Political developments in Venezuela and a devastating earthquake disaster that strikes Colombia

Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez announced on Saturday that the number of political prisoners released reached 1,046, a number that contradicts the numbers provided by human rights organizations.

The government announced on Friday the release of 131 political prisoners, following a general amnesty issued in January and an agreement reached with the opposition.

“Venezuela reaffirms its commitment to national reconciliation,” Rodriguez wrote on the X platform. “1,046 citizens who were deprived of their freedom have returned to their homes under agreements reached between Venezuelans.”

For its part, the Foro Penal human rights organization said on Saturday that it had verified the release of 72 out of 131 prisoners whose release was announced on Friday.

This step comes a few days after a political dialogue was held between some opposition parties and the ruling party under the auspices of the United States to discuss the transitional phase.

Since Delcy Rodriguez took power following the overthrow of Nicolas Maduro in January, the pace of release of political prisoners has been slow.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the release of more than 130 political prisoners in Venezuela is “an essential step in the national reconciliation process.”

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Maria Corina Machado, thanked US President Donald Trump and his administration, saying, “By bringing Maduro to justice, they paved the way for the release of all political prisoners and also for the freedom of all Venezuelans.”

Edmundo Gonzalez, whom Machado considers the winner of the 2024 presidential elections, called for the release of political prisoners who are still behind bars, calling for those responsible for these arrests to be held accountable.

“Those who regained their freedom yesterday should not have been imprisoned in the first place,” he wrote on the X platform.

"But let it be clear that their release does not erase the years of imprisonment or its consequences on them and their families," Gonzalez added.

According to the Foro Penal organization, the number of political prisoners in Venezuela reached 391 as of last Monday, before the releases that took place on Friday.

A woman who had spent about 37 hours under the rubble as a result of the earthquake that struck western Colombia died in the hospital on Friday evening, after she was recovered alive on Tuesday, according to what her family reported.

Daniela Largo, 32, was pulled from under the rubble in Pereira amid cries of joy and applause, in a scene that gave Colombians a glimmer of hope in a stricken country where 320 residents are still missing, according to data from the Disaster Management Authority.

The earthquake that struck Colombia on Monday, with a magnitude of 7.4, the most violent the country has witnessed this century, claimed the lives of at least 294 people, and resulted in the injury of about 4,000 people.

Pereira was the city most affected, along with Cali.

In the most affected areas, rescue personnel continue to remove parts of ceilings and walls using machinery, 6 days after the earthquake.

Donation campaigns are being organized for the afflicted.

Sandra Melina Pires, Daniela Largo's mother, said in a call to Agence France-Presse: “I hope this will all end quickly.” Daniela has a 12-year-old child.

Rescue personnel and volunteers continue to search the rubble in Colombia for missing people as a result of the earthquake, which President Abelardo de la Esprilla said left a “catastrophic situation,” despite the diminishing chances of survival.

Colombia is clinging to the slim hope of recovering survivors from the rubble, with six days having passed since the earthquake, and with the smell of decomposing bodies spreading in the most affected neighborhoods.

In several areas of the country where survivors were unlikely, construction equipment has begun clearing rubble, while funerals continue.

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake, which struck cities on the Pacific coast and in the coffee-growing region in the west of the country, killed 287 people, injured about 4,000 others, and left 379 people missing, according to the authorities.

“The situation is catastrophic,” said de la Esprilla from Perez, one of the most affected cities.

This comes after he made brief visits to disaster areas, where he pledged to provide rental assistance to people who had become homeless, especially since the earthquake led to the destruction of about 13,000 homes.

The Colombian president also proposed a “Marshall Plan” for this province, which is considered one of the poorest in Colombia, and which was “left to its fate due to centralization” for a long time.

De la Esprilla, who took office only a week ago, faces the challenge of managing the massive crisis caused by the deadliest earthquake of this century in Colombia.

On the international level, the US State Department announced new aid on Friday, bringing its total contribution since the earthquake to $26.5 million.

The World Bank plans to disburse $200 million in emergency aid and launch an assessment of the economic impact of the earthquake, according to Agence France-Presse.