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The NGO Foro Penal confirmed this Wednesday the release of 20 individuals in Venezuela —15 Venezuelans and 5 foreigners— raising the total to 297 verified cases since the government led by Delcy Rodríguez announced, on January 8, a process of releases without detailing how many would occur, who they would be, or under what conditions.
Despite the departures, the organization itself estimated that there are still around 800 political prisoners, which means that more than half would still need to be released if that universe is taken as a reference.
According to detailed by the president of Foro Penal, Alfredo Romero, 19 of these releases took place in El Rodeo I prison (Miranda state) and one in the Amazonas region (south, bordering Brazil and Colombia).
Foro Penal explained that its record pertains to "verified" cases, an important distinction amid a process characterized by fragmented information, where family members and activists often report a lack of official lists, delayed calls, and conditional measures.
The government, for its part, announced on January 8 the release of a “significant number of individuals”, but without specifying figures or identities, according to the same report.
In contrast to the NGO's count, the Minister of Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, stated this week that 808 people have been released since "before December" and reiterated that there are no political prisoners in Venezuela, a stance that human rights organizations reject.
The difference in the numbers reflects, in part, that the government provides overall figures without publishing a verifiable list of names, detention centers, or the legal conditions of each release.
The Venezuelan NGO Surgentes and the Committee of Mothers for Truth presented a proposed amnesty law to achieve the "full freedom" of all political prisoners and called on the Government to meet with the families of the detainees.
Since the announcement of the releases, activists and relatives have gathered outside various prisons in vigils to demand information and the total release of the detainees, in an atmosphere of rising public tension due to allegations of arrests and judicial proceedings challenged by opposition sectors.
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