Norberto ParedesBBC Mundo, Caracas
BBCThe son of a jailed Venezuelan opposition leader has warned Donald Trump to “not be fooled” by the country’s government, amid accusations it has not kept its promise to release a significant number of political prisoners.
Ramón Guanipa, the son of Juan Pablo Guanipa, said he believed the US president was unaware that only about 40 of the total of more than 800 political prisoners had reportedly been released so far.
On Saturday, Trump thanked the Venezuelan authorities, saying they had “started the process, in a BIG WAY”.
The Venezuelan government announced on Thursday it would release detainees considered political prisoners by human rights groups as a “goodwill gesture”.
The move came after the US seized Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro in a raid on the capital, Caracas, on 3 January, and took him to New York, where he has been charged with drug trafficking.
Jorge Rodríguez, Venezuela’s National Assembly leader and the brother of Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, announced that an “important number of Venezuelan and foreign detainees” would be released “immediately”.
Among those confirmed as released are several high-profile opposition figures – with Spain’s foreign ministry confirming that five Spanish citizens had been freed, including human rights lawyer Rocío San Miguel.
Trump claimed credit for the releases, writing on social media on Saturday: “I hope these prisoners will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done.”
But relatives of those still behind bars have been expressing their frustration that only a small number of prisoners have been freed.
Ramón Guanipa, whose father is a close ally of opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, told BBC Mundo: “I want to tell President Trump that he must not be fooled and [should] keep pressure on these guys.”
He added: “I want to thank President Trump for the pressure that he’s been enforcing. He’s been our greatest ally in this situation.”
However, pointing to the small number of people released so far, Guanipa warned Trump that “if he thinks this is going alright, it is not”.
Ramón Guanipa says he has only been allowed to visit his father once since the older man was arrested.
Juan Pablo Guanipa went into hiding after being accused of terrorism and treason for challenging the result of the 2024 presidential election. That vote was lacked “basic transparency and integrity”, according to the UN, and was denounced as rigged by the US which did not recognise Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.
For his comments, Juan Pablo Guanipa was tracked down by Venezuelan security forces and detained in May 2025.
After hearing about the planned prisoner release, Ramón Guanipa took the first available flight from Maracaibo, in the east of the country, to Caracas.
“When they tell you they’re going to release your family, everything else becomes small,” he explained.
But when his father was not among those freed, he felt “defeated”.
“But at the same time, you find another reason to fight. I’m fighting for them [the interim government] to actually do what they say they’re going to do.”
The Venezuelan government has not commented on the pace of the releases, and the attorney general has declined a BBC interview request.
The developments are being viewed as the first test of Trump’s influence in Venezuela following the removal of Maduro.
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez has appeared to welcome co-operation with the Trump administration, but her public statements have condemned any form of US intervention.
The government’s announcement about prisoner releases came a day after Trump said that the Venezuelan authorities would shut down El Helicoide, the country’s most notorious prison.
El Helicoide was originally designed to be a shopping centre and a symbol of Venezuela’s oil-fuelled prosperity, but became a fortress of political repression under Maduro.
Outside El Helicoide in western Caracas, the atmosphere is tense, with relatives keeping vigil.
Carmen Farfán’s son, José Gregorio Reyes, was detained along with his wife and a friend, while he was in hospital in western Venezuela. Their families have heard nothing since.
Farfán does not know where her son is being held but has come to El Helicoide to join others in pleading for their relatives’ release – wherever they may be.
Beside her, Reyes’ sister-in-law, cries as she describes how the three were arrested in November 2025.
“We hope they tell us where they are keeping them. We are desperate. We’ve been waiting for many days without any answers,” Farfán says.
Venezuela’s opposition and human rights groups have long accused the government of using detentions to stamp out dissent and silence critics, but officials repeatedly denied Venezuela held any political prisoners, arguing those detained were arrested for criminal activity.
Opposition activists have described the release of political prisoners as an “urgent” step towards any transition of power.
However, the small number freed so far has raised doubts about the interim government’s intentions and questions over the extent of its willingness to cooperate with the US.
Additional reporting by Daniel Wittenberg.
