Venezuela releases 21 political prisoners including 8 US citizens

The Venezuelan authorities released 21 political prisoners on Wednesday, including eight US citizens, according to the Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy group in charge of their cases.

Maria Alejandra Pollio, one of the group’s lawyers, told AFP that eight Americans and 13 Venezuelans have been released so far, including Luke Alexander Denman and Eran Perry, who were serving a 20-year prison sentence for participating in a failed attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in 2020.

Denman and Perry were accused of seeking to overthrow Maduro, after they arrived with other armed men by boat in Macoto, less than an hour from Caracas, in May 2020.

Maduro claimed that then-US President Donald Trump was behind the attack, in which eight of the alleged attackers were killed, and which he said was aimed at installing opposition leader Juan Guaido in his place.

The United States denied any involvement in that attack.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a press conference on Wednesday in Washington that he expected good news regarding the Americans detained in Venezuela after tensions with President Nicolas Maduro eased.

Blinken explained, “We want to ensure the release of American citizens… We’re also focusing on political detainees in Venezuela, and we are trying to secure their release”.

Blinken added, “There is a lot of work being done on these two fronts currently… We hope to have some medical news to share, likely later today (Wednesday)”.

According to US media, Caracas negotiated the release of Colombian businessman Alex Saab, who was extradited to the United States in 2021 and is accused of laundering money on behalf of the Venezuelan president.