Son-in-law of opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez released in Venezuela

Former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez’s son-in-law was released from jail in Venezuela.

The government of interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez is gradually reducing the number of political prisoners detained in Venezuela’s prisons as a result of Rafael Tudares Bracho’s release on Thursday.

The president of the United States, which has kept military installations off the coast of Venezuela and threatened Venezuelan officials if they don’t comply with US demands, has been widely viewed as a concession to the president’s administration.

Rodriguez took the oath of office shortly after Trump authorized the January 3 abduction of her predecessor, former president Nicolas Maduro. The release of Tudares Bracho was greeted with joy by members of the opposition coalition.

My husband Rafael Tudares Bracho returned home this morning after 380 days of unlawful detention, according to Mariana Gonzalez’s daughter, Mariana Gonzalez, on the social media platform X.

It has been a “profoundly challenging and stoic struggle.”

After Maria Corina Machado, the opposition’s electorate nominee, was prohibited from running, the elder Gonzalez vowed to oppose Maduro in the 2024 presidential election. Despite Maduro’s claims of victory, the opposition’s election records revealed Gonzalez winning the race, which independent observers later verified.

Following what his wife called a “sham” 12-hour trial on charges of “conspiracy, terrorism, and criminal association,” Tudares Bracho was detained in January 2025, just days before Maduro’s third term as president.

His release coincides with Venezuelan prisoners’ families holding vigils in prisons across the nation to demand their loved ones’ release.

Foro Penal, a leading prisoner rights organization in Venezuela, has verified the release of 145 political prisoners, despite the fact that at least 775 more are still detained.

Edmundo Gonzalez, who has been imprisoned since the 2024 election, posted a video on social media praising his son-in-law’s release and urging the release of other Venezuelans who he claimed are still imprisoned.

He claimed that limiting this event to a personal story would be a mistake. “Many people still feel denied their liberty for political reasons, without guarantees, without due process, and in many cases without truth,” the statement continues.

Since Maduro’s disappearance, the Trump administration has reportedly resisted backing opposition figures in Venezuela.

Instead of pursuing extraction from Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, the US has focused on working with Rodriguez and other Maduro government officials to ensure stability.

Since her boss’s abduction, Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, has treaded a careful line with her domestic audience, which has gradually evolved into more diplomatic messaging.