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After months of uncertainty, five Spanish citizens have finally left behind the shadows of Venezuelan prisons and are now on a flight taking them back to Spain, announced the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares.
The news was confirmed tonight through the official account of the minister on X, where he expressed his "joy at their release" and conveyed "the gratitude of the Spanish government to the Embassy in Caracas and to all those who made their return possible."
The five, who spent long months detained in Venezuela under political accusations, have taken flight, bringing them closer at last to their loved ones. Among them are two Basques—Andrés Martínez Adasme and José María Basoa Valdovinos—arrested in September 2024 for alleged involvement in a conspiracy against the government, and the Canary Islander Miguel Moreno Dapena, detained in June while exploring shipwrecks.
Also traveling on that aircraft is the Valencian Ernesto Gorbe Cardona, who was detained last December, and the Hispano-Venezuelan activist Rocío San Miguel, a recognized human rights defender who was arrested in February 2024 while attempting to leave the country.
San Miguel, president of the organization Control Ciudadano, had been targeted by Venezuelan authorities on charges that international human rights organizations deemed arbitrary. Her detention became a symbol of the thousands of people imprisoned for political reasons in that country.
The departure of these five Spaniards takes place amid a climate of great uncertainty and expectation among the families of other political prisoners in Venezuela, where organizations like Foro Penal estimate that there are still hundreds of people deprived of their freedom for political reasons.
However, despite the prior announcement by the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, regarding the release of a "significant number" of prisoners, no further releases have been confirmed so far, emphasizes El País.
Family and friends gathered around prisons like El Rodeo and El Helicoide, one of the most feared in the country, waiting for news of their loved ones, in an atmosphere of tension reminiscent of the long nights without answers or comfort.
"We must wait for the call," said one of the relatives still in Caracas, caught between hope and the fear of more silence.
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