Venezuelan Families Demanding Releases Start Hunger Strike

Relatives of Venezuelan prisoners went on hunger strike on Saturday to demand the freedom of their loved ones as politicians in the South American nation debate granting amnesty to dissidents imprisoned under President Nicolas Maduro's rule. In a message posted on Instagram, the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners said the hunger strike is being staged by 10 people and would last until the government frees all 33 political prisoners still being held at a prison known as Zona 7, according to the civil society group's estimates. Earlier on Saturday, the AP reports, 17 prisoners were released from the Zona 7 detention center in Caracas and held tearful reunions with their families.

Relatives of dissidents being held there have been sleeping outside since Jan. 8, when Venezuelan officials had announced there would be significant prisoner releases aimed at promoting national reconciliation following a US raid on the country in which Maduro was seized with his wife, Cilia Flores. But while hundreds of dissidents have been released from other prisons in Venezuela in recent weeks, liberations at Zona 7 have been scarce. "We demand that National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez keep his word and release all of the political prisoners," said Yessy Orozco, daughter of a former legislator who was arrested in November.

The National Assembly, which is still controlled by the ruling party, on Thursday debated a measure that could free hundreds of opposition members, activists and human rights defenders who have been detained for months or years for political reasons. The debate in itself was a stark turn for Venezuela, where authorities have for decades denied the country had any political prisoners. Exiled opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Saturday that she will continue to push for new elections to be held. "A transition to democracy will be orderly, it will be peaceful, and as soon as it takes place it will be better not only for Venezuelans but also for the region and the United States," Machado said in a video appearance to policy analysts who had attended the Munich Security Conference.