Venezuela Frees Five Spanish Citizens Amid Political Turmoil

Overview of the Prisoner Release

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Spanish authorities on Thursday said Venezuela released prominent Venezuelan-Spanish rights activist Rocio San Miguel and four other Spaniards from prison, but local rights groups said Venezuelan prisoners had not yet been freed as promised.

Details of the Release

Venezuela's top lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez said earlier on Thursday that a significant number of both foreign and Venezuelan prisoners would be freed in the coming hours.

Reactions from Human Rights Groups

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares confirmed the release of San Miguel, an expert on security and Venezuela's military, in an interview with broadcaster RNE. He named the other freed Spanish citizens as Andres Martinez, Jose Maria Basoa, Ernesto Gorbe and Miguel Moreno. Spain called Venezuela's action a "positive step."

Political Context in Venezuela

However, a leading local human rights group cast doubt on the scope of the prisoner release, stating that as of Thursday evening, the promised release of Venezuelan nationals, who they describe as political prisoners, had "not been executed in a real way."

The Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners said there was "uncertainty in the detention centers where families stationed at the doors... report that the releases of unjustly imprisoned Venezuelans have not been carried out."

The prisoners were released during a week of political turmoil in Caracas after the U.S. ouster of President Nicolas Maduro, his arraignment in a New York court on narcoterrorism charges, swearing-in of interim President Delcy Rodriguez and announcement that the U.S. would refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of crude oil stuck in Venezuela under U.S. sanctions.

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who has several close allies imprisoned, has repeatedly demanded releases.

For years, Venezuela's opposition and human rights groups have said the government uses detentions to stamp out dissent, a charge authorities have consistently denied.

San Miguel was detained in February 2024 at Maiquetia international airport near Caracas, an arrest widely condemned by opposition politicians and rights organizations.

Leading local rights group Foro Penal estimates there are more than 800 political prisoners in the country. That figure includes at least 86 foreign detainees from the United States, Spain and other countries.

(Reporting by Reuters and Corian Pons and Aislinn Lang in Madrid; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)