Venezuela: Parliament announces the release of prisoners. Free Gasperin. Waiting for Trentini

The Spanish Foreign Ministry reported that four Spanish prisoners have been released by Venezuela. El Pais reports it. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, who confirmed the presence of Spanish citizens among the group of prisoners that Venezuela has pledged to release, described the incident as a “great first step”.

The Speaker of the Parliament expressed his gratitude for the mediation of the international actors involved in the process, including former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Brazilian President Lula da Silva and the Government of Qatar.

Rodriguez stressed that this is not an isolated initiative, but a deliberate action to ease tensions. “Consider this unilateral gesture by the Government as the contribution we all must make to ensure that our Republic continues its peaceful existence and pursuit of prosperity,” he said.
“Good news!” wrote on social media the lawyer Alfredo Romero of the NGO Foro Penal, which defends prisoners for political reasons in Venezuela. “We know of some people already freed, including foreigners.”
The freed Spaniards are Andres Marti’nez Adasme and José Maria Basoa from the Basque Country, Miguel Moreno from the Canary Islands and Ernesto Gorbe from Valencia as well as a dual citizen.

Martha Tineo, co-founder of the NGO Justice, Encounter, and Forgiveness, told the New York Times that some of the first political prisoners to be released soon are those held in El Helicoide, a years-long torture and abuse prison originally designed as a modern shopping mall in the heart of Caracas. According to data from Foro Penal, as of January 5, 806 political prisoners were in prison in Venezuela.

Yesterday Donald Trump announced that the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) – referring to El Helicoide – would close its doors. However, Foro Penal warned that, to date, no concrete actions have been taken.