Venezuela frees political prisoners, pledges to ‘rescue’ Maduro

CARACAS – Venezuela continued releasing political prisoners
on Jan 10, including a member of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s party, a week after former president Nicolas Maduro was captured by US forces.

The Venezuelan authorities released at least five people, including Mr Virgilio Laverde, youth coordinator for Ms Machado’s Vente Venezuela party in the southern state of Bolivar, the human rights organisation Foro Penal confirmed on X. 

The release of political prisoners is one of the opposition’s main demands, following the apprehension of Maduro on Jan 3 and President Donald Trump’s claims that the US is running the oil-rich country.

Venezuela’s National Assembly head Jorge Rodriguez said on Jan 8 that a significant number of prisoners would be released as a gesture of peace. So far, the number has not reached two dozen, while Foro Penal estimates there are more than 800 political prisoners in the country.

Among the first prisoners released were Mr Biagio Pilieri, a former lawmaker and Machado ally; Mr Enrique Marquez, a former vice-president of the opposition-led National Assembly and electoral authority; and five Spanish citizens. 

During an event at a food market on Jan 10, Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said Venezuela would not stop condemning Maduro’s detention.

“We will not rest until we have president Maduro back; we are going to rescue him,” she said, without mentioning the new releases of prisoners.

Mr Trump said he had cancelled a second wave of attacks on Venezuela following cooperation from the South American nation, with US diplomats visiting Caracas, the country’s capital. 

He signed an executive order on Jan 10 to safeguard Venezuelan oil revenue held in US Treasury accounts, blocking it from being accessed by the South American country’s creditors and preventing its seizure to satisfy debts or other legal claims, according to a White House fact sheet. 

On Jan 9, major US oil executives expressed caution about Mr Trump’s push for them to spend at least US$100 billion (S$129 billion) to rebuild Venezuela, with the head of Exxon Mobil calling the nation currently “uninvestable”. BLOOMBERG