Activists: Venezuela released just nine prisoners despite promise

The Venezuelan government has released just nine prisoners following an announcement by the authorities in Caracas that a large number of political prisoners would be freed, the Foro Penal human rights organization said on Friday.

Foro Penal said the number released represented around 1% of the 800 it believes are being held in Venezuela's prisons.

It added that neither the prominent opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa nor Rafael Tudares, son-in-law of opposition politician Edmundo González Urrutia, were among those freed. Both had been mentioned in media reports as likely candidates for release.

Guanipa's family accused the government of breaking its promise. "The remnants of the Maduro regime are not keeping their word," they said on X.

"Delcy Rodríguez, stop playing games and order your people to release all political prisoners immediately," they said in remarks addressed directly to the acting president.

On Thursday, the government in Caracas said it would free Venezuelan and foreign prisoners without specifying a number or publishing a list of names.

Jorge Rodríguez, president of the Venezuelan parliament and the president's brother, merely mentioned a large number. He described the measure as a gesture in the quest for "peace."

Rights organizations have for years criticized arbitrary arrest and opaque conditions of imprisonment in Venezuela. The El Helicoide prison in Caracas is seen as a particular symbol of state repression, with former inmates reporting abuse and torture of opposition activists.