Venezuela began releasing a “large number” of political prisoners, including several foreigners, in a move praised by US President Donald Trump on Friday as a step toward cooperation after the ouster of ruler Nicolas Maduro.
The releases, which started Thursday, are the first since Maduro’s former deputy Delcy Rodriguez took over with the backing of Trump, who says he is content to let her govern as long as she gives Washington access to oil.
In a social media post on Friday, Trump said the move was a sign of “Seeking Peace” and called it “a very important and smart gesture”.
He added that the United States and Venezuela were “working well together” and said he cancelled a second wave of strikes against the country as a result of their “cooperation”.
Former Venezuelan opposition candidate Enrique Marquez — who opposed Nicolas Maduro in the contested 2024 presidential election — was among those released Thursday.
“It’s all over now,” Marquez said in a video taken by a local journalist of him and his wife, accompanied by another released opposition member, Biagio Pilieri.
The White House credited Trump with securing the prisoners’ freedom.
“This is one example of how the president is using maximum leverage to do right by the American and Venezuelan people,” Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to AFP.
