Venezuela Leaders to Free Political Prisoners in a Sign of Possible Change

The release, which was expected to happen later on Thursday, offers the first gesture of conciliation under an interim government, even as arrests and crackdowns continue.A group of women holding handkerchiefs with the names of political prisoners in Caracas in November.Credit...Alejandro Cegarra for The New York TimesJan. 8, 2026Updated 1:51 p.m. ETVenezuela’s government announced the release of what it described as “an important number” of political prisoners, both Venezuelan and foreign national, on Thursday, the first ostensible gesture of change by the new administration since the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro.Jorge Rodríguez, the head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, did not specify how many people would be freed but said that the releases would take place “in the next few hours.”The decision was made as “a unilateral gesture to reinforce our unwavering decision to consolidate peace in the republic and peaceful coexistence among all, regardless of political, religious, economic, or social differences,” Mr. Rodríguez said.Prisoners’ rights groups estimate that between 800 and 900 political prisoners are incarcerated in Venezuela, and they say that most are charged with crimes such as incitement of hate, conspiring to overthrow the government or terrorism for simply exercising basic political rights.The announcement, a longtime demand of the opposition in Venezuela, offered a flicker of hope, even as interrogations and detentions on the streets have continued.Martha Tineo, co-founder of the nonprofit Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón, a Venezuelan human rights group, told The New York Times that some of the first political prisoners to be released would be those held in El Helicoide — an infamous prison known for its torture of inmates that was originally built as a modern mall in the heart of Caracas.“This announcement, if fully implemented, could represent a necessary step on the road to restoring democracy and unrestricted respect for human rights,” Ms. Tineo’s organization said in a statement, calling for the release of every prisoner.For years, Venezuela’s crackdowns have been followed by limited reprieves, which have included prisoner releases — a cycle that has exhausted Venezuelans. It remains unclear whether Thursday’s announcement signals any real shift toward political opening in the country.Mr. Maduro jailed thousands of people who protested his unsubstantiated victory claim in the 2024 presidential election, and in recent months he had stepped up the arbitrary detentions amid escalating tensions with the United States.ImageThe president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, in Caracas on Thursday.Credit...Gaby Oraa/ReutersSince the detention of Mr. Maduro, President Trump had largely sidelined the issue of human rights in Venezuela to focus on the country’s oil reserves.When Mr. Trump was asked by reporters on Sunday whether he had discussed with the Venezuelan government the release of political prisoners or the return of opposition politicians to Venezuela, he said, “We haven’t gotten to that yet.”“What we want to do now is fix up the oil,” he added.But on Tuesday, he said that “they have a torture chamber in the middle of Caracas that they’re closing up.”Mr. Trump appeared to be referring to El Helicoide, the prison that was once intended to be a shopping mall and that became the headquarters of the secret police and a jail — a constant and central reminder of state violence.Still, the announcement of the prisoner release came days after a new interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in with the support of the United States, marking a highly symbolic move to show a change in direction in the country’s government.“A certain faction within the government intends to send a positive message not only to the Venezuelan people, but also to the international community,” said Gonzalo Himiob, a Venezuelan lawyer and the president of the rights group Foro Penal.Last week, the Venezuelan administration released at least 80 political prisoners, according to rights groups, as is quite regular around the holidays, and others were released in late December.Prisoners’ rights advocates said that visits to Caracas’s prisons, where hundreds of political prisoners are also held, were suspended this week. They said that in some jails, the authorities were also not allowing family members to deliver packages of food or medicine to the prisoners.“We demand an end to the repression — key conditions for starting a true process of transition and national reconciliation,” the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners wrote on social media before the releases.Genevieve Glatsky and Emiliano Rodríguez Mega contributed reporting.Emma Bubola is a Times reporter covering Argentina. She is based in Buenos Aires.SKIP