Responding to a request from the opposition which has just initiated talks with the government, Venezuela announced on Friday August 14 the release of more than 130 political prisoners, including a woman accused of a drone attack against former President Maduro.
The head of the opposition delegation, Dinorah Figuera, pledged Thursday to work for the release of political prisoners after a first round of negotiations with the interim government.
This dialogue, sponsored by Washington, comes seven months after the capture of Nicolas Maduro by the American army, after more than a quarter of a century of Chavista power, the socialist-inspired doctrine of President Hugo Chavez (1999-2013).
In a press release published Friday, the government announced the “granting of alternative measures to deprivation of liberty for a total of 131 people who were under detention regime, due to their presumed or proven participation in the commission of crimes provided for by the Venezuelan legal order.”
Despite the release of hundreds of political prisoners since January 3, Venezuela still had more than 380 before Friday’s announcement, according to Foro Penal, the NGO which defends them. Their fate has become a major issue in the transition initiated since the capture of Nicolas Maduro.
Relatives of political prisoners gather in front of the Rodeo I prison, shortly before the release of detainees in Guatire, Venezuela, August 14, 2026. © Juan Barreto, AFP
Dinorah Figuera welcomed the releases and called for more. “Let us continue to demand tirelessly until every citizen is reunited with their family,” the opponent wrote on X.
The head of American diplomacy, Marco Rubio, described these releases as “a crucial step for the nation’s reconciliation process”. “The United States continues to closely monitor the process” of political dialogue, said the Secretary of State on X.
“The goal is freedom for all”
At El Rodeo prison near Caracas, guards announced in the afternoon the release of several inmates. Present, Ruth Molero, mother and aunt of two incarcerated people, told AFP she felt “very moved”. “Whistles started to sound and we… were sitting here, talking like every afternoon. When we saw this bunch of boys” coming out of the prison, “we all started running screaming.”
Her son and her nephew were not among these released prisoners, but she says she is confident of a release soon.
Foro Penal announced in the evening that it had been able to confirm the effective release of 64 prisoners.
Former political prisoner José Ignacio Moreno Suarez kisses his daughter after his release from Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, August 14, 2026. © Juan Barreto, AFP
This is the case of Emirlendris Benitez, who was arrested in August 2018, when she was four months pregnant, accused of having participated in a drone attack against Nicolas Maduro. She was charged with attempted capital homicide, terrorism and treason against the country, and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
According to human rights organizations and defense lawyers, this 45-year-old trader was the victim of torture, cruel and degrading treatment, to the point of suffering a miscarriage.
“The nightmare is over,” she said in a video posted on social networks, where she is seen in a wheelchair kissing her son.
“The objective is (…) full and complete freedom, without conditions, freedom for all,” Angeles Tirado, whose relatives are involved in a case which resulted in around fifty people being arrested in 2025, accused of being involved in a project aimed at overthrowing Nicolas Maduro, told AFP.
The dialogue between part of the Venezuelan opposition and the government is taking place without the participation of the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Corina Machado, exiled in Panama. She was not invited but assured that she would not hinder the process.
On Wednesday, the two sides agreed to pursue judicial reform, including the appointment of all judges to the Supreme Court and reform of the law governing it, as well as to join efforts to recover some 30 tonnes of Venezuelan gold frozen in the United Kingdom following sanctions.
Another round of talks is to take place on a date to be determined.
With AFP
