The release of political prisoners in Venezuela is neither massive nor complete.

CaracasThe official announcement of the release of political prisoners following the US military operation in Venezuela opened the prison gates not so much for those detained by Nicolás Maduro's regime, but rather for greater collective tensions in an uncertain environment. The second week of Delcy Rodríguez's interim government was fueled by contradictions between the official statements of the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, who on January 8th said that "a significant number of detainees" would be released, and the actual verification that the amnesty, far from being massive, would be a tortuous, piecemeal process. This week, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUC) indicated that it had so far been able to "verify the release of 170 political prisoners," just under 20% of the total. Kaleidoscope Humano also reports similar figures. Both organizations have been documenting politically motivated arrests since years before the 2014 electoral fraud, a key episode in Venezuela's long-running crisis.

This is not just a government promise under unprecedented US tutelage. The release of political prisoners has become a turning point in post-Maduro Venezuela, a condition sine qua non to pave the way for a democratic transition. This is emphasized by experts and opposition leaders such as María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia (whose son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, received an express sentence of thirty years in prison and He was released this Thursday), and even some pro-government sectors. In fact, the releases are also part of the program proposed by the United States to manage the country after Maduro's fall.

As soon as the first releases were confirmed, including that of Venezuelan-Spanish activist Rocío San Miguel (detained since February 2024 for alleged conspiracy), hundreds of relatives of the detainees gathered late into the night outside the centers hoping to embrace them again.

But that hope crashed against the wall of frustration. Last week, while the country watched in astonishment as María Corina Machado presented the Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump and how Delcy Rodríguez met with the CIA director, John RatcliffeThe Rodríguez brothers insisted that more than 200 political prisoners had been released, but without providing any list with names. This figure does not correspond with the estimates of human rights organizations, which at the time placed the number between 130 and 150 people.

It is clear that the releases have been carried out piecemeal and that freedom has not been complete: all are released with precautionary measures and a prohibition on speaking about their situation, especially those who remain in the country.

Constant surveillance

Social protest has taken hold in detention centers, becoming a permanent fixture, while social media continues to give a face and voice to hundreds of cases of people who remain behind bars. New political prisoners have even emerged, completely unknown until now, who had never been denounced for fear of reprisals from their families or in the hope that, by remaining silent, they could secure a swift release.

Releases in Venezuela are handled with opacity. No one knows for sure how many people remain in the dungeons. El Helicoide, considered the largest torture center in Latin America, and the El Rodeo Judicial Detention Center, in the state of Miranda, about 50 kilometers from the capital, are two of the best-known detention centers. But, according to reports from human rights defenders, there are some 90 police and military facilities throughout the country where people are being held in violation of their human rights.

This has been denounced by the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which has extensively documented the widespread and systematic use of arbitrary detention as a tool of repression. In its report, the UN Mission detailed that "of an estimated 800 people detained for political reasons, only about 50 appear to have been released so far," including some recorded in previous reports. They urge the "immediate and unconditional release" of all those arbitrarily deprived of their liberty.

Political prisoners, both Venezuelan and foreign, have become a political tool of repression under the Maduro regime. They have served as exemplary models and as bargaining chips in negotiations, analysts observe. Hence, the so-called "revolving door" remains active to ensure the continuity of this system: while some are released, others are arrested. This was the case with former opposition councilman Alfredo Márquez, arrested on Monday, January 12, in Trujillo state, in the Venezuelan Andes, on the orders of the state governor. The interim president did not confirm whether this long-standing practice is part of the "Venezuela that is opening itself to understanding despite political and ideological differences and diversities," as Rodríguez proclaimed on January 14.