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<\/p>\nBrooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas (24) drives on Phoenix Suns forward Rasheer Fleming (20) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo\/Rick Scuteri)<\/p>\n
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) \u2014 Venezuela\u2019s government on Sunday released from prison several prominent opposition members, including one of the closest allies of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mar\u00eda Corina Machado, after lengthy politically motivated detentions.<\/p>\n
Their releases come as the government of acting President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez faces mounting pressure to free hundreds of people whose detentions months or years ago have been linked to their political beliefs. They also follow a visit to Venezuela of representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. <\/p>\n
Rodr\u00edguez was sworn in as Venezuela\u2019s acting president after the Jan. 3 capture in Caracas of then-President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro by the U.S. military. Her government began releasing prisoners days later. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am convinced that our country has completely changed,\u201d Juan Pablo Guanipa, a Machado ally and former governor, told reporters hours after his release. \u201cI am convinced that it is now up to all of us to focus on building a free and democratic country.”<\/p>\n
Guanipa, who spent more than eight months in custody, was released from a detention facility in the capital, Caracas. An armored vehicle and officers appeared behind him in the video he released. <\/p>\n
Venezuelan-based prisoners\u2019 rights group Foro Penal confirmed the release of at least 30 people on Sunday.<\/p>\n
In addition to Guanipa, Machado\u2019s political organization said several of its members were among the released, including Mar\u00eda Oropeza, who livestreamed her arrest by military intelligence officers as they broke into her home with a crowbar. Machado’s attorney, Perkins Rocha, was also freed.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go for the freedom of Venezuela!\u201d Machado posted on X. <\/p>\n
Guanipa was detained in late May and accused by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello of participating in an alleged \u201cterrorist group\u201d plotting to boycott that month’s legislative election. Guanipa’s brother Tom\u00e1s rejected the accusation, and said that the arrest was meant to crack down on dissent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThinking differently cannot be criminalized in Venezuela, and today, Juan Pablo Guanipa is a prisoner of conscience of this regime,\u201d Tom\u00e1s Guanipa said after the arrest. \u201cHe has the right to think as he thinks, the right to defend his ideas, and the right to be treated under a constitution that is not being enforced today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her government announced on Jan. 8 it would free a significant number of prisoners \u2014 a central demand of the country\u2019s opposition and human rights organizations with backing from the United States \u2014 but families and rights watchdogs have criticized authorities for the slow pace of the releases.<\/p>\n
The ruling party-controlled National Assembly this week began debating an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners. The opposition and nongovernmental organizations have reacted with cautious optimism as well as with suggestions and demands for more information on the contents of the proposal.<\/p>\n
National Assembly President Jorge Rodr\u00edguez on Friday posted a video on Instagram showing him outside a detention center in Caracas and saying that \u201ceveryone\u201d would be released no later than next week, once the amnesty bill is approved.<\/p>\n
Delcy Rodr\u00edguez and Volker T\u00fcrk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, spoke by phone in late January. His spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, in a statement said he \u201coffered our support to help Venezuela work on a roadmap for dialogue and reconciliation in which human rights should be at the centre” and then \u201cdeployed a team\u201d to the South American country. <\/p>\n
Machado remains in exile after leaving Venezuela in December. After she was briefly detained in January 2025, she had not been seen in public for 11 months when she appeared in Norway after the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.<\/p>\n
Guanipa on Sunday said Machado \u201cexercises undeniable leadership\u201d and is needed in Venezuela along with other exiled political leaders to move the country forward.<\/p>\n
Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
A supporter of the opposition waves a Venezuelan flag from a passing vehicle next to El Helicoide, the headquarters of the intelligence service and a detention center, after several political prisoners were released from custody in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ariana Cubillos)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa, right, and political activist Jesus Armas ride on the back of motorbikes after their release from prison in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cristian Hernandez)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Opposition leaders Mar\u00eda Oropeza and Juan Pablo Guanipa, left, ride motorbikes through Caracas, Venezuela, after their release from custody, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ariana Cubillos)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa rides on the back of a motorcycle after his release from prison in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.(AP Photo\/Cristian Hernandez)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa rides on the back of a motorcycle after his release from prison in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.(AP Photo\/Cristian Hernandez)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa speaks after his release from prison in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cristian Hernandez)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Opposition supporters greet political activist Jesus Armas after his release from prison in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cristian Hernandez)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa greets political activist Jesus Armas after their release from prison in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cristian Hernandez)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n
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