GUATIRE, Venezuela (AP) — A day after Venezuela ’s government pledged to free what it described as a significant number of prisoners, a local human rights group said only nine people had been released, or just over 1% of the citizens and foreigners it says are detained in the country for political reasons.
Relatives of the detainees — a combination of activists, journalists and political opponents of the ruling party — spent all Friday waiting outside prisons across the country, hoping they might see their loved ones walk free.
Footage of prisoners being released and reunited with their tearful families spread online, prompting celebration from Venezuela’s now-sidelined opposition movement and lifting spirits in the country now led by the former loyalists of ex-President Nicolás Maduro.
As of late Friday, five Spanish citizens, two political activists and two high-profile members of the opposition had been freed.
The government has not identified or offered a count of the prisoners being considered for release, leaving rights groups scouring for hints of information and families to watch the hours tick by with no word. President Donald Trump has hailed the release and said it came at Washington's request.
An impromptu support group formed outside El Rodeo prison, a notorious facility in the town of Guatire, around an hour east of Caracas.
Dozens of people waiting for news of loved ones gathered to share food, Wi-Fi service, coffee and phone chargers. As the day wore on, doubts mounted. Hope mixed with frustration, then despair. Some family members were briefly and visibly overcome with emotion. Others moved to comfort them.
Many, like Noirelys Morillo, said they'd wait as long as it took — even if it meant sleeping in an open field outside the prison complex Friday night.
“We’re going to stay here until we receive him,” said Morillo, who drove 10 hours to El Rodeo with her mother in hopes of seeing her brother released after five months behind bars.
Like many other inmates, he was accused of terrorism, detained without evidence and held incommunicado. After his disappearance, Morillo and her family worked their own sources to find out where he was being held.
“My nephew keeps asking about his dad, and we don’t know what to tell him anymore," she said from outside El Rodeo. “The first few days we told him he was on vacation.”
Foro Penal, an advocacy group for prisoners based in Caracas, said that by Friday morning it had only documented the release of nine of the 811 people it says are detained in Venezuela for “political reasons.” The Venezuelan government denies the existence of political prisoners.
In a video message on social media, former opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzaléz, who ran against Maduro in the tumultuous 2024 presidential election, hailed the releases and urged those still waiting to “stay strong.”
“It deeply gladdens me to see the embrace of those who have already been able to reunite,” he said.
Among those still waiting was his daughter Mariana Gonzalez, whose husband was arrested a year ago on his way to drop off their young children at school. She still doesn't know where he is detained, and went to El Rodeo on Thursday and Friday searching for information on his whereabouts — to no avail.
Under Maduro, Venezuela imprisoned opposition figures and foreign citizens to use as negotiating chips with other countries, experts say.
The latest releases were widely seen as a sign that interim President Delcy Rodríguez is willing to cooperate with the U.S. — even as much remains unclear.
Human rights groups said the release of just nine people was not nearly enough.
“Freedom cannot remain in statements: it must materialize in verifiable facts,” read a statement from Justice, Encounter, and Forgiveness, a Venezuelan advocacy group.
Shakira Ibarreto arrived to El Rodeo Friday morning for a pre-scheduled prison visit with her father, Miguel Ibarreto, a former police officer who has spent years cycling in and out of detention on the common and widely criticized charge of plotting to overthrow the government.
The first thing she noticed as they sat down to talk: Her father wasn't even aware that the powerful leader he was accused of opposing had been captured and whisked away by U.S. forces to face federal charges of drug-trafficking in New York.
“At first, I was scared to tell him because I wasn’t sure what they could do to me. Then I summoned up the bravery,” Ibarreto, 33, said. “I told him everything, every single thing that was happening in Venezuela right now.”
Miguel Ibarreto listened quietly, the shock registering on his face. He said none of the prisoners knew anything of the seismic shifts underway just outside the facility's walls. Usually state TV is running on a loop, but prison guards had abruptly turned it off earlier this week, he said, rushing to tell other prisoners the news.
From inside, Ibarreto heard a burst of applause and shouts of joy.
Even as her father remained locked up late Friday, Ibarreto said she was still holding out hope.
"We didn’t feel this hope and this feeling a week ago. Two weeks ago," Ibarreto said. "We’ve been at this for years."
Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and photojournalist Matias Delacroix contributed to this report.
Jacklin Ibarreto, whose father Miguel Ibarreto is detained, waits outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
El Helicoide, the headquarters of Venezuela's intelligence service and detention center, stands in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Shakira Ibarreto leaves the Rodeo I prison after visiting her father, Miguel Ibarreto, in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
