Number of prisoners released in Venezuela rises to 18
Human rights groups say the number of prisoners released in Venezuela has increased from nine to 18.
The release of hundreds of political prisoners in the South American country is a long-standing demand of human rights groups, international organizations and opposition figures, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who has several close allies imprisoned.
Both US President Donald Trump and Jorge Rodriguez, Venezuela’s top lawmaker and brother of Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, said the evacuations were a “gesture of peace.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he called off the second wave of attacks against Venezuela after the South American country cooperated.
The statements cover a week of political turmoil in Caracas: the US attack on Venezuela, the surprising capture of President Nicolas Maduro, his trial in a New York court on narco-terrorism charges, the swearing-in of Rodriguez and the announcement that the US will refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of crude oil from Venezuela.
For years, Venezuela’s opposition and human rights groups have said the government was using detentions to eliminate dissent; Authorities have consistently denied this accusation.
There is no official list of exactly how many prisoners will be released or who they are.
Local rights group Foro Penal estimates there are 811 political prisoners in the country. This figure includes more than 80 foreign detainees, two of whom are from the United States and one of whom resides in the United States.
Five Spanish nationals, including Venezuelan Spanish rights activist Rocio San Miguel, were the first to be confirmed for release on Thursday. They arrived in Madrid the next day.
Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Enrique Marquez is also among the released prisoners.
Meanwhile, the White House said Trump signed an executive order aimed at preventing courts or creditors from seizing proceeds tied to the sale of Venezuelan oil held in U.S. Treasury accounts.
The emergency order stated that revenue held in foreign government deposit funds should be used to help create “peace, prosperity, and stability” in Venezuela.
The order was signed Friday, less than a week after U.S. forces captured Maduro in Caracas.
Many companies have long-standing claims against the country. Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, for example, left Venezuela nearly 20 years ago after their assets were nationalized. Both still owe billions of dollars.
No specific company is mentioned in the order. It declares that the money is the sovereign property of Venezuela, held in U.S. custody for government and diplomatic purposes, and is not subject to special claims.
“President Trump is preventing the seizure of Venezuelan oil revenues that could undermine critical U.S. efforts to maintain economic and political stability in Venezuela,” the White House said in a memo.
Trump cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 and the National Emergencies Act of 1976 as legal justification.
Trump signed the order the same day he met with executives from Exxon, Conoco, Chevron and other oil companies in Washington as part of a bid to encourage them to invest US$100 billion ($149 billion) in Venezuela’s oil industry.
Commodity trader Vitol is expected to load the first cargo of naphtha from the United States to Venezuela under a new supply agreement over the weekend, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The naphtha influx, used as a diluent to thin Venezuela’s heavy crude and make it easier to transport and process, will be a major milestone in efforts to increase production in the South American country.
State-run PDVSA has been reducing production in recent days after a months-long US naval blockade cut off its shipments and was forced to store oil on ships as tanks on land were full.
