The Venezuelan authority announced on Monday that it has released 116 political prisoners since it began freeing those jailed under president Nicolas Maduro, who was seized by US forces in a raid on Caracas.
“These measures have benefited individuals deprived of liberty for acts related to disrupting the constitutional order and undermining the Nation’s stability,” the Ministry of the Penitentiary Service said in a statement.
Opposition and rights groups disputed the figure, claiming the number of detainees released were far lower from what was reported.
Human rights groups estimate there are between 800 and 1,200 political prisoners in Venezuela.
Relatives of detainees have been camping near the gates of prisons awaiting word of their loved ones.
Non-governmental organization Foro Penal reported that 24 people were freed early Monday, including two Italians, while Venezuela’s political opposition reported the release of a youth leader.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took to X to thank Venezuela’s interim government led by Delcy Rodriguez, and welcome the release of the two Italian nationals, who she said “are now safe at the Italian Embassy in Caracas.
“I have spoken with them, and a plane has already left Rome to bring them home,” Meloni added.
The release of prisoners was announced last Thursday under pressure from President Donald Trump, who has claimed the United States is “in charge” of Venezuela after deposing Maduro and sending him to a New York prison to face drug-trafficking charges.
Over the weekend Trump celebrated the releases “in a big way,” and said he hoped the freed prisoners “will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done.”
