Less than a week after the U.S. operation to retake President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela has begun releasing a number of high-profile prisoners, including opposition politicians, in what the government calls a “seek for peace.”
At least nine people had been released as of Friday afternoon, representing just over 1% of Venezuela’s political prisoners, according to human rights group Penal Forum.
There was a tearful reunion Thursday night, and a video shared on social media and verified by CNN Spanish showed the newly released detainees embracing their loved ones.
Among the first to be released were former presidential candidate Enrique Marquez, who had been held in a Caracas detention center known as El Helicoid, and businessman and former Venezuelan lawmaker Biajo Pillieri.
“They were taken out in a car and dropped off at a location far away from El Helicoid,” a CNNE reporter told CNN.
As friends and family waited anxiously for the couple to arrive at Plaza Altamira in the city’s Chacao district, Marquez was seen smiling, putting his arm around the woman and resting his head on her shoulder.
National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodríguez said the releases were “immediate” and would include both Venezuelans and foreigners, but he did not say how many would be released or specifically who would be released. In a message broadcast on public television channel TeleSur, he said the move was aimed at contributing to “national unity”.
The incident comes days after the United States captured Venezuela’s longtime authoritarian leader Maduro in a stunning military raid and brought him to New York on drug trafficking charges.
Since the attack, U.S. officials have been working to establish an amenable transitional government in Venezuela and, among other things, demanding that Venezuela release political prisoners, according to a person familiar with meetings with key U.S. officials this week.
Following Rodríguez’s announcement, Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that five Spaniards, one of whom had dual citizenship, had been released and returned to Spain.
“They will soon return home with their loved ones,” Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez told TV program X. “I spoke to them to express my joy at being released.”
“Spain, which maintains friendly relations with the Venezuelan people, welcomes this decision as a positive step as Venezuela enters a new phase,” the ministry said.
Days before the U.S. detained Mr. Maduro, a U.S. official told CNN that Venezuelan security forces had detained at least five Americans in recent months. The official said the Trump administration believes the Americans were detained as leverage, adding that while the details of the incidents vary, some may have been involved in drug smuggling.
It is unclear whether the five people will be among those released.
Venezuelan activist Alfredo Romero said in a post on X that his organization, Penal Forum, “verifies each release.”
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa has not yet been released, but Romero said in an interview with the TVV network that he would be released.
Guanipa previously served as a member of Venezuela’s parliament and is a close ally of opposition leader Maria Colina Machado.
Mr. Guanipa was detained in May 2025. Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello claimed, without providing evidence, that Mr. Guanipa’s arrest was due to an alleged plot against elections scheduled for that month.
The Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners of Venezuela (CLIPVE) called for “swift action and transparency” in the government’s release of the remaining detainees.
“There continues to be a lack of transparency and sufficient discretion in the handling of these releases, increasing anxiety, distress and uncertainty for families and political prisoners,” CLIPPE said in a statement.
Venezuelan opposition parties and foreign governments have long accused Maduro’s government of taking political prisoners, but Caracas’ president has dismissed international reports of arbitrary detention as “irresponsible, biased” and “interventionist.”
In the aftermath of Venezuela’s disputed 2024 presidential election, more than 2,000 people were arrested in a subsequent crackdown by government forces after President Maduro claimed victory despite independent observers condemning the vote as undemocratic, according to Amnesty International.
According to the Penal Forum, 863 political prisoners remained in detention as of early January.
Many of these detainees are being held at El Helicoide.
Originally built as a shopping mall, this impressive building now serves as the headquarters of Venezuelan intelligence services and a notorious prison.
Venezuela also faces allegations of mistreating political prisoners, including at El Helicoid.
A 2025 Human Rights Watch (HRW) study found that many political prisoners were held in isolation for long periods and denied access to family members or legal representatives.
HRW Americas director Juanita Goebertus described the treatment of political prisoners as “appalling evidence of the brutality of repression in Venezuela.”
Since President Maduro’s ouster, many Venezuelans have expressed concern that his successor, acting President Delcy Rodríguez, will continue or further strengthen this policy.
On Monday, Venezuelan authorities imposed a decree granting the president broad powers and ordering security forces to detain “persons involved in promoting or supporting” the weekend’s U.S. attacks.
According to CLIPPVE, the political prisoners’ visitation rights have been suspended and they are prohibited from communicating with the outside world.
After the release plan was announced, families of some prisoners gathered outside El Helicoid, anxiously waiting for updates on their loved ones.
Atari Cabrejo visited the facility to see if his son, an opposition coordinator, was among those released. He told Reuters that officials had not provided him with any information.
“What we know is what we’ve seen in the media,” she said.
CNN’s Alessandra Freitas, Michael Rios, Alaina Torine, Kristen Holmes and Jennifer Hansler contributed.
