CARACAS — Jorge Rodríguez, the head of Venezuela’s National Assembly and the brother of interim president Delcy Rodríguez, announced Thursday that authorities had begun releasing political prisoners in what he described as a “unilateral gesture” by the government.
Jorge Rodríguez said the releases would include Venezuelan citizens and foreigners, though he did not specify how many people would be freed, saying only that it would be “an important number.”
“These release processes are occurring as of this very moment,” Rodríguez said during a news conference Thursday at the National Assembly.
Human rights groups say Venezuela holds hundreds of political prisoners, though exact figures are difficult to verify. According to the watchdog group Foro Penal, as of Monday, 806 people were detained for political reasons, including 105 women, a teenager and 85 foreign nationals.
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