Venezuela’s socialist regime released on Thursday night a minimal number of the more than 800 political prisoners it presently maintains in the nation’s detention and torture centers.
According to the Venezuela non-government organization Foro Penal, the Venezuelan socialist regime was holding 863 confirmed political prisoners as of December 29, 2025; the whereabouts of 68 remained unknown by the organization. Of the total, 862 are adults and one is a teenage minor between the ages of 14 and 17.
On Thursday night, Jorge Rodríguez, the head of the socialist-controlled National Assembly — and brother of “acting President” Delcy Rodríguez — announced that the regime would release an “important number” of Venezuelan and foreign nationals kept as political prisoners. According to Venezuelan state media, their release is part of a “a unilateral gesture aimed at ensuring that the country continues to live in peace and productivity.”
“In order to contribute and collaborate in the effort that we must all make for national unity and peaceful coexistence, the Bolivarian Government, together with state institutions, has decided to release a significant number of people, both Venezuelans and foreigners, and these release processes are taking place as we speak,” Jorge Rodríguez said.
Despite Rodríguez’s claims, only a very small number were released in the following hours, and no mass release of political prisoners has taken place at press time.
The Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) opposition coalition announced on social media that, as of Friday at 8:30 a.m. (local time), only 11 political prisoners had been released over the past hours, adding that the last reports of releases of political prisoners were documented at 1:00 a.m. The exact number appears to be unclear at press time, as the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional reported that only nine have been released. In contrast, the outlet Monitoreamos reported a list of 12 confirmed released political prisoners. Venezuelan state-owned media and regime affiliated outlets have not released any official information on the actual number released at press time.
Roughly half of the list of confirmed released prisoners presented by Monitoreamos is composed of Spanish nationals and includes Venezuelan-Spanish activist and lawyer Rocío San Miguel, who was arrested in February 2024 amid now-deposed dictator Nicolás Maduro’s “Bolivarian Fury” dissident crackdown. San Miguel’s arrest prompted international outrage at the time, including from the United Nations, to which Maduro responded by expelling the U.N. Human Rights Office personnel stationed in Caracas.
The Colombian news channel NTN24 reported that San Miguel and the other Spanish nationals safely arrived in Spain at 1:25 p.m. (local time).
A group of about 50 family members of political prisoners presently detained at the Rodeo I prison in Zamora, Miranda state, reportedly waited outside the prison overnight in hopes that their relatives would be released. Miliany Castillo, sister of a political prisoner, stated to international outlets that “so far” there had been no releases at Rodeo I and that the authorities denied having any information on the matter.
Venezuelan journalist Oliver Fernández published footage of the group of families reciting the Lord’s Prayer near the prison’s premises in the early morning hours of Friday, calling for the release of all the political prisoners.
Foro Penal’s Vice president Gonzalo Himiob denounced on Thursday night that the Venezuelan regime’s method of releasing the political prisoners allegedly involved taking them out of the prison in vehicles with tinted windows and then releasing them in other locations.
Other confirmed releases include Venezuelan politician Enrique Marquez, who was detained by the Venezuelan regime for supporting opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of the July 2024 sham presidential election, as well as Venezuelan-Italian politician Biagio Pilieri. Footage published by Venezuelan journalist Vladimir Villegas shows Marquez embracing his family on an unspecified street in Venezuela.
In light of the lack of information from the Venezuelan socialist regime, and the limited number of confirmed releases, the Venezuelan Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners, a human rights group, released an urgent statement on Friday morning denouncing that the release of political prisoners “as a supposed gesture of ‘seeking peace’ have not been fully, verifiably, or transparently carried out.”
The organization stated that it remains “vigilant and mobilized” until the socialist regime releases all political prisoners and ceases the repression of civilians.
“We call on the country and the international community to remain vigilant, to verify information, and to demand the immediate release of all those detained for political reasons in Venezuela,” the group said.
President Donald Trump announced early on Friday morning in a Truth Social post that he cancelled a second wave of attacks in response to Venezuela’s release of a “large number” of political prisoners.
“Venezuela is releasing large numbers of political prisoners as a sign of “Seeking Peace.” This is a very important and smart gesture. The U.S.A. and Venezuela are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure,” President Trump’s message read in part.
“Because of this cooperation, I have cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks, which looks like it will not be needed, however, all ships will stay in place for safety and security purposes,” he continued.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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