What changed
The US has urged Venezuela’s interim government to release the 322 political prisoners that rights group Foro Penal says remain detained. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the demand during talks with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco, tying the prisoners’ release to reforms meant to prepare for free and credible elections.
More than 1,000 prisoners have reportedly been freed since Nicolás Maduro was seized on 3 January and taken to New York, where he faces drug-trafficking and torture charges. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez has said elections will take place under a renewed electoral authority, but has not set a date.
Why it matters
The prisoner count is now a direct test of Venezuela’s transition. Many of those still detained were arrested after the disputed 2024 presidential election, when the opposition said its vote tallies showed a different result from the official declaration of Maduro’s victory.
That makes the issue larger than a list of releases. The US is backing a three-stage plan of stabilisation, economic recovery and political reconciliation before a democratic transition. But the opposition is already impatient with the pace of change, and the central political question remains unresolved: when will the election system be replaced, and when will Venezuelans vote?
The outlook is conditional. If Rodríguez’s government releases the remaining detainees and moves quickly on electoral reforms, it could make the transition more credible. If it delays, the gap between Washington’s timetable and the opposition’s demands is likely to remain the defining pressure on the interim government.
María Corina Machado, who returned to Venezuela on 25 October after nearly a year in exile, is pressing for elections in 2027. Rubio has said the election infrastructure must be replaced quickly for any new vote to be valid. For now, Rodríguez has promised elections without saying when they will happen.
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