Venezuelan families flood political prisoner registry as officer dies before promised release

Edilson Torres, a 51-year-old Venezuelan police officer held incommunicado since December on what his family described as politically motivated accusations, died of a heart attack Saturday in a Venezuelan prison, just as his family awaited the government’s promised release of political detainees. He was buried Tuesday in the rural town of Guanare. Since the U.S. capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, hundreds of Venezuelan families who had previously avoided advocacy groups out of fear have come forward to register their relatives as political prisoners with Foro Penal, a nongovernmental organization that tracks detainees, the group’s director said.

Venezuela’s government claimed 400 prisoners were released by Tuesday afternoon but provided no evidence, time range, or names, making independent verification impossible. Foro Penal counted 56 confirmed releases of political detainees as of Tuesday evening and says more than 800 people remain in custody on political grounds. The surge of new registrations and the disputed tallies underscore both the scope of Venezuela’s political detention apparatus and the opacity surrounding the government’s promised reforms.

GUANARE, Venezuela — Edilson Torres, a 51-year-old police officer held incommunicado since December on what his family described as politically motivated accusations, died of a heart attack Saturday in a Venezuelan prison, just as his family awaited the government’s promised release of political detainees. He was buried Tuesday in this rural town.

Since the U.S. capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, hundreds of Venezuelan families who had previously avoided human rights advocacy groups out of fear have come forward to register their relatives as political prisoners with Foro Penal, a nongovernmental organization that tracks detainees, the group’s director said.

“They didn’t report it out of fear, and now they’re doing it because, in a way, they feel that there is this possibility that their families will be freed,” said Alfredo Romero, director of Foro Penal. “They see it as hope, but more importantly, as an opportunity.”

Romero said roughly 300 families had contacted the organization, of which about 100 cases had been confirmed as politically motivated. Most of those newly reported cases involved people who had worked for Venezuela’s military, he said. The registrations come on top of more than 800 people Foro Penal says remain in custody on political grounds.

Disputed releases

Jorge Rodríguez, head of Venezuela’s national assembly, said last week that a “significant number” of Venezuelan citizens and foreigners held in the country would be released as a gesture to “seek peace” following Maduro’s capture. Venezuela’s government denies holding anyone unjustly, accusing detained opposition figures, activists, and journalists of plotting to destabilize the government.

As of Tuesday evening, Foro Penal confirmed that 56 prisoners it classifies as political detainees had been freed. The group criticized the government for a lack of transparency. Venezuela’s government disputed that count and reported 400 released by Tuesday afternoon, but provided no evidence, no time range, and no identification of those freed — making it impossible to independently determine whether those released were held on political or other grounds.

Among those confirmed freed are human rights attorney Rocío San Miguel, who relocated to Spain; Biagio Pilieri, an opposition leader who was part of Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado’s 2024 presidential campaign; and Enrique Márquez, a former electoral authority and presidential candidate.

Human rights watchdogs at the United Nations and U.S. politicians have accused the government of not following through on the scope of the releases promised, the Associated Press reported.

‘Pure and real kidnapping’

Italian businessman Marco Burlò, released Monday, described his detention to reporters outside a Rome airport Tuesday as a “pure and real kidnapping.”

“I can’t say that I was physically abused, but without being able to talk to our children, without the right to defense, without being able to speak to the lawyer, completely isolated, here they thought that I might have died,” Burlò said.

A chilling crackdown

Romero said the reluctance of families to come forward had stemmed from a government crackdown that followed Venezuela’s July 2024 election, which Maduro claimed to have won despite ample credible evidence to the contrary, the Associated Press reported. Authorities said they detained more than 2,000 people as mass street protests broke out.

In the month after the election, Venezuela’s government passed a law — dubbed the “anti-NGO law” by critics — making it easier for the government to criminalize human rights groups. That had a chilling effect, Romero said, making families hesitant to come forward — until now.

Grief without closure

Before Torres’ funeral Tuesday, a procession of cars and motorcycles stopped at a local jail, where his wife remains detained on disputed accusations. As his flag-draped casket arrived at the family home for the wake, his sister Emelyn Torres sobbed. Hours earlier, as the body was transported roughly 267 miles (430 kilometers) from Caracas to Guanare, she learned that other men linked to the WhatsApp group that had led to her brother’s arrest had been released from prison.

Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement that Torres’ case had been assigned to a terrorism unit and “was linked to criminal activities detected by state security agencies.” He offered no further details.