The president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodríguez, said on Tuesday that more than 400 people had been released from prison as part of the process announced last week as a gesture of peace.
Human rights groups, however, said that the number of releases ranged between 60 and 70, while also complaining about the slow pace and the lack of information. On Monday, Venezuela’s prison authority said that 116 people had been released from prison.
Foro Penal, one of the main local NGOs that provides legal support to detainees, said that at least 800 political prisoners were behind bars at the start of the year.
The government says that it does not hold political prisoners and that those detained were charged with legitimate crimes.
The opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, María Corina Machado, who is due to meet with the U.S. president, Donald Trump, on Thursday, has been one of the main voices calling for the release of the prisoners, some of whom are her close allies.
