US urges Venezuela to release remaining political prisoners

What the report says

The US has called on Venezuela to free the remaining political prisoners in the country and said it is also pushing reforms intended to create conditions for elections that are free, fair and credible. According to the BBC, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised both issues in talks on Monday with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco.

The BBC reported that more than 1,000 detainees have been released since US forces captured Nicolás Maduro in Caracas in January and took him to New York, but that the prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal says 322 people are still held. The release of detainees has been a long-standing demand of opposition leader María Corina Machado, who recently returned to Venezuela after time in exile and met relatives of political prisoners.

The article said many of those detained were arrested after the disputed 2024 presidential election, which Maduro was declared to have won by the government-aligned electoral council. Opposition-provided tallies and independent observers raised doubts about that result, and a UN fact-finding mission later said the authorities carried out severe repression against perceived opponents. The US state department said it remains committed to President Donald Trump’s three-phase approach for Venezuela, which includes stabilization, economic recovery, political reconciliation and a democratic transition.