Venezuela announces the release of 146 pre-election protesters from prison | News about Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek Saab announced the release of 146 protesters detained during anti-government protests after the July 28 presidential election.

Saab’s announcement on Monday brings the number of prisoners released by the government to 1.515.

It also comes just days before the president Nicolas Maduro on Friday, he will be sworn in for a controversial third term.

Maduro was trailing his opposition rival Edmundo Gonzalez ahead of the July 28 election. But hours after the polls closed, his government announced that he had won the race – without releasing the usual analysis of the vote results.

This sparked an outcry, and the opposition released ballots it claimed proved Gonzalez was the real winner.

Maduro has faced criticism over his human rights record, and in the face of widespread post-election protests, his government has continued sharp crushing against the demonstrators.

The government estimates that 2,000 people were detained, and human rights groups say that 23 protesters were killed.

Venezuela’s highest court and electoral body have since upheld Maduro’s election victory, and Maduro and his allies have accused the opposition of conspiring with foreign governments hostile towards Venezuela.

The opposition, however, claims that the government bodies that confirmed Maduro’s victory are full of pro-government loyalists.

Opposition leaders also claim that polling station-level tallies they announced show González defeating Maduro two to one.

In September, the Venezuelan court issued a order for Gonzalez’s arrest, charging him with usurpation of authority and conspiracy.

The opposition leader fled Venezuela to Spain shortly after. But the Venezuelan government continued to push for his arrest, even betraying him $100,000 prize for information on its whereabouts.

Speaking on Monday, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello reaffirmed that Gonzalez would be arrested if he “set foot in Venezuela.”

Gonzalez, however, promised to return for the start of the new presidential term.

In a social media post on Sunday, the opposition called on Venezuela’s armed forces to recognize Gonzalez as the country’s true leader.

“On January 10, by the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people, I must assume the role of commander-in-chief,” Gonzalez said.

In early January, Gonzalez left Spain for Argentina and has since been touring countries in an attempt to pressure Maduro’s government, with one stop already in Uruguay and another planned for Panama.

On Monday, Gonzalez also visited the United States to meet with outgoing President Joe Biden.

“We had a long, fruitful and cordial conversation with President Biden and his team,” Gonzalez told reporters. “We, of course, thanked the United States government for the support it gave us in this fight for democratic recovery in Venezuela.”

The US is one of the few countries that do admit Gonzalez as the newly elected president of Venezuela. Also on Monday, Paraguay redoubled its support for Gonzalez, prompting Venezuela to cut diplomatic ties.

It remains unclear, however, what leverage can be used to prevent Maduro from starting his third term on Friday, as he intends to do.

The US has already imposed economic sanctions on Maduro and his government, which critics blame for worsening Venezuela’s economic crisis.

Economic uncertainty and alleged political repression in Venezuela have forced as many as 7.7 million Venezuelans – about 20 percent of the population – to flee the country in recent years.