Venezuela Frees Over 130 People Imprisoned After Disputed Election

From inside a sweltering Tocorón prison on Sunday, the detained peered out at their anguished relatives, throwing kisses from small windows and yelling “Soon!”

Nearly three months after Venezuela’s authoritarian government arrested roughly 2,000 people in a crackdown following a disputed presidential election, officials have announced plans to release more than 200 prisoners.

By Sunday, at least 131 people had been freed, according to Foro Penal, a local watchdog group. Some analysts viewed the mass release, in part, as a gesture by the government to gain something from the incoming Trump administration.

But the announcement left another 1,800 or so families in a state of anguished limbo, hoping their sons, daughters, siblings, husbands and wives would also be among those let go. Over the weekend, hundreds of people gathered outside Tocorón, a prison two hours from Caracas, hoping to see their loved ones emerge.

Just a few weeks ago, the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, had bragged about packing Tocorón with his political opponents, who he called “fascist criminals.”

The government has charged most of them with terrorism, an accusation that has become a common way to target political foes. Many of the imprisoned have denied the charges, with their families telling The New York Times that their relatives had not committed any crimes.