Latest news with #ForoPenal
The Star
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Venezuela releases 48 detainees under prisoner swap deal
FILE PHOTO: Relatives of political prisoners hold balloons during a vigil outside the headquarters and detention centre of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) known as "Helicoide", in Caracas, Venezuela April 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gaby Oraa/File Photo CARACAS (Reuters) -Forty-eight Venezuelans detained by their own government have so far been released under the terms of a prisoner exchange agreed with the United States, legal rights advocacy group Foro Penal said on Monday. The U.S. said last week that 80 people would be released from Venezuelan jails as part of the prisoner exchange, which saw the return home of over 200 Venezuelans detained in a notorious El Salvador prison. A total of 57 people it classes as political prisoners have been released from Venezuelan jails, Foro Penal said on X, including 48 Venezuelans and nine Americans or U.S. permanent residents. A tenth American released in the swap had not been counted as a political prisoner, the NGO added. "We regret the absence of an official list that allows us to verify with more precision," the group said, adding that some lists in circulation have included people not classed as political detainees, people who had already been released and even prisoners who have died. "At Foro Penal we remain in coordination with families working to verify other cases." The communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about who is set to be released and whether any of them will be subject to house arrest or other alternatives to detention. The main opposition coalition in Venezuela has cheered the release of the prisoners. But the coalition said on Sunday nearly 1,000 people remain jailed in Venezuela for political reasons and 12 others have been arrested in recent days, in what it called a "revolving door" for political prisoners. The Venezuelans who had been detained in El Salvador were sent there from the United States in March after U.S. President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without normal immigration procedures. The deportations drew fierce criticism from human rights groups and a legal battle with the Trump administration. Family members and lawyers of many of the men deny they had gang ties. The former detainees arrived near Caracas on Friday, where some reunited with their families, but they have not yet returned to their own homes. Yajaira Fuenmayor, the mother of former El Salvador detainee Alirio Guillermo Belloso, said on Sunday afternoon from her home in Maracaibo that she was preparing him arepas, traditional corn cakes, as a welcome. "I can't stop thinking of the hunger my son went through. I have a salad ready, some grilled arepas because he loves them, and there is fish in the refrigerator to fry," she said. The government has said the men will be medically evaluated and interviewed about their time in El Salvador before being released. (Reporting by ReutersWriting by Julia Symmes CobbEditing by Rosalba O'Brien)
Straits Times
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Venezuela releases 48 detainees under prisoner swap deal
FILE PHOTO: Relatives of political prisoners hold balloons during a vigil outside the headquarters and detention centre of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) known as \"Helicoide\", in Caracas, Venezuela April 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gaby Oraa/File Photo CARACAS - Forty-eight Venezuelans detained by their own government have so far been released under the terms of a prisoner exchange agreed with the United States, legal rights advocacy group Foro Penal said on Monday. The U.S. said last week that 80 people would be released from Venezuelan jails as part of the prisoner exchange, which saw the return home of over 200 Venezuelans detained in a notorious El Salvador prison. A total of 57 people it classes as political prisoners have been released from Venezuelan jails, Foro Penal said on X, including 48 Venezuelans and nine Americans or U.S. permanent residents. A tenth American released in the swap had not been counted as a political prisoner, the NGO added. "We regret the absence of an official list that allows us to verify with more precision," the group said, adding that some lists in circulation have included people not classed as political detainees, people who had already been released and even prisoners who have died. "At Foro Penal we remain in coordination with families working to verify other cases." The communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about who is set to be released and whether any of them will be subject to house arrest or other alternatives to detention. The main opposition coalition in Venezuela has cheered the release of the prisoners. But the coalition said on Sunday nearly 1,000 people remain jailed in Venezuela for political reasons and 12 others have been arrested in recent days, in what it called a "revolving door" for political prisoners. The Venezuelans who had been detained in El Salvador were sent there from the United States in March after U.S. President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without normal immigration procedures. The deportations drew fierce criticism from human rights groups and a legal battle with the Trump administration. Family members and lawyers of many of the men deny they had gang ties. The former detainees arrived near Caracas on Friday, where some reunited with their families, but they have not yet returned to their own homes. Yajaira Fuenmayor, the mother of former El Salvador detainee Alirio Guillermo Belloso, said on Sunday afternoon from her home in Maracaibo that she was preparing him arepas, traditional corn cakes, as a welcome. "I can't stop thinking of the hunger my son went through. I have a salad ready, some grilled arepas because he loves them, and there is fish in the refrigerator to fry," she said. The government has said the men will be medically evaluated and interviewed about their time in El Salvador before being released. REUTERS
Mint
18-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Maduro Frees Americans and Welcomes Jailed Deportees Amid Swap
