Venezuela released a group of political prisoners as President Donald Trump’s administration ratchets up pressure on Nicolás Maduro’s socialist regime.
Eight detainees were freed in the South American nation early Sunday, while five others will serve out the remainder of their sentences under house arrest, former governor and presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said in a post on X.
Among those released was Américo De Grazia, an ally of María Corina Machado, the banned opposition leader who represents the biggest challenge yet to Maduro’s 12-year rule. Pedro Guanipa, the brother of a prominent jailed opposition figure, was given house arrest.
There were 815 political prisoners behind bars in Venezuela as of Aug. 21, according to Caracas-based human-rights group Foro Penal.
The US recently deployed three warships, carrying 4,000 sailors and Marines, to the southern Caribbean as part of its efforts to combat drug cartels in the region. Earlier this month, Trump’s attorney general doubled the bounty on Maduro’s head to $50 million.
Trump’s administration has also withheld approval for several oil majors seeking to resume operations in Venezuela, including Spain’s Repsol SA, Italy’s Eni SpA and Maurel & Prom of France, despite handing out a license last month for Chevron Corp. to resume pumping crude in the South American nation.
The US State Department and Venezuela’s information ministry didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment on Sunday’s prisoner release.
Last month, Maduro agreed to swap 10 American detainees and dozens of Venezuelan political prisoners in exchange for 250 Venezuelan migrants who had been deported to and locked up in El Salvador. It’s unclear whether this latest batch was negotiated with the US or meant to interfere with Trump’s administration plans.
On Friday, Maduro invoked a former Venezuelan president, Cipriano Castro, who offered to open all doors for political prisoners amid tensions with the US during his time in office in the early 1900s.
In remarks a day earlier, Maduro dismissed news of the US deployment but nonetheless called on Venezuelans to unite and enlist. “We call to arms all militia members, to tell the imperialists: Enough of your threats, Venezuela rejects you!”
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Venezuela, political prisoners, Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump, human rights
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