Families of Venezuelan prisoners demand their release after weeks of waiting outside prisons

Families Demand Release of Political Prisoners in Post-Maduro Venezuela

Families of Venezuelan political prisoners gathered outside prisons in Caracas on Tuesday, demanding the release of nearly 800 individuals still detained in the South American nation, including opposition members, journalists, and government critics.

The protests come two weeks after Venezuela’s transitional government, led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, promised to release a “significant number” of prisoners detained under the administration of Nicolás Maduro, who was removed from power in early January during an overnight U.S. military operation.

Despite Rodríguez’s declaration of “a new political moment” for Venezuela and a renewed pledge last week to continue releasing prisoners following criticism of the slow pace of releases, hundreds of families remain in limbo, waiting for news of their loved ones.

“Here we are waiting. Every day, we’re out here outside the Helicoide,” said Francis Quiñones, whose son has been detained for more than five years. “The government is killing us psychologically.”

Quiñones is among dozens of family members who have spent the past two weeks camped outside the notorious Helicoide prison in Caracas, which human rights groups have identified as a detention center housing numerous political opponents. She says she hasn’t been able to communicate with her son in over six months.

According to Foro Penal, Venezuela’s leading prisoner rights organization, only 145 of what they classify as “political prisoners” have been verified as released so far. Approximately 775 individuals remain in detention, according to the organization’s leader, Alfredo Romero.

The situation highlights the ongoing human rights concerns in Venezuela, even as the country attempts to navigate its political transition. While much of Venezuela has begun to move forward from the upheaval of recent weeks, families of detainees remain caught in a painful state of uncertainty.

Romero emphasized that even those who have been released face significant restrictions on their freedom. Most are subject to government-imposed limitations, including gag orders preventing them from speaking to media outlets and requirements to regularly check in with authorities. Others are prohibited from leaving the country altogether.

“These people are not free,” Romero said. “They are subjected to constant, latent persecution.”

The scene outside the detention centers in Caracas has become increasingly emotional. A row of tents lines the street where relatives display posters of their missing loved ones. Over the weekend, families held a candlelight vigil, embracing one another in solidarity and shared grief.

The detentions have been a longstanding issue in Venezuela. Under Maduro’s government, which ruled the country for over a decade, critics and opposition figures were routinely jailed on what human rights organizations described as politically motivated charges. International human rights bodies have documented patterns of arbitrary detention, forced disappearances, and mistreatment of political prisoners in Venezuela.

The current situation represents a critical test for the transitional government, which faces pressure both from families demanding immediate release of all political prisoners and from institutional forces that may resist rapid change to established power structures.

For families like Quiñones’s, each passing day without news brings renewed anxiety. As Venezuela attempts to chart a new political course, the fate of these detainees remains a powerful symbol of whether the country can truly break with its authoritarian past and embrace meaningful political reform.