Venezuela begins releasing political prisoners — but slowly

Venezuela’s new government has said it will release what it’s called an “important number” of political prisoners, a promise that US President Donald Trump has taken credit for as part of negotiations with acting leader Delcy Rodríguez.

So far, only 53 detainees have been freed, while nearly 800 people remain behind bars. Human rights groups say many are being held in brutal conditions, with documented cases of torture and deaths in custody.

Outside the Zona 7 detention facility in Caracas, families have been sleeping on the sidewalk for days, hoping to see their loved ones walk out. They began camping there Thursday — the day they learned that a detainee had died in custody at this facility and that authorities would begin freeing political prisoners. The decision followed the ouster of former President Nicolás Maduro by US forces on Jan. 3.

Milady Mendoza is searching for her disappeared husband, a police officer who has been missing since November.

“My husband is in a state of disappearance,” she said. “No one can confirm where he is or even if he’s still alive,” Mendoza said. She got a tip that her husband was taken from the police station where he worked so that the authorities could search his phone. “They told us it was because of information on his cellphone — that they were going to empty it,” she said.

In recent months, Venezuelans have been jailed for criticizing the government, supporting the opposition or supporting a US intervention — sometimes via nothing more than WhatsApp messages, photos or memes.

Evelyn Quiaro is also searching for her missing son. She said she has visited every detention center she could find across Caracas.

“I need to know where my son is,” she said. “I need to know if he’s still alive, if he’s breathing.”

Eventually, Quiaro received a tip that her son was being investigated for terrorism and traición a la patria, or homeland treason — accusations families say are now routine.

“Everyone that’s been detained is referred to as terrorists,” said Alfredo Romero of the legal aid group Foro Penal.

In the days following the disputed 2024 presidential election, the government has carried out a sweeping crackdown known as Operation Knock-Knock, with security forces going door to door to detain people suspected of supporting the opposition.

Maduro is widely believed to have lost the last election, according to evidence collected by the opposition and verified by independent watchdogs and journalists.

Last year, a 65-year-old doctor was sentenced to 30 years in prison for forwarding a voice note urging neighbors to vote against Maduro.

She and other detainees are now being released — but slowly.

Human rights activist Oscar Murillo said internal resistance inside the old repression apparatus is blocking broader releases. He also described chaos inside the post-Maduro bureaucracy.

“There is administrative and bureaucratic disorder, divisions, confusion over who gives the orders,” Murillo said.

He added that Venezuela’s prison system is collapsing, with overcrowding, scarce food and water that sometimes arrives only once a week.

A United Nations fact-finding mission in Venezuela has documented a pattern of arbitrary detention and torture in the country for more than a decade, especially against people seen as political opponents. 

Venezuelan rights group Provea estimates that more than 15,000 people have been imprisoned for political reasons during the 27 years of “Chavista” rule, named after former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. At least a dozen people have died in custody.

Even those who are freed are not truly free, according to Murillo. Their cases remain open, they are barred from speaking publicly and some are prohibited from leaving the country.

In a recent vigil at the Zona 7 prison, Vicente Bravo, who is looking for his missing son, said releases so far have focused on high-profile detainees — the ones most likely to please Washington.

“There are prisoners with no faces. Prisoners with no names. Ghost prisoners,” he said.

Former opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara, who spent more than a year jailed on terrorism charges, said freeing political prisoners is essential to any democratic transition.

“For us, this is not a discussion about legal frameworks,” Guevara said. “This is about real lives — torture, imprisonment, exile, families broken apart, a country held hostage for more than 25 years.”

He is urging the international community to push for the release of political prisoners, adding that Venezuela cannot rebuild without a process of justice and reconciliation.