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Some 2,000 protesters were jailed after the disputed July vote, in which Maduro declared himself the winner.
Venezuela has said another 177 imprisoned election protesters have been freed from the more than 2,000 people who were arrested during clashes after the controversial July 28 vote.
Attorney General Tarek Saab’s Monday announcement would bring the total number of freed protesters to 910, according to the Reuters news agency.
However, human rights groups have said they have not been able to verify all of those who have supposedly regained their freedom.
The groups say at least three protesters have died in custody since demonstrations swept the country after the national electoral council declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner, without presenting official counts.
Pre-election polls had shown Maduro trailing opposition leader Edmundo González by a seemingly insurmountable margin before the election, and Maduro’s government has still rejected calls from both the opposition and regional leaders to release data that demonstrate your victory.
However, the Venezuelan Supreme Court later confirmed the victory. Opposition figures have argued that both the electoral council and the court are dominated by Maduro loyalists.
As Venezuelans took to the streets demanding election data, at least 28 people were killed and nearly 200 injured in clashes with security forces, and hundreds more were arrested.
In early December, the Venezuelan human rights group Foro Penal said there were 1,877 political prisoners.
Announcing the release of 103 election protesters on December 12, the citizen security service said Maduro had ordered the government to review “all cases related to acts of violence and crimes committed within the framework of the elections.”
Before that, the attorney general’s office said that “precautionary measures” had been granted on Nov. 26, allowing the release of about 225 prisoners but requiring them to appear in court once every 30 days.
Last week, Venezuela’s attorney general said another 533 election protesters had been freed.
ICC probe
The measures come months after International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said he was “actively monitoring” the post-election crackdown.
The ICC has an open investigation into the country related to violence following the controversial elections to the Constituent Assembly called by Maduro in 2017.
The releases also come just weeks before Maduro is sworn in again for a third term on January 10. The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, will take office 10 days later, which could mark a change in policy towards Venezuela.
Trump increased sanctions during his first term, but has faced pressure to proceed more cautiously for fear that a reduction could push Caracas toward China.
For its part, US President Joe Biden’s administration had eased some sanctions when Maduro pledged to hold free and fair elections, but re-implemented them when the Venezuelan leader further cracked down on the opposition in the run-up to the vote.
Many opposition figures have since fled the country.
Still, with several U.S. citizens remaining detained in Venezuela, it was unclear whether the latest releases were intended to generate goodwill with the incoming U.S. administration.
