Venezuela says it has released 177 more jailed election protesters, Nicolas Maduro news

Nearly 2,000 protesters have been arrested since the disputed July vote in which Maduro declared himself the winner.

Venezuela said 177 more arrested election protesters More than 2,000 people arrested during clashes following the disputed vote on July 28 have been released.

According to the Reuters news agency, Attorney General Tarek Saab announced on Monday that the total number of freed protesters will reach 910.

However, rights groups said they could not verify all those who were said to have regained their freedom.

At least three protesters have died in custody since demonstrations swept the country after the National Electoral Council, the groups say. announced President Nicolás Maduro won without an official count.

Pre-election polls showed Maduro far behind the opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez by a seemingly insurmountable margin ahead of the election, and Maduro’s government is still refusing calls from both the opposition and regional leaders to release data proving the victory.

Nevertheless, the Supreme Court of Venezuela later confirmed the victory. Opposition figures maintain that both the electoral council and the judiciary are dominated by Maduro loyalists.

At least 28 people were killed, nearly 200 people were injured, and hundreds were arrested in clashes with security forces when Venezuelans flocked to the streets and demanded election information.

As of early December, the Venezuelan human rights organization Foro Penal said there were 1,877 political prisoners.

The civil security service, which announced the release of 103 election protesters on December 12, said Maduro had ordered the government to look into “all cases of violence and crimes committed during the election.”

Earlier, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced on November 26 that “precautionary measures” had been issued, allowing the release of approximately 225 prisoners, but requiring them to appear in court once every 30 days.

Last week, Venezuela’s attorney general announced that 533 more election protesters had been released.

ICC investigation

The moves came months after International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said he was “actively monitoring” the post-election crackdown.

There is an ICC open probe In 2017, the country entered the country due to violence after the disputed Constituent Assembly elections called by Maduro.

The releases also come just weeks before Maduro is due to be sworn in for a third term on January 10. The newly elected president of the United States, Donald Trump, takes office in 10 days, which could be a change in policy towards Venezuela.

Trump increased sanctions during his first term in office, but has faced pressure to be more cautious over concerns that tapering could push Caracas toward China.

For its part, US President Joe Biden’s administration eased some sanctions as Maduro promised free and fair elections, but put them in place Venezuela’s leader further clamped down on the opposition ahead of the vote.

Since then, there have been many opposition figures fled the country.

Still, it was unclear whether recent releases about the detention of several US citizens in Venezuela were intended to generate goodwill with the new US administration.