Venezuela says it has freed another 177 jailed election protesters | News from Nicolas Maduro

About 2,000 protesters were jailed after the disputed vote in July, in which Maduro was declared the winner.

Venezuela has said another 177 jailed electoral protesters more than 2,000 people who were arrested during the clashes after the controversial vote on July 28 have been released.

Monday’s announcement by Attorney General Tarek Saab would bring the total number of protesters released to 910, according to Reuters news agency.

However, rights groups have said they have not been able to verify all those said to have regained their freedom.

The groups say at least three protesters have died in prison since demonstrations swept the country after the national election council. declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner, without producing the official accounts.

Pre-election polls had shown Maduro far behind the opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez by a seemingly insurmountable margin ahead of the election, and Maduro’s government has still rejected calls from both the opposition and regional leaders to release data proving its victory.

However, the Supreme Court of Venezuela later confirmed the victory. Opposition figures have maintained that both the electoral council and the court are dominated by Maduro loyalists.

As Venezuelans took to the streets to demand election data, at least 28 people were killed and nearly 200 injured in clashes with security forces, with hundreds more arrested.

In early December, Venezuelan rights group Foro Penal said there were 1,877 political prisoners.

Announcing the release of 103 election protesters on December 12, the public security service said Maduro had ordered the government to review “all cases relating to acts of violence and crimes committed in the framework of the elections”.

Before that, the attorney general’s office said “precautionary measures” had been granted on November 26, allowing the release of about 225 prisoners, but requiring them to appear before a court once every 30 days.

Last week, Venezuela’s attorney general said another 533 election protesters had been released.

ICC probe

The moves come months after International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said he was “actively monitoring” the post-election crackdown.

The ICC has it an open probe in the country related to violence after the controversial Constituent Assembly elections called by Maduro in 2017.

The releases also come just weeks before Maduro is sworn in for a third term on January 10. US President-elect Donald Trump takes office 10 days later, which could mean a policy shift towards Venezuela.

Trump increased sanctions during his first term, but has faced pressure to proceed more cautiously amid concerns that a reduction could push Caracas toward China.

For its part, the administration of US President Joe Biden had eased some sanctions as Maduro pledged to hold free and fair elections, but put them back in place as the Venezuelan leader further cracked down on the opposition in the run-up to the vote.

Since then, many opposition figures have done so he fled the country.

Still, with several US citizens detained in Venezuela, it was unclear whether the latest posts were aimed at generating goodwill with the incoming US administration.