Venezuela releases 88 jailed after post-election protests

Venezuela's government on Thursday announced the release of 88 people jailed for protesting President Nicolas Maduro's claimed victory in the July 2024 elections.

In a statement published on Instagram, the Ministry of Penitentiary Service said that there had been "88 new releases" of people detained "for crimes committed during violent actions by extremist groups."

"These actions are part ‌of the comprehensive review process of cases ordered ‌by ⁠President Nicolas Maduro," it added.

The ‍New Year's Day release comes after Maduro's government decided to free 99 people on Christmas Day as "a concrete expression of the State's commitment to peace, dialogue and justice."

In July 2024, mass protests erupted in Venezuela after Maduro was declared to have won a third six-year term.

The country's opposition claimed victory for the now-exiled former ambassador Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

Around 2,400 people were arrested, but nearly 2,000 have since been released.

Venezuelan NGOs estimate that about 900 political prisoners remain in detention in the country, including individuals arrested before the election.

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Amid the threat of military action from the Trump administration, Maduro has lately been keen to show a more conciliatory side.

In recent months, the United States has ramped up pressure on Caracas, amassing a ‌huge military presence in the Caribbean, carrying out strikes near the Venezuelan coast on suspected drug boats off the coast of Venezuela and seizing tankers transporting Venezuelan oil.

This week, US President Donald Trump announced that US forces had hit a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats, the first known land strike on Venezuelan soil to counter narcotics trafficking from Latin America.

Venezuela has accused the US of trying to oust Maduro to get its hands on the country's oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Last week, Trump said it would be "smart" for Maduro to step down.