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🇻🇪 Venezuela /Crime & Justice

Relatives of political prisoners question official figures on releases in Venezuela

From El Nacional · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Relatives of political prisoners in Venezuela express distrust in the government's official figures for recent releases.
  • The government claims 395 people were freed this week, with more expected, but families are demanding verifiable lists of names.
  • Human rights organizations report significantly lower numbers of verified releases, questioning the transparency of the process.

Family members of political prisoners in Venezuela are voicing skepticism regarding the government's announced figures for recent prisoner releases. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez stated that 395 individuals were freed this week, with an additional 500 expected soon. However, the lack of an official, verifiable list of names has fueled doubts among relatives and monitoring organizations.

Hiowanka Ávila, whose brother has been detained since 2018, criticized the absence of transparent information. "We do not trust the figures they give. We have been asking for months to publish the names of the people they have released to ensure a transparent process," Ávila told EFE news agency. She emphasized that the state has a responsibility to disclose the identities of those freed to guarantee transparency.

We do not trust the figures they give. We have been asking for months to publish the names of the people they have released to ensure a transparent process

· Hiowanka ÁvilaÁvila expressed her family's distrust in the government's official release numbers.

Organizations like the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners (Clipp) and the NGO Foro Penal report substantially fewer releases than the government claims. Clipp has verified only 43 releases so far, a figure echoed by Foro Penal, which has documented dozens since the government's new initiative began. These numbers fall far short of the official tallies.

Ruth Molero, another relative, shared the growing desperation and anxiety among families who have been awaiting results for over four months since the government's initial announcement on January 8. Despite a new amnesty law promoted by Rodríguez, human rights organizations remain cautious about its implementation. Foro Penal currently lists 429 political prisoners in Venezuela.

We are already desperate, anguished, and quite overwhelmed by this situation

· Ruth MoleroMolero described the emotional toll on families awaiting information about their detained relatives.
About this summary

Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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