Venezuela's 'Significant' Prisoner Release Pledge Under Scrutiny After Only Eight Confirmed in 24 Hours

A day after Venezuelan authorities announced the release of a "significant number" of political prisoners, human rights monitors say only eight releases have been confirmed so far, raising questions about the scope and pace of the government's pledge.

Alfredo Romero, director of Foro Penal, said in a message posted around midday, Caracas time, that his organization had verified the release of eight political prisoners as of 11:00 a.m. local time. The individuals confirmed as freed include opposition figures Enrique Márquez and Biagio Pilieri, as well as five Spanish nationals and one dual Spanish-Venezuelan citizen.

Foro Penal is a Venezuelan non-governmental organization that provides pro bono legal defense to people detained for political reasons and maintains a nationwide, continuously updated database of political detainees, widely used by international human rights bodies and foreign governments.

In a separate post by the organization's Vice President, Gonzalo Himiob, on Thursday, he asked for patience from the population as rumors in social media started to swirl. Himiob also said families should be alert, noting that some detainees appeared to be released by being taken from prisons in vehicles with tinted windows and dropped off elsewhere.

"Patience. Foro Penal's policy is not to report anything that we have not directly confirmed,- In any case, we have and will have good news"

The limited number of confirmed releases comes after National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez announced on Thursday that the government had begun freeing a "significant number" of Venezuelan and foreign detainees.

Speaking ahead of the legislature's first ordinary session of the year, Rodríguez said the decision had been taken jointly by the executive and other state institutions and framed it as a gesture intended to "seek peace" and promote national unity. He did not specify how many prisoners would be released or provide a timeline.

On Thursday night, emotional scenes unfolded in Caracas as several high-profile detainees were reunited with relatives, as CNN reports. Videos showed Márquez, a former presidential candidate, and Pilieri, a former lawmaker, embracing family members after being released from El Helicoide, a detention facility long criticized by human rights groups.

Spanish authorities confirmed that five Spaniards were among those freed and had returned to Spain on Friday, as RTVE reported. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares described their release as a "positive step" and said they were reunited with their families.

According to Foro Penal, 863 political prisoners remained in detention as of early January. Opposition leaders and rights groups have said that any genuine political transition would require the full, verified and unconditional release of all political detainees. m