The son of a jailed Venezuelan opposition figure has cautioned US President Donald Trump against trusting the Venezuelan authorities, amid claims that the government has failed to honour its promise to free a large number of political detainees.
Ramón Guanipa, whose father Juan Pablo Guanipa is a prominent opposition leader currently in prison, said he believes President Trump may not be fully aware that only around 40 releases have been independently confirmed so far, out of more than 800 political prisoners identified by human rights organisations.
On Saturday, Trump publicly thanked the Venezuelan authorities, saying they had “started the process, in a BIG WAY”.
Earlier this week, the Venezuelan government announced it would begin releasing detainees classified as political prisoners by rights groups, describing the move as a “gesture of goodwill”.
The announcement followed a dramatic US operation on 3 January, when American forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during a raid in the capital, Caracas, and transported him to New York, where he now faces charges related to drug trafficking.
The statement on prisoner releases was delivered by Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly and brother of Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who said an “important number of Venezuelan and foreign detainees” would be freed “immediately”.
On Monday, the government claimed that more than 100 prisoners had already been released — a figure significantly higher than the number so far verified by human rights monitors.
Among those confirmed to have been freed are several well-known opposition figures. Spain’s foreign ministry confirmed that five Spanish citizens, including prominent human rights lawyer Rocío San Miguel, were among those released.
Trump has taken credit for the move, posting on social media on Saturday: “I hope these prisoners will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done.”
However, families of detainees who remain imprisoned say they are deeply frustrated that only a fraction of those promised have actually been released.
‘Keep the pressure on’
Ramón Guanipa, whose father is a close ally of opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, told BBC Mundo: “I want to tell President Trump that he must not be fooled and that he should keep pressure on these guys.”
He added: “I want to thank President Trump for the pressure he has applied. He has been our greatest ally in this situation.”
But he warned that the limited number of confirmed releases suggests the process is not unfolding as claimed. “If he thinks this is going well, it is not,” Guanipa said.
Outside El Helicoide — Venezuela’s most notorious detention centre — relatives of prisoners continue to hold vigil, hoping for news of their loved ones.
Ramón Guanipa said he has been allowed to visit his father only once since his arrest.
Juan Pablo Guanipa had gone into hiding after being accused of terrorism and treason for disputing the outcome of Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election. The vote lacked “basic transparency and integrity”, according to the United Nations, and was widely denounced as fraudulent by the United States, which refused to recognise Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.
Following his public criticism, Juan Pablo Guanipa was tracked down by Venezuelan security forces and arrested in May 2025.
After learning of the announced prisoner releases, Ramón Guanipa boarded the first available flight from Maracaibo, in western Venezuela, to Caracas.
“When they tell you they’re going to release your family member, everything else becomes insignificant,” he said.
When his father’s name did not appear among those freed, he said he felt “defeated”.
“But at the same time, you find another reason to fight,” he added. “I’m fighting so they actually do what they say they’re going to do.”
The Venezuelan government has not responded to questions about the pace of releases, and the attorney general declined a request for an interview with the BBC.
A test of Trump’s influence
These developments are widely seen as an early test of President Trump’s influence in Venezuela following the removal of Maduro.
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez has signalled a willingness to cooperate with the Trump administration, while simultaneously condemning any form of US interference in Venezuela’s internal affairs.
The announcement about prisoner releases came just one day after Trump said Venezuelan authorities would close El Helicoide, a prison that has become internationally infamous.
Originally designed as a shopping centre and symbol of Venezuela’s oil-fuelled prosperity, El Helicoide was transformed under Maduro into a fortress associated with political repression.
Outside the prison in western Caracas, tension remains high as families wait anxiously for information.
Carmen Farfán says her son, José Gregorio Reyes, was detained along with his wife and a friend while he was in hospital in western Venezuela. Since their arrest, the family has received no information about their whereabouts.
Farfán does not know where her son is being held but travelled to El Helicoide to join other relatives pleading for the release of detainees — wherever they may be.
Standing beside her, Reyes’ sister-in-law breaks down in tears as she recounts how the three were arrested in November 2025.
“We just want to know where they are being held,” Farfán said. “We are desperate. We’ve been waiting for days with no answers.”
Venezuela’s opposition and international human rights organisations have long accused the government of using arbitrary detention to silence dissent. Officials have repeatedly denied holding political prisoners, insisting those detained were arrested for criminal offences.
Opposition activists argue that freeing political prisoners is an “urgent” and essential step toward any meaningful political transition.
However, the limited number of confirmed releases has fuelled scepticism about the interim government’s intentions and raised doubts about how far it is genuinely prepared to cooperate with the United States.
