Secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS) Albert Ramdin on Wednesday called for Venezuela’s socialist regime to release all of its remaining political prisoners.
OAS’ Permanent Council addressed the ongoing situation of the hundreds of individuals that the Venezuelan socialist regime presently maintains as political prisoners in the country. According to the non-government organization Foro Penal, the Venezuelan regime held 777 political prisoners as of Monday night out of the 863 confirmed by the end of 2025.
Two new releases were confirmed by Foro Penal in the following hours. The organization published a detailed breakdown of the confirmed release explained on Tuesday that it submitted its most up-to-date listings to the OAS for its verification and certification.
A woman takes pictures with her mobile phone as relatives of political prisoners protest displaying pictures and signs in front of the public prosecutor’s office in Caracas on January 20, 2026. (RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)
Secretary General Ramdin, during his Wednesday address to the OAS Permanent Council acknowledged that OAS has received information on the status of political prisoners in Venezuela from Foro Penal and other groups, which stands in line with OAS’ Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
Ramdin said that although OAS welcomes the release of political prisoners in Venezuela that have so far taken place, hundreds of people remain imprisoned for political reasons, a situation he stressed undermines any progress toward institutional normalization in Venezuela.
“So, we continue to urge the authorities in Venezuela to expedite the release, and I must say it is not only for reasons of humanitarian law, but also for political reasons, to show that they are ready to engage on a process of political stability,” Ramdin said.
“It’s a good sign if they would do that for political stability and democracy,” he continued.
Ramdin also urged Venezuelan authorities to authorize an IACHR visit to accompany a democratic transition process in Venezuela.
According to Foro Penal, the Venezuelan regime has so far released 151 political prisoners — 143 of which have been released since January 8, hours after President Donald Trump revealed in a Truth Social post this month that he canceled a second wave of attacks in Venezuela after the ruling socialists had agreed to release a “large number” of political prisoners.
Foro Penal detailed that nearly half of all releases so far have been foreign nationals or Venezuelans with dual citizenship. On Monday, French national Camilo Pierre Castro, who spent five months as a political prisoner of the Venezuelan regime, denounced that he was subjected to sexual torture and other inhumane and cruel treatment during his captivity in Venezuela.
Similarly, U.S. ambassador to the OAS Leandro Rizzuto welcomed the release of the 143 individuals — but stressed that there are “over 1,000” who remain unjustly detained and demanded the immediate release of all political prisoners in Venezuela.
“Approximately one thousand more remain unjustly detained. The United States calls for and supports the unconditional release of all unjustly detained political prisoners,” Rizzuto reportedly said at the OAS meeting.
The Venezuelan regime, which denies that it holds political prisoners, claims that the “ex-incarceration” of individuals is part of a purported order allegedly issued by Nicolás Maduro before he was captured by U.S. forces earlier this year.
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