Venezuela releases 39 political prisoners — Al Jazeera

Venezuela has released 39 political prisoners after the second round of talks between the interim government and the opposition. According to Al Jazeera English, the negotiations took place with US support.

Who was released

The human rights organization Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón (JEP) reported that the releases took place on Friday and Saturday in different prisons across the country. According to the organization, those released include eight women charged with “narco-terrorism” in 2021, as well as six people accused of working with the United States during an attempt to overthrow former President Nicolás Maduro in 2020.

In a statement on the social media platform X, JEP said it would continue monitoring the situation and demand full freedom for everyone still awaiting release.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Negotiations and amnesty

The second round of negotiations took place on Friday between the government of interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who had previously served as vice president under Maduro, and the opposition. The first round in August concerned the return of Venezuelan funds frozen abroad for recovery after the June earthquakes, which killed more than 6,300 people, as well as reform of the judicial system.

In February, Rodríguez adopted an amnesty law under US pressure, but the pace of releases remains slow. According to the human rights organization Foro Penal, as of September 18, 344 people classified as political prisoners remained in the country. On August 10, there were 391 such people, while authorities said that 131 people had been released under a separate “alternative measures” program.

The families of prisoners continue to protest outside the US Embassy in Caracas and the El Rodeo I prison. Human rights groups consider the facility a place of torture.