Three opposition figures close to Venezuela’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado were freed from jail on Sunday, a month after authorities began releasing political prisoners following the ousting of former leader Nicolas Maduro.
The releases came as lawmakers prepare to vote on Tuesday on a landmark amnesty law covering charges used to imprison dissidents during nearly three decades of socialist rule.
Juan Pablo Guanipa, 61, a former vice-president of the National Assembly, appeared in a video posted on his X account showing what appeared to be his release documents.
“Here we are, being released,” Guanipa said in the video, adding that he had spent “10 months in hiding and almost nine months detained here” in Caracas.
“There is much to discuss about the present and future of Venezuela, always guided by the truth,” he added.
Hours later, Perkins Rocha, a former legal adviser to Machado, was also freed. Freddy Superlano, who once won a gubernatorial election in Barinas — the home region of late socialist leader Hugo Chávez — was released as well.
“We hugged at home,” Rocha’s wife, Maria Constanza Cipriani, wrote on X, sharing a photograph of the couple.
Guanipa was arrested in May 2025 in connection with an alleged plot to undermine legislative and regional elections that were boycotted by the opposition. He was charged with terrorism, money laundering, and incitement to violence and hatred.
Before his arrest, Guanipa had been in hiding. He was last seen publicly in January 2025, when he accompanied Machado at an anti-Maduro rally.
Hundreds still detained
Machado, who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote democracy in Venezuela, welcomed Guanipa’s release.
“My dear Juan Pablo, counting down the minutes until I can hug you! You are a hero, and history will always recognise it. Freedom for all political prisoners!” she wrote on X.
Authorities began gradually releasing political detainees following Maduro’s capture by US special forces on 3 January. Human rights organisations estimate that around 700 people remain in detention.
The NGO Foro Penal said it had confirmed the release of 35 prisoners on Sunday, adding that nearly 400 people detained for political reasons have been freed since 8 January.
Lawmakers last week gave preliminary approval to a draft amnesty law covering offences commonly used to jail dissidents during 27 years of socialist rule. However, Venezuela’s largest opposition coalition on Friday criticised the proposal, citing “serious omissions”.
Meanwhile, families of detainees are growing increasingly frustrated by the slow pace of releases.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who previously served as Maduro’s vice-president, is championing the amnesty bill as a key step towards national reconciliation.
Rodríguez assumed power with the backing of US President Donald Trump, who is seeking American access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves — the largest proven reserves in the world.
As part of broader reforms, Rodríguez’s administration has moved to reopen the oil sector and restore diplomatic relations with Washington, which were severed by Maduro in 2019.
