Venezuela says it will release political prisoners as peace gesture

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Venezuela’s regime said it would release political prisoners as it looked to appease the Trump administration less than a week after U.S. commandos captured the country’s former leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Jorge Rodríguez, the powerful brother of acting president Delcy Rodríguez, said Thursday that a “significant number" of Venezuelan and foreign prisoners would be released. “These releases from prison are occurring at this very moment," said Jorge Rodríguez, who is head of Venezuela’s congress. He didn’t say how many prisoners would be let go.

He said the liberation of both Venezuelan and foreign prisoners was a gesture “to seek peace as the contribution that we all must make to ensure that our republic continues its peaceful life in pursuit of prosperity." The move would come as the regime is reasserting authority on the streets, sending regime-affiliated gangs on motorcycles to stop any celebration over Maduro’s capture. Under Maduro, Venezuela detained hundreds of political opponents. Human-rights organizations said many prisoners were beaten and tortured by putting a bag over their heads, forcing them to eat pasta with excrement and giving them electric shocks to their genitals.

The Maduro regime had in the past also detained American citizens, who were used as bargaining chips in talks with Washington, according to political analysts. The treatment of prisoners instilled fear that allowed Maduro to maintain power over nearly 13 years amid an economic meltdown, tamping down on protests over electoral fraud and food shortages and limiting criticism on social media. Venezuela’s opposition had been pushing for the release of political prisoners after Maduro’s downfall.