Further releases of political prisoners in Venezuela, opposition calls for free elections

Human rights groups report that Venezuelan authorities have released a significant number of political prisoners, just days after a meeting in New York between interim President Delcy Rodriguez and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Among those released in the early hours of Saturday was Wilder Vázquez. He was sentenced in 2018 to five years in prison after being accused of plotting to assassinate former President Nicolas Maduro.

The release of Miguel Castillo Centeno was also confirmed. He had said that he had been arbitrarily held in pretrial detention since June 2019.

Frank Cabanas was also among those released. According to human rights organizations, he had spent nine years in prison, despite health problems that emerged over the past year, after being linked to the death of a police officer.

Meanwhile, according to the BBC, opposition representatives have renewed calls for free elections following the talks between Rodriguez and Trump.

Rodriguez’s government had previously released hundreds of prisoners as part of an effort at reconciliation following Maduro’s arrest. However, the process slowed significantly in April, when Rodriguez said that the program was “nearing its end.”

Venezuelan authorities have yet to comment on the latest releases and have not clarified whether they are linked to Rodriguez’s conversation with the U.S. president.

Rodriguez has sought to portray her interim administration as more open to political dissent while simultaneously seeking to secure U.S. support. The prisoner-release program was one of the main concessions her government made to Washington.