\n \u201cSpain, which maintains fraternal relations with the Venezuelan people, welcomes this decision as a positive step in the new phase that Venezuela is entering,\u201d the ministry said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Days before the US captured Maduro, a US official told CNN<\/a> that Venezuelan security forces had detained at least five Americans in recent months. The Trump administration believed the Americans had been detained as leverage, the official said, adding that while their cases varied, some may have been involved in drug smuggling.\n <\/p>\n \n It is unclear whether any of the five will be among those released.\n <\/p>\n \n In a post on X, Venezuelan activist Alfredo Romero said<\/a> that his organization Penal Forum would be \u201cverifying each release.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa has not yet been released, but Romero said in an interview with TVV Network that he would be.\n <\/p>\n \n Guanipa previously served as a member of Venezuela\u2019s National Assembly and is a close ally of opposition leader Mar\u00eda Corina Machado.\n <\/p>\n \n Guanipa was detained in May 2025. Venezuela\u2019s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello claimed, without offering evidence, that his arrest was due to an alleged plot against elections scheduled for that month.\n <\/p>\n \n The Committee for the Liberation of Political Prisoners in Venezuela (CLIPPVE) demanded \u201cswift action and transparency\u201d in the government\u2019s release of the remaining detainees.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThere continues to be a great lack of transparency and ample discretion in the handling of these releases, increasing the anxiety, anguish, and uncertainty of family members and political prisoners,\u201d CLIPPVE said in a statement<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n Both the Venezuelan opposition and foreign governments have long accused Maduro\u2019s government of taking political prisoners, though Caracas has dismissed international reports on arbitrary detentions as \u201cirresponsible, biased\u201d and \u201cinterventionist.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n In the aftermath of Venezuela\u2019s disputed 2024 presidential election, which Maduro claimed as a victory despite a chorus of independent observers labeling the vote as undemocratic,<\/a> more than 2,000 people were arrested in a subsequent crackdown by government forces, according to Amnesty International.\n <\/p>\n \n According to the Penal Forum, 863 political prisoners remained <\/a>in detention as of early January.\n <\/p>\n \n Many of these detainees are held in El Helicoide.\n <\/p>\n \n Originally constructed to be a shopping mall, the imposing structure now serves as the headquarters of Venezuela\u2019s intelligence services and a notorious prison.\n <\/p>\n \n Venezuela has also faced allegations of mistreating its political prisoners, in El Helicoide and elsewhere.\n <\/p>\n![\"El](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ap26008648653073.jpg\")
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