Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa has announced on social media that he has been freed after “almost nine months of unjust imprisonment”.
His comments come shortly after the country’s interim President, Delcy Rodríguez, signed an amnesty bill approved by its National Assembly that could lead to the release of hundreds of political prisoners.
Rodríguez’s interim government has faced pressure from the US to speed up the release of Venezuela’s remaining political prisoners after delays to the law.
However, Guanipa described the bill as a “flawed document” that excludes many Venezuelans who remain “unjustly” behind bars.
Guanipa is the leader of Venezuela’s centre-right Justice First party and was a former vice-president of the National Assembly.
He went into hiding after being accused of terrorism and treason for challenging Venezuela’s disputed 2024 election result, and was tracked down by security forces and detained in May 2025.
Guanipa was initially released from prison earlier this month, but was then rearrested and placed under house arrest for allegedly breaching the terms of his release.
He is now among hundreds of political prisoners that have been freed since US forces seized Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro in a raid on 3 January.
Venezuela’s socialist government has always denied holding political prisoners but first announced days after Maduro’s capture, on 8 January, that “a significant number” of prisoners would be freed as a goodwill gesture.
Opposition and human rights groups have said the government under Maduro for years used detentions of political prisoners to stamp out dissent and silence critics.
Interim President Rodriguez has described the amnesty bill as being intended for the offering and receiving of forgiveness.
But activists within the South American country have denounced delays to the law and a lack of transparency over who is being freed.
Guanipa is a close ally of Venezuela’s exiled opposition leader María Corina Machado, who won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
Machado has vowed to lead the country “when the right time comes”, after giving US President Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal last month. She described her gift to Trump as a recognition of his commitment to Venezuela’s freedom.
By BBC News
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