“After 380 days of unjust and arbitrary detention — having endured more than a year of the inhumane reality of enforced disappearance — my husband Rafael Tudares Bracho returned home this morning,” Mariana González, daughter of Edmundo González, said on X. “It has been a stoic and profoundly difficult struggle.”
Tudares Bracho was arrested just days before Maduro’s inauguration for a third term. His wife denounced the legal proceedings as a sham, noting that his trial took place in a single 12-hour session on Nov. 28, resulting in convictions for “conspiracy, terrorism and criminal association.” It wasn't until Jan. 16 that Mariana González was granted her first 25-minute visit with her husband since his arrest.
The release of Tudares Bracho comes as families of Venezuelan prisoners hold vigils outside prisons and demand the release of nearly 800 imprisoned critics, journalists and members of the opposition still detained in the South American nation.
Edmundo González, an exiled former diplomat who is widely regarded as the legitimate winner of Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, posted a video on social media hailing his son-in-law’s freedom and calling for the release of the many other Venezuelans that he said remain unjustly detained.
“It would be a mistake to reduce this event to a personal story,” he said. “There are still men and women who remain deprived of their liberty for political reasons, without guarantees, without due process, and in many cases, without truth."
As of Tuesday, Venezuela’s leading prisoner rights organization, Foro Penal, had verified the release of 145 people it considers to be political prisoners. At least 775 more remain in detention, according to the organization.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america