Penitentiary Services Ministry says those freed had been ‘deprived of their liberty’ for acts associated with disrupting the constitutional order.
At least 116 prisoners have been released in Venezuela after their arrests during the presidency of Nicolas Maduro, the government has announced, nine days after the United States abducted Maduro.
Venezuela’s Ministry of Penitentiary Services reported on Monday that the prisoners had been released “in the past few hours”. It followed a similar release a few days ago.
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The ministry added that those freed had been “deprived of their liberty for acts associated with disrupting the constitutional order and undermining the stability of the nation”.
Two Italian citizens were also released, and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani pledged to upgrade Rome’s relations with Caracas in response.
Dozens of dual Italian-Venezuelan nationals remain in prison.
However, the Foro Penal group, a human rights organisation, contended earlier on Monday that only 41 people had been released, including 24 people freed overnight.
The release of political prisoners in Venezuela has been a long-running call of human rights groups, international bodies and opposition figures.
Human rights groups estimated there are 800 to 1,200 political prisoners in Venezuela.
The releases, which began on Thursday, came after pressure by US President Donald Trump, who stated that Washington was “in charge” of the Latin American country following the military operation on January 3 to abduct Maduro, which sparked global protests and criticism.
Maduro now faces drug-trafficking charges and is currently being held in a prison in New York.
On Saturday, Trump celebrated the release of the prisoners in what he called a “big way”.
He added that he hopes those freed “will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done”.
A papal audience
In the meantime, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado met with Pope Leo XIV during a private audience on Monday.
So far, few details have been released about the meeting.
On Friday, the pontiff called for Venezuela’s sovereignty to be protected and issued an appeal “to respect the will of the Venezuelan people and to safeguard the human and civil rights of all.”
Machado, who is currently touring Europe, is expected to meet with Trump this week after he said on January 3 that she did not have the support or respect to lead the country.
She had dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump, who deeply covets the honour himself.
The Venezuelan opposition, which has been supported by Republican and Democratic administrations in the US, had pledged to replace Maduro with one of their own.
However, after the abduction of Maduro, Trump sidestepped the group, and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez became interim president.