Venezuela frees 131 political prisoners after first round of US-brokered talks

Release announced

Venezuela's interim government announced on Friday, August 14, the granting of "alternative measures to incarceration" for 131 people held on political charges, according to a communiqué distributed by Communications Minister Miguel Ángel Pérez Pirela. The announcement came two days after the first round of US-brokered talks between the government of Delcy Rodríguez and an opposition delegation led by Dinorah Figuera concluded on Wednesday, August 12. The two sides had reached agreements on judicial reform and the retrieval of frozen Venezuelan assets held in England to aid recovery from June earthquakes that killed over 6,300 people, but the issue of political prisoners was not formally on the agenda.

Confirmations and remaining detainees

Foro Penal, the NGO tracking political detentions, confirmed 64 releases by 19:30 on Friday and asked families for "patience for the dissemination of verified and complete information." The organization had counted 391 political prisoners as of Monday, August 10. According to ABC, Foro Penal estimated that approximately 250 political prisoners remained in Venezuelan jails after the announced releases. RFI reported a count of 502 people detained for political reasons before Friday's deliberations, including 52 women, a figure that may reflect a broader definition.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that the releases were "a crucial step for the nation's reconciliation process" and that 1,046 Venezuelans had been released since January 3.

Cases among those freed

Among the released prisoners were at least six women from the Instituto Nacional de Orientación Femenina (INOF) in Los Teques, Miranda, including Emirlendris Benítez, María Alexandra Delgado Tabosky, Samaira Romero, Maryfrancys Marcano, and Jennifer Osuna, according to Foro Penal director Alfredo Romero. Emirlendris Benítez, detained on August 5, 2018, during the investigation into the drone attack against Nicolás Maduro, was sentenced to 30 years in 2022. Human rights organizations documented that she was tortured while pregnant, lost her baby, and was left with severe mobility impairments requiring a wheelchair. María Auxiliadora Delgado Tabosky, a 50-year-old Spanish-Venezuelan woman, was captured in 2019 with her husband, military officer Juan Carlos Marrufo, and sentenced to 30 years for conspiracy and terrorism financing.

Reactions and what comes next

Dinorah Figuera welcomed the releases on X but called for continued pressure.

With hope for the reunion of Venezuelan families, we receive the information of the releases. They are not all, and they deserve full freedom, let us keep demanding relentlessly until every citizen is reunited with their family.

Former deputy Ramón López, part of the opposition delegation, told Venevisión that political prisoners should not be treated as bargaining chips.

There cannot be national dialogue if there is no full liberation of all political prisoners. And today 131 are leaving. Our work has to be focused on all of them leaving. Political prisoners cannot be a token of exchange to advance on other topics, it must be a core issue.

The dialogue takes place seven months after Maduro's capture by US forces. Maria Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning opposition leader exiled in Panama, was not invited to participate but said she would not obstruct the process. A new cycle of talks is scheduled for September.