CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Venezuelan government on Sunday released several prominent opposition figures from prison, including one of Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado’s closest allies, after lengthy politically motivated detentions.
Their releases come as the government of acting president Delcy Rodríguez is facing mounting pressure to free hundreds of people whose detentions months or years ago were linked to their political beliefs. They also follow a visit to Venezuela by representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president of Venezuela following the then-president’s capture on January 3 in Caracas Nicholas Maduro by the US military. Her government began releasing prisoners days later.
“I am convinced that our country has completely changed,” Juan Pablo Guanipa, a Machado ally and former governor, told reporters hours after his release. “I am convinced that it is now up to all of us to focus on building a free and democratic country.”
Guanipa, who had been in custody for more than eight months, was released from a detention center in the capital Caracas. An armored vehicle and officers appeared behind him in the video he released.
Venezuela-based prisoner rights group Foro Penal confirmed the release of at least 30 people on Sunday.
In addition to Guanipa, Machado’s political organization said several of its members were among those freed, including María Oropeza, who livestreamed her arrest by military intelligence officers while breaking into her house with a crowbar. Machado’s attorney, Perkins Rocha, was also released.
“Let’s go for the freedom of Venezuela!” Machado posted on X.
Guanipa was arrested in late May and charged by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello of participating in a so-called ‘terrorist group’ that plans to boycott that month’s parliamentary elections. Guanipa’s brother Tomás rejected the accusation, saying the arrest was aimed at cracking down on dissent.
“Thinking differently cannot be criminalized in Venezuela, and today Juan Pablo Guanipa is a prisoner of conscience of this regime,” Tomás Guanipa said after the arrest. “He has the right to think the way he thinks, the right to defend his ideas, and the right to be treated under a constitution that is not being enforced today.”
Her government announced on January 8 that it would release a country significant number of prisoners – a central demand of the country’s opposition and human rights groups, with support from the United States – but families and rights watchdogs have criticized authorities for the slow pace of releases.
The ruling party-controlled National Assembly this week began debating an amnesty law that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners. The opposition and non-governmental organizations have responded with cautious optimism, but also with suggestions and demands for more information about the content of the proposal.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez posted a video on Instagram on Friday showing himself outside a detention center in Caracas, saying “everyone” would be released by next week at the latest, once the amnesty law is approved.
Delcy Rodríguez and Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, spoke by phone in late January. His spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, said in a statement that he “offered our support to help Venezuela work on a roadmap for dialogue and reconciliation that should put human rights at the center” and then “deployed a team” to the South American country.
Machado remains in exile after leaving Venezuela in December. After being briefly detained in January 2025, she was not seen in public for 11 months when she appeared in Norway after the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
Guanipa said Sunday that Machado “exercises undeniable leadership” and is needed along with other exiled political leaders in Venezuela to move the country forward.
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Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.
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