Venezuelan paratroopers and General Ramón Lozada, who were imprisoned for years for alleged military rebellion, are free after serving their sentences. Their release is part of the political changes. Almost 800 political prisoners, including dozens of members of the armed forces, have left Venezuelan cells since January.
Eight officers jailed since 2017 on charges of trying to oust President Nicolás Maduro were released from a Venezuelan prison on Wednesday. According to the AFP agency, these are other political prisoners that the regime has freed since the January military operation of the United States, TASR reports.
- Eight officers accused of attempted coup have been released from a Venezuelan prison.
- General Ramón Lozada and other army paratroopers are also among those released.
- General Raúl Baduel, arrested in the Paratrooper case, died in prison in 2021.
- Almost eight hundred political prisoners, including 31 soldiers, have been released since January.
- More than 400 people are still imprisoned for political reasons in the country.
Among those dismissed is also a former adviser to Hugo Chavez
The dismissed officers were jailed for allegedly trying to oust Maduro in a military coup in the case known as the “Paratrooper”. One of those arrested in this case was General Raúl Baduel, a former adviser to Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez. He died in prison in 2021.
“We can confirm the release of the paratroopers and General Ramón Lozada, who have served their sentences,” Gonzalo Himiob, vice president of the NGO Foro Penal, wrote on the X network.
Amnesty Law
According to Foro Penal, almost 800 political prisoners have been released since January, including 31 members of the armed forces accused of rebellion and treason.
Venezuela’s parliament passed an amnesty law in February after Maduro was dragged out of the country by US special forces. The government claims that 8,000 people benefited from it, although most of them have not yet been convicted and only have a trial against them. The organization Foro Penal claims that more than 400 persons are still behind bars in the country for political reasons.
