Venezuela Frees 39 Political Prisoners After Second Round of US-Backed Talks

September 25-26, 2026 — Venezuela released 39 political detainees over the weekend following the second round of US-backed negotiations between interim President Delcy Rodríguez's government and the opposition, held Sep 25 in Caracas. The freed prisoners included eight women previously charged with 'narco-terrorism' in 2021 and six people accused of collaborating with the US in a 2020 attempt to remove then-president Nicolás Maduro. Rights group Foro Penal said 344 political prisoners remained detained as of Sep 18, though more than 1,000 have been released since Maduro's removal in a US raid in January 2026. The talks, which ran alongside Rodríguez's Sep 22 UN sidelines meeting with Trump, also touched on recovering Venezuelan funds frozen at the Bank of England for earthquake reconstruction and on judiciary reform.