The president in charge of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, announced this Wednesday the beginning of a “new political moment” in her country, after stating that more than 400 political prisoners have been released and while taking steps towards reestablishing the relationship with the United States, after learning of a phone call with President Donald Trump.
From the Miraflores Palace, headquarters of the Venezuelan Executive, Rodríguez thus referred to the opening to dialogue with the North American country, in the midst of a process of release of political prisoners announced last Thursday by the head of Parliament and brother of the president in charge, Jorge Rodríguez.
“The message is a Venezuela that opens to a new political moment that allows understanding from divergence and from political and ideological diversity,” stated the president in charge, who appeared before national and foreign journalists flanked by her brother and the Minister of the Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello.
However, he conditioned this new stage to be done with “respect for others” and “for human rights.”
“Messages of hate, intolerance, and actions of violence will not be allowed,” he concluded.
Delcy Rodríguez, who took over as acting president after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3, stated on Telegram that the conversation with Trump was “productive and courteous.”
“We address a bilateral work agenda for the benefit of our people, as well as pending issues in the relationship between our Governments,” he noted.
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The conversation took place after authorities in both countries announced last week that they began an “exploratory process” to rehabilitate their formal diplomatic channels.
Trump was the first to report today about the telephone contact, which Rodríguez later confirmed.
“We had a great conversation today and she is a fantastic person. In fact, she is someone we have worked very well with,” Trump declared in the Oval Office of the White House.
The call was “long,” said the Republican leader, who added that they addressed “many issues” and that he is getting along “very well with Venezuela,” a country against which he ordered a military operation that ended with the capture of Maduro, currently detained in New York.
Freedom of political prisoners
Rodríguez assured, on the other hand, that “the “process of releasing people who were deprived of liberty” “remains open,” which, he said, began last December, when, he assured, “194” releases took place.
“Today,” added the Chavista leader, “we can say that there are already 406 releases planned these days.”
According to him, this “arduous” process is led by Cabello.
In December, the Ministry for the Penitentiary Service announced the release of 88 people on Christmas Day and another 99 on January 1, of which around half were verified by local NGOs.
From last Thursday until 2:30 p.m. local time (18:30 GMT) this Wednesday, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), which brings together the majority opposition, had verified 100 releases.
For its part, the NGO Foro Penal confirmed 72 releases until 1:50 p.m. local time (5:50 p.m. GMT) this Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Jorge Rodríguez made available the “lists” of releases, which have not yet been made public, which NGOs, activists, family members and political parties demand.
Released communicators
Among those released is a group of 19 journalists and social communicators, out of a total of 24 that the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) counted as detained.
According to the union’s list, five journalists remain deprived of liberty, including former opposition deputy Juan Pablo Guanipa, a recognized ally of Nobel Prize winner María Corina Machado.
One of those released is Roland Carreño, also an activist from the opposition party Voluntad Popular (VP), who was arrested on August 2, 2024. This was the second time, as he had already been arrested on October 26, 2020 and released on October 18, 2023, after an agreement signed then between Chavismo and the PUD in Barbados.
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They ask for more releases
For his part, the archbishop of the Venezuelan city of Barquisimeto (west), Monsignor Polito Rodríguez, applauded the recent releases of political prisoners, but assured that “many others are still missing.”
“It will be a gesture of reconciliation and justice that they are released as soon as possible,” said the prelate, during the massive gathering for the 168th procession of the Divina Pastora, patron saint of Barquisimeto, capital of the Lara state (west).
On the outskirts of some of the prisons where political prisoners are held, family members and activists hold vigils to demand full freedom for all, which until January 5 the NGO Foro Penal estimated at 806.
With information from EFE
