Overview
- Venezuelan authorities said tribunals granted alternative measures to detention for 131 people at the request of the public prosecutor, a move announced on Friday as part of the government’s Programa para la Paz y la Convivencia Democrática.
- The NGO Foro Penal confirmed roughly 40–45 actual excarcelations so far and cautioned that the process is ongoing as it verifies names and legal conditions.
- Among the first people to leave custody was Emirlendris Benítez, whose case has been documented by rights groups as involving alleged torture and serious health consequences while detained.
- Families and campaigners are demanding clear information about release conditions and custody locations, and the fate of Argentine lawyer Germán Giuliani, detained since May 2025, remains unresolved.
- U.S. officials and opposition negotiators hailed the measures as a confidence-building step linked to talks on judicial renewal and frozen assets, while human-rights groups insist on unconditional releases, transparency, and reparations for victims.