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Venezuelan opposition politicians Juan Pablo Guanipa and Freddy Superlano, along with prominent lawyer Perkins Rocha, have been freed from jail, their families and human rights organizations said on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Under mounting pressure from the U.S. to free what it describes as political prisoners, rights group Foro Penal said some 35 political prisoners were released on Sunday and that it was verifying additional cases.
The organization previously confirmed that 383 political prisoners had been let go since the Venezuelan government announced on January 8 that it would begin a new series of releases, according to Reuters.
Guanipa, Rocha and Superlano are close allies of Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. Rocha, a lawyer for the Vente Venezuela opposition movement, was detained in August 2024 on terrorism and related charges. Guanipa was arrested last May after months in hiding for allegedly leading a terrorist plot.
Venezuela's opposition and human rights groups have said for years that the country's socialist government uses detentions to stamp out dissent.
Leader of the Voluntad Popular Party, Freddy Superlano, was arrested after the 2024 presidential elections. He was captured on video being pushed into the back of an unmarked car surrounded by armed security agents and according to his wife, spent many months in isolation. Foro Penal confirmed he was among those released on February 8.
All three men have denied all the allegations against them, either directly or through family members and supporters.
The government denies holding political prisoners and says those jailed have committed crimes.