World & Human Rights
Venezuela prisoner releases: why verified totals range from 20 to 39
Rights groups reported a new round of releases after political talks, but their totals measure different groups and changed during verification. Legal conditions remain unclear.
What the rights groups reported
Venezuelan rights groups reported a new round of prisoner releases on September 25 and 26 following talks between government and opposition representatives. Al Jazeera, citing AFP, reports that the Justice, Encounter and Forgiveness group, known by its Spanish initials JEP, directly verified 39 releases. [4][1]
El Diario reported in Spanish that JEP said 17 of the 39 people were not on its political-prisoner registry because of the organization’s classification criteria and the charges in those cases. The same report said Foro Penal had confirmed at least 20 political-prisoner releases while continuing case-by-case verification. These figures describe different categories and stages of review, so they should not be combined into one total. [1][2]
Why the count changed
An earlier JEP message embedded in El Diario’s coverage listed 29 verified releases; the organization later raised its directly verified count to 39. That change reflects an active verification process rather than proof that one newsroom counted the same people incorrectly. Foro Penal uses its own criteria for who qualifies as a political prisoner. [1]
The Venezuelan government had not published an official consolidated total in the reporting reviewed. Without a public name-by-name government list and legal orders for each case, independent groups are working from family reports, direct checks and their own case definitions. [1][2]
Release from custody is not necessarily full legal freedom
El Diario says it was not yet clear whether the people left custody under precautionary measures or with unrestricted freedom. Release from detention does not by itself establish that charges were dismissed, movement restrictions ended or court proceedings closed. [1]
Local outlet El Pitazo documented the release of Frank Cabañas, detained since 2017 in the Oscar Pérez case, and Miguel Castillo Cedeño, detained since 2019. Foro Penal also identified both men among confirmed releases. Their cases illustrate the length of some detentions, but this report does not infer the legal status of every other person from those examples. [3][2]
El Diario also reported releases involving women and a young woman detained at age 18 after receiving a photograph through WhatsApp. Those details come from rights groups and family accounts; the reviewed reports did not provide court decisions resolving the underlying allegations. [1]
Political context
Al Jazeera reports that the releases followed a second round of talks supported by Washington and came after an amnesty law approved in February. It says an earlier round of talks addressed frozen funds, earthquake recovery and judicial reform. Negotiations and an amnesty framework explain the timing, but they do not resolve disputed classifications or establish the final legal outcome in each case. [4]
How the sources compare
| Source | What it adds | Scope or limitation |
|---|---|---|
| El Diario · Spanish | The evolving JEP count, Foro Penal’s minimum count, individual cases and unresolved legal conditions. | Totals were still changing; several details are attributed to rights groups rather than official case files. |
| Foro Penal · Spanish | Primary confirmation that the organization was checking releases case by case and identification of named detainees. | Its web page reproduces reporting from El Diario, so it is used primarily for the organization’s own statements, not counted as a second newsroom for every claim. |
| El Pitazo · Spanish | Local reporting on long-held detainees Frank Cabañas and Miguel Castillo Cedeño. | Focuses on selected cases rather than a complete national list. |
| Al Jazeera · English, with AFP | Talks and amnesty context plus an independent cross-check of JEP’s final reported count. | Does not resolve the legal conditions attached to individual releases. |
What remains unclear
No official consolidated total or complete public name-by-name list was available in the reviewed reporting.
The legal conditions for each release—including pending charges, reporting duties and travel restrictions—were not established.
The groups’ different political-prisoner definitions prevent a reliable single total without case-level reconciliation.
Sources & translations
- El Diario — Who are the political prisoners released?Spanish reviewed in the original and summarized in English; no translated direct quotations.
- Foro Penal — Foro Penal confirms a significant number of political-prisoner releasesSpanish reviewed in the original and summarized in English; no translated direct quotations.
- El Pitazo — Frank Cabañas, the final prisoner in the Oscar Pérez case, releasedSpanish reviewed in the original and summarized in English; no translated direct quotations.
- Al Jazeera English, with AFP — Venezuela frees 39 political prisoners after post-Maduro talks
Updates & corrections
- — Initial report preserves the changing 20, 29 and 39 counts and explains that timing and classification differ.