of seizure orders the US has requested, and how many it has already received, is unclear, the sources said, because the documents and court orders are not public. Dozens have come forward, they added.
