Venezuela says it will release an ‘important number’ of political prisoners

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Venezuela is releasing a “significant number” of political prisoners, including foreigners, the president of the country’s Legislative Assembly said Thursday.

The announcement could be the first sign that the new government is willing to restore some freedom of expression in the country and bow to pressure from opposition groups and the U.S. government.

The move was seen as “a unilateral gesture to maintain peace and guarantee our unwavering decision to consolidate peace in the Republic and peaceful coexistence,” Jorge Rodríguez, older brother of the country’s new president, Delcy Rodríguez, told reporters.

Jorge Rodríguez said the process of releasing the prisoners had already begun.

He did not give details on who would be released or when. The State Department declined to comment on the announcement.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said of the prisoners’ release: “This is an example of how the president is using maximum influence to do good for the American and Venezuelan people.”

Venezuela holds between 800 and 900 political prisoners, rights groups say, most of them taken under the leadership of Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by U.S. forces on Saturday.

The South American country has imprisoned several Americans over the years. They released six detained Americans in January 2025, after Trump’s envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, spoke with Maduro in Caracas.

Families of those imprisoned and opposition groups have called for such a move and pressured the U.S. government to release them.

María Constanza Cipriani, wife of Perkins Rocha, imprisoned personal adviser to opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, said she did not know whether her husband would be released and felt immense anxiety.

“My heart is in my mouth,” she told NBC News. “I’m very tough, but this situation makes my hair stand on end.”

Rocha was arrested in August 2024 after Maduro won an election widely considered illegitimate. He was held incommunicado in Caracas’ notorious Helicoide prison for a year, during which time Cipriani did not see or speak to him. He was not entitled to private legal defense.

During his speech Tuesday, Trump appeared to reference Helicoide prison when he said the Venezuelans “have a torture chamber in the middle of Caracas that they’re shutting down.”

“My heart began to fill with hope,” Cipriani said after hearing Trump’s remarks.

“I’m waiting to get the call, hoping Perkins is on the list of those to be released,” she added. “And if he doesn’t, I know it will happen soon anyway because his only sin was fighting for the truth.”

F. Brinley Bruton reported from Bogotá and Carmen Sesin from Miami.