Venezuela’s government on Thursday announced the release of 88 people jailed for protesting President Nicolas Maduro’s claimed victory in the July 2024 elections.
In a statement published on Instagram, the Ministry of Penitentiary Service said that there had been “88 new releases” of people detained “for crimes committed during violent actions by extremist groups.”
“These actions are part โof the comprehensive review process of cases ordered โby โ President Nicolas Maduro,” it added.ย
The โNew Year’s Day release comes after Maduro’s government decided to free 99 people on Christmas Day as “a concrete expression of the State’s commitment to peace, dialogue and justice.”ย
Venezuela’s disputed 2024 re-election of Maduro
In July 2024, mass protests erupted in Venezuela after Maduro was declared to have won a third six-year term.
The country’s opposition claimed victory for the now-exiled former ambassador Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
Around 2,400 people were arrested, but nearly 2,000 have since been released.
Venezuelan NGOs estimate that about 900 political prisoners remain in detention in the country, including individuals arrested before the election.ย
US increasing pressure on Venezuela
Amid the threat of military action from the Trump administration, Maduro has lately been keen to show a more conciliatory side.
In recent months, the United States has ramped up pressure on Caracas, amassing a โhuge military presence in the Caribbean, carrying out strikes near the Venezuelan coast on suspected drug boats off the coast of Venezuela and seizingย tankers transporting Venezuelan oil.
This week, US President Donald Trump announced that US forces had hit a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats, the first known land strike on Venezuelan soil to counter narcotics trafficking from Latin America.
On Thursday, Maduro said that he was open to dialogue with the United States “wherever they want and whenever they want.”
He did not confirm or deny the US strike on the docking area, instead saying itย “could be something we talk about in a few days.”
Venezuela has accused the US of trying to oust Maduro to get its hands on the country’s oil reserves, the largest in the world.
Last week, Trump said it would be “smart” for Maduro to step down.
Edited by:ย Saim Duลกan Inayatullah