Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González, has been released from prison, his wife has said, more than a year after he was detained as part of a crackdown on Maduro government critics and their relatives. Mariana González said her husband had returned home after 380 days of unjust and arbitrary detention. Tudares is one of more than 150 detainees who have been released since the US military seized Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, in a nighttime raid and took him to New York to stand trial on drug-trafficking charges. An NGO lobbying for the release of Venezuelan political prisoners warns that 777 still remain behind bars.
Tension within the country remains high with Maduro's former vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, now in power having been sworn in as the acting president. Her interim government has received the backing of US President Donald Trump, who has praised Rodríguez for agreeing to turn over up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the US. The release of political prisoners had been among the first things the Trump administration had pushed Venezuela's interim government to do. Just five days after the US raid, the head of Venezuela's National Assembly announced that an important number of people would be freed as a gesture of peace.
However, rights groups have denounced the slow pace of the releases and the fact that the number given by officials - 400 - falls far short of what they have been able to confirm. The NGO Foro Penal says it has so far only been able to verify the release of 151 political prisoners since 8 January. Tudares's imprisonment was one of the emblematic cases of the repression which followed in the wake of Venezuela's 2024 presidential election. His father-in-law, González, became the main challenger of the incumbent Maduro after María Corina Machado was barred from running. Fearing the Maduro government would resort to fraud, González and Machado mobilised observers at polling stations. Nevertheless, Maduro was sworn in for another term in January 2025, despite opposition claims of a fraudulent election.
In a poignant remark, Mariana González expressed gratitude for the support received during the fight for her husband's release, while urging attention to the plight of the numerous families of those still imprisoned.
Tension within the country remains high with Maduro's former vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, now in power having been sworn in as the acting president. Her interim government has received the backing of US President Donald Trump, who has praised Rodríguez for agreeing to turn over up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the US. The release of political prisoners had been among the first things the Trump administration had pushed Venezuela's interim government to do. Just five days after the US raid, the head of Venezuela's National Assembly announced that an important number of people would be freed as a gesture of peace.
However, rights groups have denounced the slow pace of the releases and the fact that the number given by officials - 400 - falls far short of what they have been able to confirm. The NGO Foro Penal says it has so far only been able to verify the release of 151 political prisoners since 8 January. Tudares's imprisonment was one of the emblematic cases of the repression which followed in the wake of Venezuela's 2024 presidential election. His father-in-law, González, became the main challenger of the incumbent Maduro after María Corina Machado was barred from running. Fearing the Maduro government would resort to fraud, González and Machado mobilised observers at polling stations. Nevertheless, Maduro was sworn in for another term in January 2025, despite opposition claims of a fraudulent election.
In a poignant remark, Mariana González expressed gratitude for the support received during the fight for her husband's release, while urging attention to the plight of the numerous families of those still imprisoned.
