Though the interim government instituted in his absence promised on 8 January that “a significant number” of detainees would be released, this has progressed slowly in the weeks since, with a handful being released at a time.
Foro Penal, which provides assistance to political prisoners in Venezuela, says nearly 400 people have been released.
Its president Alfredo Romero said at least 30 people had been freed on Sunday, including Guanipa. Perkins Rocha, Jesús Armas and Luis Tarbay were also named as having been released.
Since Venezuela’s widely disputed presidential election in 2024 – which saw Maduro officially re-elected despite opposition tallies suggesting their candidate had won by a landslide – critics of his regime said legal proceedings against activists, journalists and Maduro’s political adversaries increased.
Among them was Guanipa, who went into hiding after being accused of terrorism and treason for challenging the 2024 result.
He was tracked down by Venezuela’s security forces and detained in May 2025.
Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Machado, who was also in hiding at the time, said her colleague had been “kidnapped” in “an act of state terrorism”.
Guanipa is the leader of the centre-right Justice First party. He was elected governor of the Zulia region but barred from taking office after he refused to swear an oath before Maduro’s National Constituent Assembly.