Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado visited relatives of political prisoners camped for more than 300 days outside a notorious Caracas prison.
Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025, returned to Venezuela on October 25 following nearly ten months in exile. She was received enthusiastically by approximately 100 relatives who had gathered outside the Rodeo I facility.
Crowds at the site chanted slogans calling for the release of their loved ones, while one placard demanded that authorities release all political prisoners. Standing outside the prison gates, Machado read through a list of names, identifying each incarcerated person and stating the duration of their sentence.
Amnesty law and remaining detainees
Approximately 1,000 political prisoners have been released in Venezuela this year under an amnesty law. However, human rights monitors report that substantial numbers of detainees remain behind bars.
The non-governmental organisation Foro Penal reported that more than 300 political prisoners remain imprisoned across the country. The group stated that 68 of those detainees are held inside Rodeo I.
Foro Penal operates as Venezuela's leading legal aid organisation for detainees, tracking politically motivated arrests and maintaining an updated national registry. The Rodeo detention complex, located in Guatire east of Caracas, is known for severe overcrowding, harsh living conditions, and tight security.
Protests after Maduro capture
Families established their makeshift camp outside the prison in January, only days after President Nicolas Maduro was captured during an American military operation.
Following the capture of Maduro, Delcy Rodriguez replaced him at the head of a transitional government. Relatives of the prisoners set up tents outside the complex to protest against the detention of their family members and to demand their freedom from the new administration.
Maduro had governed Venezuela since 2013 following the death of Hugo Chavez, overseeing a period marked by deep political unrest and economic collapse. Rodriguez previously served as his executive vice president before assuming leadership of the transitional authorities.
Diplomatic pressure from Washington
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Monday for Venezuela's transitional government to continue the process of releasing political prisoners.
Rubio, a former United States senator from Florida who was appointed to lead the Department of State, has long advocated for political detainees and democratic reforms in Venezuela.
Machado, a former National Assembly deputy who co-founded the electoral oversight organisation Sumate, has spent decades leading democratic campaigns against Venezuela's ruling party. Her visit to Rodeo I marks one of her most prominent public appearances since her return from exile late last month.
