Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González, has been released from prison, his wife has said, more than a year after he was detained as part of a crackdown on Maduro government critics and their relatives.
Mariana González said her husband had returned home after 380 days of unjust and arbitrary detention. Tudares is one of more than 150 detainees who have been released since the US military seized Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, in a nighttime raid and took him to New York to stand trial on drug-trafficking charges.
Despite the release, an NGO warns that 777 political prisoners still remain behind bars amid ongoing high tensions within the country after Maduro's former vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in as acting president.
President Donald Trump backed Rodríguez's interim government, praising her for plans to transfer oil supplies to the U.S. The slow pace of releases of political prisoners has drawn criticism from rights groups, highlighting that many have yet to have their charges dropped.
Tudares's imprisonment became emblematic of the repression following the controversial 2024 presidential election. González challenged Maduro after prominent opposition figures were barred from the polls. Following the election, many opposition leaders, including González, faced reprisals from Maduro's security forces.
Mariana González took to social media to express her gratitude for those who supported her husband's release while reminding everyone of the ongoing plight of other detained families across Venezuela, many of whom are still fighting for justice.
