Venezuela releases dozens of political prisoners as election calls grow

Venezuela Releases Political Prisoners as Calls for Elections Intensify

Venezuelan authorities have released a number of political prisoners, according to human rights groups, days after interim President Delcy Rodriguez met US President Donald Trump in New York.

Among those released in the early hours of Saturday was Wilder Vasquez, who received a five-year prison sentence in 2018 over allegations that he was plotting to kill former President Nicolás Maduro.

The releases came after Rodriguez met Trump on Tuesday during the UN General Assembly. Following the meeting, opposition figures renewed their calls for free elections in Venezuela.

Rodriguez’s administration had previously released hundreds of prisoners as part of a reconciliation initiative following Maduro’s seizure. The pace of releases slowed sharply in April, however, after Rodriguez said the scheme was “coming to an end”.

The Venezuelan government has not commented on the latest releases or said whether they were connected to Rodriguez’s meeting with Trump.

Gonzalo Himiob, vice-president of human rights organisation Foro Penal, said a “significant number” of political prisoners were released from several detention centres across Venezuela on Saturday morning.

Foro Penal confirmed the release of Miguel Castillo Cedeño, whom the organisation said had been arbitrarily detained since June 2019.

Frank Cabañas was also released. Human rights groups said he had spent nine years in prison after being linked to the death of a police officer. Foro Penal said Cabañas was the only suspect who remained in detention, while his family had reported health problems last year.

Opposition and human rights groups have accused Maduro’s government of using political detention for years to suppress dissent and silence critics.

Rodriguez has sought to present her interim administration as more tolerant of political dissent while seeking closer relations with the United States. The prisoner release programme was described as a key concession by her government to Washington.

Her decision to end the programme, however, drew criticism from opposition and human rights groups. Foro Penal said the scheme had been halted with fewer than half of Venezuela’s political prisoners released.

Rodriguez’s government continues to deny that dissidents are imprisoned and describes the prisoner releases as gestures of goodwill and reconciliation.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a figure closely associated with Maduro’s rule, described Rodriguez’s meeting with Trump as “a great triumph of the diplomacy of peace”.

Opposition figures criticised the meeting, viewing it as a rejection of their demands for swift elections, calls that the US had previously supported.

Venezuela’s most recent elections were held in 2024, when Maduro was declared the winner amid widespread allegations that the vote was rigged. Opposition tallies indicated that their candidate, who ran after María Corina Machado was barred from competing, had secured 70% of the vote.

Despite the disputed election, the Trump administration supported Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice-president, as his successor after Maduro was seized and put on trial on drug charges in January.

Analysts had described the US decision as an attempt to prioritise short-term stability in Venezuela until elections could be held.

In a speech to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Rodriguez reiterated that there “will be elections in Venezuela”, but did not give a date.