Venezuela has freed dozens of political prisoners, a move that comes a day after interim President Delcy Rodríguez met U.S. President Donald Trump in New York, according to human‑rights groups.
- Wilder Vasquez, who was given a five‑year sentence in 2018 for alleged plots against former President Nicolás Maduro, was freed in the early hours of Saturday.
- Foro Penal confirmed the release of Miguel Castillo Cedeño, arrested in June 2019 on what officials described as an arbitrary basis.
- Frank Cabañas, who had spent nine years in prison linked to a police officer’s death, was also released after families reported his health was worsening.
The interim administration had previously launched a reconciliation programme that freed hundreds of dissenters when Maduro was deposed, but the flow of releases slowed in April after Rodríguez announced the scheme would end.
Human‑rights organisations view the new releases as a step toward reconciliation, yet say it represents only a fraction of the nation’s political detainees. The government frames the action as a “gesture of goodwill” while still denying that dissidents are imprisoned.
Rodríguez’s meeting with Trump was praised by U.S. officials as a “triumph of peace‑diplomacy” but was criticised by opposition leaders who argue the U.S. should instead push for swift, credible elections that exclude presidential candidate María Corina Machado.
