Venezuela Announces Release of Significant Number of Detainees

The head of the Venezuelan Parliament and chief negotiator for chavism, Jorge Rodríguez, announced this Thursday the "release" of "a significant number of people," including Venezuelans and foreigners—without specifying the number or conditions—as a "unilateral gesture" to "consolidate peace and peaceful coexistence" in the country. Rodríguez also thanked the Kingdom of Qatar and, "especially," state institutions that "heeded the call" of the acting president of Venezuela, who took office after the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro by the United States. Rodríguez, brother of Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, stated that "this process of release" is "happening right now" and thanked former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, as well as Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. According to the latest bulletin from the NGO Foro Penal, there are 863 political prisoners in the country, including 86 foreigners or dual nationals, although the Venezuelan government's position is that they are imprisoned for "committing terrible crimes." This announcement comes five days after the U.S. military attack on Venezuelan territory, which ended with the arrest of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and pressure from several NGOs and opposition leaders for the release of political prisoners. "Consider this gesture of the Bolivarian government of broad intention to seek peace as the contribution that all of us must make to ensure that our republic continues its peaceful life and in pursuit of prosperity," Rodríguez said in a press conference broadcast on the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV). Additionally, he assured that there were no talks with "any extremist sector," as he usually refers to leaders of the largest opposition bloc, stating that "they are the negation of politics."