Venezuela has freed at least 104 political prisoners in a continuing process that human rights advocates say reflects mounting pressure on authorities to ease political tensions within the crisis-hit nation.
The figures were confirmed on Sunday by Caracas-based rights group Foro Penal, which said the releases were ongoing and subject to further verification.
The latest group of freed detainees were released from prisons across Venezuela as part of a broader, gradual effort by the interim government to release opponents of the former administration amid widespread calls for political reforms.
“At Foro Penal we have verified 104 releases of political prisoners in Venezuela today,” said the organisation’s director, Alfredo Romero, in a post on social media platform X.
He added that his team was working to confirm additional frees as the day progressed.
Foro Penal earlier reported that some 80 political prisoners had been freed on Sunday, but updated its tally as more information came in, highlighting the fluid and sometimes opaque nature of the process.
“This figure is not yet definitive and could increase as we proceed with verifications,” Foro Penal attorney Gonzalo Himiob said.
The releases come at a moment of intense political realignment in Venezuela, where interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has pledged to free a significant number of opponents imprisoned under the previous administration.
Rodríguez assumed leadership following the capture and removal of former president Nicolás Maduro, a dramatic event that has reshaped Venezuela’s political landscape and intensified international scrutiny of the government’s human rights record.
State figures announced earlier this week put the total number of prisoners freed since December at 626, according to Rodríguez, though rights groups including Foro Penal have verified fewer than half of those releases as political detainees.
Many NGOs monitor the situation closely because of longstanding concerns that arbitrary detention has been used as a tool against critics of the Maduro era.
The freed detainees include a wide range of individuals whom rights organisations have described as detained for their political activities, protests, or opposition affiliations.
In recent weeks, notable figures such as journalists, activists, and political operatives have been among those released, though many others remain behind bars.
Foro Penal’s count of confirmed releases since early January , when the release process was publicly announced, had reached around 156 political prisoners, before the latest round of frees was reported.
That number is expected to rise as rights groups continue verification efforts.
The release campaign has not been without controversy. Critics of the interim government have argued that the pace of releases is slow and that many detainees remain unjustly confined, even as lists of those freed are not always published by authorities, complicating transparency efforts.
“It would be ideal if the government published lists of those released,” Romero said.
International pressure, particularly from the United States and human rights bodies, appears to have played a role in pushing for broader releases.
Observers say the releases are part of wider negotiations and diplomatic efforts aimed at easing tensions and potentially opening the door to more comprehensive reforms.
Yet significant challenges remain. Rights groups estimate that hundreds of political prisoners are still incarcerated, and calls for full and unconditional release continue from domestic and international actors.
The complex mix of political rivalries, legal ambiguities, and institutional barriers means that progress is likely to remain incremental, even as each new wave of releases offers relief to families and advocates.
For now, the latest group of freed detainees adds to a broader pattern of gradual prisoner releases that many see as a key test of Venezuela’s evolving governance and commitment to human rights.
As verification continues and more names come to light, the true scope of the ongoing release process may become clearer in the days ahead.
