Jan 12 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s government said on Monday that 116 prisoners have been released “in the past few hours,” according to a statement from the Penitentiary Services Ministry, though rights groups reported a lower figure.
The government statement follows three days of reports from rights organizations about delays in the releases, which the Foro Penal group said earlier on Monday had reached only 41, including 24 people freed overnight.
The releases come after a week of political turmoil in Caracas following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro by the United States, and his appearance in a New York court on drug trafficking charges.
Those freed had been “deprived of their liberty for acts associated with disrupting the constitutional order and undermining the stability of the nation,” the ministry said.
The release of hundreds of political prisoners in the South American country is a long-running demand of human rights groups, international bodies and opposition figures.
Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump this week, has been one of the main voices calling for the release of prisoners that include some of her close allies.
Machado was in the Vatican on Monday, where she met Pope Leo.
The head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, had said on Thursday that a significant number of prisoners, both foreign and Venezuelan, would be released. He is the brother of acting President Delcy Rodriguez.
According to Foro Penal, at least 800 people were being held as political prisoners at the beginning of the year in Venezuela. The government denies that there are detainees held for political reasons.
(Reporting Reuters; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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