There's Been a Major Development Regarding Political Prisoners in Venezuela

Earlier today, I wrote about Marco Rubio vs. Delcy Rodríguez making public statements about Fidel Castro on X. I joked that it was the best way to end the week — Delcy stirred up a little drama, and our dear Secretary of State reminded her who she's currently working for:

Well, I stand corrected. There's a better way to end the week in Latin American news coverage, and it's the release of several more political prisoners in Venezuela.

First, just to recap, shortly after we captured Nicolás Maduro, Delcy's brother, Jorge, the head of Venezuela's current fake National Assembly, announced that the interim regime would release its political prisoners. That was on January 8, and over the next month, hundreds were, indeed, released, but the flow slowed and eventually stopped completely. I tried to keep up with it, but there was really no point anymore, and I had several of you ask me what happened. My response was to ask Rubio and Donald Trump because I wasn't sure.

Many of the prisoners still being held in the torture and detention centers are military personnel, long-term detainees, or people the government still treats as legitimate criminal cases. Processing might be a bit different in those cases. There is also the fear that releasing them all at once, especially these high-profile and military cases, could lead to some chaos. None of that is good enough for the opposition and the majority of the Venezuelan people who call for the release of every single political prisoner every day. But Rubio promises that in the end, they will all be freed.

Team Delcy announced that the regime was providing 131 more prisoners with “alternative liberty restriction measures.” That means that some of these 131 people might be able to go home but face conditions like house arrest, reporting requirements, travel bans, etc.

This comes after the first formal cycle of U.S.-backed talks with an opposition delegation led by Dinorah Figuera, the last head of the National Assembly legally recognized by the United States. (There’s actually some more progress being made there regarding the path toward elections, and I’ll write more at length about that this weekend or next week — I was just getting ready to call it a day when I heard news of the political prisoners and wanted to let y’all know.) Figuera has actually been meeting with the family members of political prisoners this week and promising that they will be free in the days to come.

Rubio also mentioned the release on X as a “crucial step for the nation’s reconciliation process.” He claims that “Since January 3rd, 1,046 Venezuelans have been released.”

Hmmm….

I guess Pres. Trump was right on this one, too. It might be slower than Venezuela, but the Pres. has a couple more years to make Cuba come to its senses.

I’m sure Iran is a tougher nut, but slow but sure wins the race.

Especially when you have three carrier support groups and two battalions of Marines at the ready.

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