Bombay Durpun - Venezuelans demand political prisoners' release, Maduro 'doing well'

The government of interim president Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday began to release prisoners jailed under Maduro in a gesture of openness after she pledged to cooperate with Washington.

The government said a "large" number would be released in a gesture of appeasement for which President Donald Trump's administration took credit -- but rights groups and the opposition say only about 20 have walked free since, including several prominent opposition figures.

Rodriguez, vice president under Maduro, said Venezuela would take "the diplomatic route" with Washington, with Trump claiming the United States was "in charge" of the South American country.

"Venezuela has started the process, in a BIG WAY, of releasing their political prisoners. Thank you!" Trump said in a post late Saturday on his Truth Social platform.

"I hope those prisoners will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done."

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured in a dramatic January 3 raid that began with overnight air strikes across Caracas. They were taken to New York by US forces to stand trial on drug-trafficking and weapons charges.

- Anxiety over prisoners -

A detained police officer accused of "treason" against Venezuela died in state custody, the opposition and rights groups said on Saturday.

"We directly hold the regime of Delcy Rodriguez responsible for this death," Primero Justicia (Justice First), which is part of the Venezuelan opposition alliance, said on X.

Families held candlelight vigils outside El Rodeo prison east of Caracas and El Helicoide, a notorious jail run by the intelligence services, holding signs with the names of their imprisoned relatives.

"I am tired and angry," Nebraska Rivas, 57, told AFP as she waited for her son to be released from El Rodeo.

"But I have faith that they will hand him over to us soon," she said after sleeping on the pavement outside the prison for two nights.

- 'Trust blindly' -

Maduro claimed he was "doing well" in jail in New York, his son Nicolas Maduro Guerra said in a video released Saturday by his party.

Around 1,000 protesters, waving flags and placards with the face of the mustachioed ex-leader and his wife Cilia Flores, rallied on Saturday in the west of Caracas and a few hundred in the eastern Petare district.

"I'll march as often as I have to until Nicolas and Cilia come back," said demonstrator Soledad Rodriguez, 69.

The demonstrations were far smaller than Maduro's camp had mustered in the past, and top figures from his government were notably absent.

The caretaker president has moved to placate the powerful pro-Maduro base by insisting Venezuela is not "subordinate" to Washington.

- Pressure on Cuba -

Trump vowed to secure US access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves following Maduro's capture, and Delcy Rodriguez has pledged to cooperate.

Trump pressed top oil executives at a White House meeting on Friday to invest in Venezuela's reserves, but was met with a cautious reception.

Experts say Venezuela's oil infrastructure is creaky after years of mismanagement and sanctions.

Washington has also confirmed that US envoys visited Caracas on Friday to discuss reopening their embassy there.

He urged Cuba to "make a deal" or face unspecified consequences, warning that the flow of Venezuelan oil and money to Havana would now stop.

Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel retorted on X that the Caribbean island was "ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood."

"Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign nation," he said. "No one tells us what to do."

L.Apte--BD