Venezuelan politicians Juan Pablo Guanipa and Freddy Superlano, alongside prominent lawyer Perkins Rocha, have now been freed from jail in the latest high-profile releases by the government in Caracas, according to their families and human rights organisations.
Human Rights group Foro Penal said that 35 political prisoners were released on Sunday, under mounting pressure from the U.S. to free political prisoners and that they were verifying additional cases.
The organisation has confirmed that 383 political prisoners have been let out since the Venezuelan government announced, on January 8, their plan to begin another round of releases.
Detained On Terrorism Charges
Guanipa, Rocha and Superlano are all allies of the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado. Perkins Rocha is a prominent lawyer for the Vente Venezuela opposition movement and was detained in August 2024 on grounds of terrorism and related charges. Juan Pablo Guanipa was arrested in May 2025 after months in hiding on similar charges.
Freddy Superlano, the leader of the Voluntad Popular Party, was arrested following the 2024 presidential elections. Captured on video being pushed into an unmarked car and surrounded by armed security personnel, his wife has stated that he then spent many months in isolation.
“Ten months in hiding and almost nine months detained here,” Guanipa said in a video posted on X following his release. “There’s a lot to talk about regarding the present and future of Venezuela, always with the truth front and centre.”
The government has denied holding political prisoners and claims that all those detained have committed crimes. Officials have announced that 900 people have been released, but have not provided a clear timeline, and may be including releases from previous years.
New ‘Amnesty Law’ For Prisoners
Venezuela’s interim President, Delcy Rodriguez has proposed an “amnesty law” for hundreds of prisoners, according to Heliocide detention centre in Caracas. The detention centre is infamous amongst rights groups as a site of prisoner abuse. Under this law, it will now be converted into a centre for sports and social services.
The new legislation, which will grant immediate clemency to people jailed due to participation in political protests or for criticising public figures, has passed in an initial vote at the National Assembly this week.
(With inputs from Reuters)
