Overview
- The interim government announced on Friday that 131 people had been granted "alternative measures from incarceration" under its Program for Peace and Democratic Coexistence, a move it called part of national reconciliation.
- Two rights groups gave much lower independently verified counts, with Vente Venezuela reporting 43 releases and Foro Penal saying at least 40 were freed, creating a credibility gap over the government's figure.
- The announcement came during the first round of US-brokered talks between the interim administration and opposition leaders, whose joint statement addressed frozen assets and judiciary reform but did not resolve the wider political prisoner issue.
- Foro Penal confirmed the release of Emirlendris Benitez, a high-profile detainee previously cited by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and accused of suffering torture, and said five other women were freed.
- Observers say the releases function as confidence-building measures while negotiators link prisoner issues to recovering overseas funds, rebuilding after June's deadly earthquakes, and broader judicial reform, and they warn independent monitoring will be needed to verify future steps.