Under pressure from Washington, the government in Caracas last week said it would free people jailed under Maduro – many of them for taking part in protests after his 2024 re-election.
Relatives have been camped out at prisons ever since and have grown increasingly restless as their loved ones have failed to appear.
Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez, despite being a staunch Maduro ally, is negotiating on several fronts with Washington, which is looking to take advantage of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
On Sunday, Trump said he was open to a meeting with Rodriguez and said his administration was working “really well” with hers.
US envoys visited Caracas on Friday to discuss reopening Washington’s embassy there seven years after diplomatic ties were severed.
On Monday, Venezuela said 116 political prisoners had been released in recent hours, though opposition groups report lower figures.
A total of around 50 people have been freed since last Thursday, according to a tally based on figures from NGOs and the opposition.
The government said those freed had been jailed for “acts related to disrupting the constitutional order and undermining the Nation’s stability.”
Over the weekend, Trump celebrated the initial releases and said he hoped the freed prisoners “will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done.”
The government in Caracas said a review of prisoner files was ongoing. (AFP)
