Venezuela's interim government says 131 political prisoners were freed under what it calls the Program for Peace and Democratic Coexistence [1]. The announcement followed the first round of US-brokered talks, which wrapped up on Wednesday [1]. The government's number is the largest on offer, and it is the one that has traveled furthest.
Independent monitors report far fewer confirmed releases, and we set their counts beside the government's rather than splitting the difference. The opposition group Vente Venezuela independently verified 43 releases [1]. The rights organization Foro Penal counted at least 40 people freed, while reporting that 391 political prisoners remained detained as of August 10 [1]. Those figures come from different bodies counting in different ways, which is why they are printed separately here.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the release, calling it a step "for the nation's reconciliation process" [1]. The framing is Washington's, and the talks that produced the releases were brokered by Washington, which is part of why the announcement carries the weight it does.
On who now runs the country, we stay within what the reporting states. Al Jazeera describes Venezuela as now being governed by Maduro's former deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, with significant influence from Washington [1]. We are not asserting anything about the presidency beyond that characterization. The number that will matter in the weeks ahead is not how many the government says it freed, but how many of the 391 that Foro Penal was still counting are named and released.
