Venezuelans gather in front of TV monitors in New York's Times Square to protest, demanding free and fair presidential elections. Presidential elections were held in Venezuela on this day. July 28, 2025. [TheNews2/Cover Images/Reuters] Al Jazeera reported on the 1st (Thursday) that the Nicolás Maduro government in Venezuela released at least 87 prisoners who had been detained in protests against the results of the 2024 presidential election.

This release comes amid continued pressure from the Donald Trump administration on Venezuela.

A week prior, there was also a measure to release prisoners, which some observers interpreted as an effort by Maduro to show a more conciliatory attitude, even as he accuses the government of trying to overthrow his administration and Trump attempting to seize Venezuela's vast oil reserves.

The Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners announced on social media, "On the morning of January 1, news was conveyed by mothers and relatives that additional political prisoners had been released from the Tocorón prison in Aragua state, northern Venezuela."

The Venezuelan government had previously announced the release of 99 prisoners on December 25th, stating it was a "concrete demonstration of the nation's will for peace, dialogue, and justice."

However, Foro Penal, a prominent human rights group in Venezuela, later stated that only 61 prisoners were released at that time.

Maduro claimed victory in the July 2024 election, announcing he had secured a third six-year term. However, the opposition raised allegations of widespread electoral fraud, and an independent expert verification subsequently announced that Edmundo González had won by an overwhelming margin.

González ran in place of opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was disqualified from running. Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, appeared in Oslo, Norway, recently after months in hiding.

The controversial election results triggered nationwide protests, resulting in at least 28 deaths and thousands of arrests.

According to official records, at least 2,000 people have been released, and over 700 are estimated to still be detained for political reasons.

President Trump is intensifying military pressure on Venezuela over drug trafficking issues, but the dominant analysis suggests this is largely influenced by Venezuela's involvement in the manipulation of the 2020 US presidential election.

The US Department of War has been reinforcing its military presence off the Venezuelan coast since August, launching airstrikes on drug transport vessels since September 2nd, and recently attacking piers used for loading drugs onto these vessels, suggesting an imminent full-scale ground offensive.

Machado, living in exile, has openly supported the US pressure campaign. While showing more caution regarding attacks on Venezuelan territory, she has claimed that Venezuela has been "invaded" by "terrorist organizations" and "drug cartels."

Many conservatives, including Gary Burnson, a former CIA operative who claims to have prevented fraud in the 2020 presidential election, are fueling expectations that an international election rigging cartel will be exposed through this incident.

US NNP=Chief Reporter Sung Ku Hong / Special Contribution to this Newspaper NNP info@newsandpost.com