The head of the opposition delegation in the talks with the Venezuelan Government, Dinorah Figuera, has demanded this Sunday "clarity" regarding the official data of released individuals and has insisted that, in a country that "is moving towards democratic transition," there should be no political prisoners.
"Clarity is urgent regarding the official figures, in contrast to what has been verified by the Human Rights organizations that are following the process," Figuera pointed out in a message disseminated on social media, in which she also stated that she remains "vigilant" and making "efforts" for "the releases to take place."
In this line, the negotiating head of the parallel opposition Parliament established in 2015 has described the release of "all political prisoners and that it be complete" as a "great national demand."
Figuera's statements come a day after the acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, raised the balance of released political prisoners to 1,406 since the intervention of the United States on January 3 --the date on which President Nicolás Maduro was captured-- a figure that coincides with that provided by the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
This is the first public statement from the acting president regarding the results achieved within the framework of the amnesty bill project, the so-called Program for Peace and Democratic Coexistence, which is announced following the recent announcement of the release of 131 individuals who until a few days ago remained imprisoned for political and ideological reasons by the Venezuelan authorities.
However, the NGO Foro Penal has reduced this Sunday the official figure to 78 verified releases, far below the more than 130 communicated by government channels.
A similar discrepancy has been pointed out by the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners of Venezuela, which warned this Saturday that "releasing does not always mean liberating" and assured that, independently, it has only managed to verify 70 releases.
"Since January, the same pattern has been repeated: figures are announced that, at the time of their dissemination, cannot be independently corroborated. We demand the publication of the names, the release warrants, and the legal situation of each person, as well as access for independent organizations to all detention centers," the committee denounced in a statement.
Regarding the aforementioned release announced by Miraflores, Figuera stated that he receives "with hope for the reunion of Venezuelan families" the "information of the releases." However, he pointed out that "not all are" and called to continue "demanding tirelessly" new releases "until every citizen reunites with their family."