Venezuela released 99 prisoners on Christmas, with the government calling it a goodwill gesture as it assesses arrests made after President Nicolas Maduro’s re-election.
“The national government and the justice system have decided to evaluate each case individually and, in accordance with the law,” released 99 citizens “as a concrete expression of the State’s commitment to peace, dialogue and justice,” the Ministry of Penitentiary Services stated.
“They were deprived of liberty for their participation in acts of violence and incitement to hatred following the electoral day of July 28, 2024,” government officials added.
Tumultuous post-election demonstrations followed Maduro’s widely disputed claim to reelection in 2024, with the opposition claiming victory for the now-exiled former ambassador Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
Around 2,400 people were arrested but nearly 2,000 have since been released.
The release conditions for those freed on Thursday were unclear. AFP requested details from the Prosecutor’s Office but there was no immediate response.
In Venezuela, there are at least 902 political prisoners, according to the most recent count available from Foro Penal, a local NGO.
The ministry’s statement confirmed an earlier report about the Christmas Day releases from the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners, an advocacy group made up of rights activists and relatives of political prisoners.
“We celebrate the release of more than 60 Venezuelans, who should never have been arbitrarily detained,” committee head Andreina Baduel told AFP, citing an earlier release count.
“Although they are not entirely free, we will continue working for their full freedom and that of all political prisoners.”
According to relatives, the detainees has been held at the Tocoron maximum-security prison in Aragua state, about 134 kilometers (83 miles) from the capital Caracas.
Among those released was Marggie Orozco, a 65-year-old physician held for “treason, incitement to hatred and conspiracy” after criticizing Maduro in a voice message, the NGO Justice, Encounter and Pardon told AFP.
Maduro has said his goal this Christmas season was to defend his people’s “right to happiness.”
But the country has been living under fear of military action after the United States deployed a naval fleet in the Caribbean and started sinking boats it accuses of smuggling drugs, killing more than 100 people since September.
Washington has also been intercepting oil tankers as part of a naval blockade against Venezuelan vessels it considers to be under sanctions.
Trump accuses Venezuela of backing drug trafficking, terrorism and other crimes.
Caracas denies the allegations, saying Washington is seeking to overthrow Maduro and seize Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world.
