VENEZUELA: Ostracized Maduro bows to pressure, frees 39 jailed opposition activists

President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro has bowed to calls for the release of political prisoners after he freed 39 opposition activists who were jailed for protesting against him.

Not satisfied with the number of activists freed, opposition critics and rights groups say Maduro’s government is still holding hundreds of political prisoners who were jailed for leading anti-government street demonstrations, primarily in 2014 and 2017.

“Right now the government is staging a political show with the release of prisoners, but in Venezuela all Venezuelans are prisoners,” said legislator Tomas Guanipa.

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“We are happy for the political prisoners who have been freed, but there are 30 million Venezuelans.”

However, the government said the release of the jailed activists would foster dialogue among Venezuelans.

“The Truth Commission has made this recommendation at the request of President Nicolas Maduro,” said Delcy Rodriguez, president of the all-powerful Constituent Assembly, in televised comments. “He said that this is the path, the path of dialogue, the path of unity, the path of peace.”

The recent re-election of President Maduro is already causing negative ripples in the Americas as a group of Latin leaders have decided to recall their envoys from the oil rich country.

Reports say 14 members of the Lina Group have revealed that they will recall their envoys to protest against what it said was Venezuela’s failure to hold a “free and fair” election.

The group in a statement said the members’ diplomats in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, would return to their respective countries for consultations.

The group consists of Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia.

 

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