Relatives of Venezuelan political prisoners took to the streets of Caracas on Monday to demand the release of the 328 detainees who, according to the NGO Foro Penal, are still held in the country.
The protest, held in front of the headquarters of the Ombudsman, was the first day of a four-action agenda titled "Route of the Pending Responses", organized by the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners (Clipp).
"Not one or two, but all of them," chanted the protesters in front of the building, where they demanded individual attention for each case, visits and inspections of detention centers, and an end to the reported mistreatment.
The ombudsman, Eglée González Lobato, met with the families and announced that her institution will review the submitted cases, prioritizing those with "serious health issues, completed sentences, and delays in the legal process."
"After the review we conduct today, we will make statements as soon as possible," he assured the press.
The activist Hiowanka Ávila, sister of political prisoner Henryberth Rivas, was one of the most outspoken voices during the event.
"We hope for a response, and for support from the Ombudsman. We are also awaiting the presence of the International Red Cross at El Rodeo I prison; it is essential that they attend and make public all the needs they have observed in the various detention centers," he declared.
The mobilization occurs at a time of heightened tension, after Foro Penal reported the transfer of at least 94 political prisoners from El Rodeo I to other facilities — including Fuerte Guaicaipuro, Yare, and La Planta — without prior notification to their families or lawyers. Of those transfers, only 24 had been verified at their destinations by the time of the report at the beginning of September.
The legal coordinator of the NGO Provea, Marino Alvarado, reported that coordination has been achieved with the National Police and the Ombudsman’s Office to ensure that on Friday, family members can approach the Miraflores Palace — an area under surveillance where anti-government protests are typically prohibited — to deliver a communication addressed to the acting president Delcy Rodríguez.
"I hope the right to peaceful assembly is respected," he noted.
The complete agenda includes four days of activities: after the Ombudsman’s office, the families will march to the Attorney General's office on Wednesday, to Miraflores on Friday, and the following Sunday they are calling for simultaneous gatherings in plazas both inside and outside the country.
The backdrop of these protests is the enduring gap between official figures for releases from prison and those independently verified.
The Venezuelan government claimed in August to have released 1,046 people since January 3, 2026, the date on which U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro, while Foro Penal recorded more than 390 active political prisoners on that same date.
The chavista regime denies the existence of political prisoners and labels the detainees as common criminals, a stance rejected by human rights organizations and the opposition.
The process of releases has also been questioned on the political level: Diosdado Cabello denied at the end of August that the release of prisoners was being discussed at the dialogue table between the chavismo and the opposition, according to EFE. Meanwhile, the families maintain their pressure in the streets with a slogan that doesn't allow for half-measures: freedom for all, without exception.
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