Top Venezuelan official says a ‘significant number’ of prisoners will be released as a gesture to ‘seek peace’

The release of opposition figures and critics has been a long-time demand by Venezuela’s opposition and the United States government.

Despite mass detentions following the tumultuous 2024 election, Venezuela’s government denies that there are “political prisoners” and accuse those detained of plotting to destabilize Maduro’s government.

“Consider this a gesture by the Bolivarian government, which is broadly intended to seek peace,” Rodríguez said in an announcement publicised over TV.

Ronal Rodríguez, a researcher at the Venezuelan Observatory at the University of Rosario in Bogotá, said the government periodically releases prisoners at politically strategic moments.

“The regime uses them (prisoners) like a bargaining chip,” he said, adding that he and other observers will be watching not just how many people the government releases, but also whether high-profile individuals are included or if they’re being released under a condition of house arrest.

Little movement was immediately seen outside one of Venezuela’s most notable prisons, where a number of the detainees are held.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration sought to assert its control over Venezuelan oil, seizing a pair of sanctioned tankers transporting petroleum and announcing plans to relax some sanctions so the US can oversee the sale of Venezuela’s petroleum worldwide.

Both moves reflect the administration’s determination to make good on its effort to control the next steps in Venezuela through its vast oil resources after US President Donald Trump pledged after the capture of Maduro that the US will “run” the country.