Slow-moving prisoner releases in Venezuela enter 3rd day after
government announces goodwill effort
[January 12, 2026]
By REGINA GARCIA CANO
SAN FRANCISCO DE YARE, Venezuela (AP) — As Diógenes Angulo was freed
Saturday from a Venezuelan prison after a year and five months, he, his
mother and his aunt trembled and struggled for words. Nearby, at least a
dozen other families hoped for similar reunions.
Angulo’s release came on the third day that families had gathered
outside prisons in the capital, Caracas, and other communities hoping to
see loved ones walk out after Venezuela's government pledged to free
what it described as a significant number of prisoners. Members of
Venezuela’s political opposition, activists, journalists and soldiers
were among the detainees that families hoped would be released.
Angulo was detained two days before the 2024 presidential election after
he posted a video of an opposition demonstration in Barinas, the home
state of the late President Hugo Chávez. He was 17 at the time.
“Thank God, I’m going to enjoy my family again,” he told The Associated
Press, adding that others still detained “are well” and have high hopes
of being released soon. His faith, he said, gave him the strength to
keep going during his detention.
Minutes after he was freed, the now 19-year-old learned former President
Nicolás Maduro had been captured by U.S. forces Jan. 3 in a nighttime
raid in Caracas.
Venezuela's government on Thursday pledged to free a significant number
of prisoners in what it described as a gesture to “seek peace.”
Officials have not identified or given a number of prisoners being
considered for release, leaving rights groups scouring for hints of
information and families to watch the hours tick by with no word.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the release of people detained for
political reasons came at Washington’s request.
"Venezuela has started the process, in a BIG WAY, of releasing their
political prisoners," Trump wrote Saturday on his Truth Social platform.
“Thank you! I hope those prisoners will remember how lucky they got that
the USA came along and did what had to be done.”
Trump added that should prisoners forget, “it will not be good for
them.”
As of Saturday night, only 16 people imprisoned for political reasons
had been released, according to Foro Penal, a Venezuelan advocacy group
for prisoners. Eight hundred and four remained imprisoned, the group
said.
A brother of human rights attorney Rocío San Miguel, one of the first to
be released and who immediately relocated to Spain, said in a statement
that her release “is not full freedom, but rather a precautionary
measure substituting deprivation of liberty.” The conditions of her
release ban her from speaking to the media.
“This situation does not constitute exile, nor a waiver of her rights,
but is part of the humanitarian and diplomatic agreements reached to
facilitate her release,” José Manuel San Miguel said of his sister's
move to Spain.
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Relatives and friends of political prisoners hold banners calling
for their loved ones to be set free outside El Helicoide, the
headquarters of Venezuela's intelligence service and detention
center, in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 after the
government announced prisoners would be released.(AP Photo/Ariana
Cubillos)
Among the prominent members of the country’s political opposition
who were detained after the 2024 presidential elections and remain
in prison are former lawmaker Freddy Superlano and Perkins Rocha,
lawyer for opposition leader María Corina Machado. Juan Pablo
Guanipa, a former governor and one of Machado's closest allies, and
Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of opposition presidential candidate
Edmundo González, also remain imprisoned.
One week after the U.S. military intervention in Caracas,
Venezuelans aligned with the government marched in several cities
across the country demanding the return of Maduro and his wife Cilia
Flores. The pair were captured and transferred to the U.S., where
they face charges including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism.
Both pleaded not guilty.
In Caracas, many demonstrators waved Venezuelan flags and chanted,
“Maduro, keep on going, the people are rising.”
Acting president Delcy Rodríguez, speaking at a public social-sector
event in Caracas, again condemned the U.S. military action on
Saturday.
“There is a government, that of President Nicolás Maduro, and I have
the responsibility to take charge while his kidnapping lasts ... We
will not stop condemning the criminal aggression,” she said,
referring to Maduro’s ousting.
After the shocking military action that overthrew Maduro, Trump
stated the U.S. would “run” the South American country and demanded
access to oil resources, which he promised to use “to benefit the
people” of both nations.
“I love the Venezuelan people and I am already making Venezuela
prosperous and safe again,” Trump said in his Saturday post.
The U.S. and Venezuelan governments on Friday announced they are
evaluating the restoration of diplomatic relations, broken since
2019, and the reopening of their respective diplomatic missions. A
U.S. delegation visited Venezuela for several hours Friday.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil responded to Pope Leo XIV's
statement Friday calling for maintaining peace and “respecting the
will of the Venezuelan people.”
“With respect for the Holy Father and his spiritual authority,
Venezuela reaffirms that it is a country that builds, works, and
defends its sovereignty with peace and dignity,” Gil said in a
social media post, inviting the pontiff “to get to know this reality
more closely.”
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