(Bloomberg) -- Leer en español Venezuela released 10 Americans as it prepares to receive a group of deportees freed from jail in El Salvador after an unexpected breakthrough in ongoing talks with the US. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the formerly detained Americans were 'on their way to freedom' on Friday and thanked El Salvador's Nayib Bukele for his help to secure their release. Rubio also said Venezuelan political prisoners were released, without adding details. Roughly 250 Venezuelans, deported by the US to El Salvador in March, are set to arrive in Caracas later today, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified to avoid reprisals. Their return had been a long-standing demand of President Nicolás Maduro and his top officials. Bukele's government had publicly stated it had no legal jurisdiction over the deportees, effectively paving the way for Venezuelan and US negotiators to seal the deal. Venezuela's sovereign bonds rose across the curve, with notes maturing in 2034 gaining 0.5 cents on the dollar to trade at around 23 cents, the highest levels in almost two months, according to indicative pricing data compiled by Bloomberg. As part of the negotiations, seven children who had been separated from their parents amid deportations also arrived in Caracas on Friday. Maduro was shown welcoming the kids and their families at the presidential palace on state tv. Their return signals that conversations between Venezuela and the US have continued, even after President Donald Trump's administration banned Chevron Corp. from doing anything more than essential maintenance in the South American nation in late May. That cut off a major contributor to the country's economy, which in recent years supplied nearly a quarter of its oil output and brought a much-needed flow of dollars into its banking system. 'This operation is the result of months of negotiations with a tyrannical regime that had long refused to release one of its most valuable bargaining chips: its hostages,' Bukele said on X. The US has deported about 8,000 Venezuelans through direct repatriation flights this year. It also secured the release of seven American prisoners through swaps negotiated by Trump's special envoy Ric Grenell. Venezuela currently holds about 950 political prisoners, of which more than 80 have foreign nationality, according to Caracas-based human rights group Foro Penal. (Updates story to show Venezuela released Americans in exchange for deportees in El Salvador and children held in the US.) More stories like this are available on
Miami Herald
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Maduro to receive Venezuela deportees jailed in El Salvador
Venezuela is set to receive a group of deportees freed from jail in El Salvador following an unexpected breakthrough in ongoing talks with the U.S. Roughly 250 Venezuelans, previously deported by the U.S. to El Salvador in March, are set to arrive in Caracas Friday, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified to avoid reprisals. Their return had been a long-standing demand of President Nicolás Maduro and his top officials. Nayib Bukele's government had publicly stated it had no legal jurisdiction over the deported Venezuelans, effectively paving the way for Venezuelan and U.S. officials to seal the deal. Press officials for Venezuela's Information Ministry declined to comment on the release but summoned journalists to the airport early on Friday. Press officials for El Salvador and the U.S. State Department didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The U.S. has deported about 8,000 Venezuelans through direct repatriation flights this year. It also secured the release of seven Americans prisoner through swaps negotiated by Trump's special envoy Ric Grenell. It remains unclear what, if anything, is Maduro giving in exchange. Venezuela currently holds about 950 political prisoners, out of which more than 80 have foreign nationality, according to Caracas-based human rights group Foro Penal. Maduro and Venezuelan government officials have consistently demanded the return of more than two dozen children who remain in U.S. custody after their parents were deported. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
New York Times
21-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Bukele Proposes Deal That Would Free Deported Venezuelans
El Salvador's president proposed on Sunday repatriating Venezuelan detainees sent to his country from the United States in exchange for the release of prisoners by Venezuela, including key figures in the Venezuelan opposition. 'I want to propose a humanitarian agreement that includes the repatriation of 100 percent of the 252 Venezuelans who were deported, in exchange for the release and surrender of an identical number (252) of the thousands of political prisoners you hold,' President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador wrote in an X post directed at President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela. Since March, the U.S. government has sent Venezuelans and Salvadorans accused of being affiliated with the Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gangs to El Salvador, where Mr. Bukele agreed to hold convicted criminals for the United States, for a fee. The first flights to arrive in El Salvador carried 238 Venezuelans, many of whom were found not to have criminal records. Mr. Maduro responded explosively to the detention of Venezuelans by El Salvador's government, telling Mr. Bukele not to be 'an accomplice in this kidnapping.' Among the political prisoners in Venezuela named in Mr. Bukele's post were several people detained by the Maduro government in a crackdown last year. He also said that as part of the swap, he would require Mr. Maduro to release 'nearly 50 detained citizens of other nationalities,' including Americans. As of last month, at least 68 foreign passport holders were wrongfully imprisoned in Venezuela, according to a Venezuelan watchdog group, Foro Penal, more than Mr. Maduro has ever held. They are detained alongside roughly 900 Venezuelan political prisoners. The detention of critics and other politically useful figures comes as Mr. Maduro has lost support at home and abroad and has sought new forms of leverage. His goals include pushing the United States to renegotiate sanctions on his government. 'Unlike you, who holds political prisoners,' Mr. Bukele wrote, 'We do not have political prisoners. All the Venezuelans we have in custody were detained as part of an operation against gangs like Tren de Aragua in the United States.' Mr. Bukele said his government would send 'the formal correspondence' and ended his message saying, 'God bless the people of Venezuela.' As of Sunday evening, Mr. Maduro's government had not publicly responded to Mr. Bukele's proposal.
