Venezuelan Prisoners

One of the positive effects promised by the US government to come from their actions in Venezuela was the release of political prisoners. However, of the approximately 800 people held in Venezuelan prisons for political reasons only a small fraction have been let out. 

According to Foro Penal, a local human rights advocacy group, 49 people have been confirmed as freed, several being foreign nationals. Many families are lamenting the lack of a timely release of their loved ones, a majority of whom have been cut off from contact for months, if not years. Conditions inside Venezuela’s prisons have been criticized internationally, with torture and deprivation being common. 

The Trump administration has pledged to secure the release of all unlawfully held detainees in the country, but no schedule for those releases has been put forward. The Venezuelan government says that the delay stems from necessary procedural steps inherent to the process of releasing prisoners. Ordinary citizens worry that the delays indicate the government’s attempt to stall the issue until it no longer is pressured to comply with US demands.