<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares stated this Friday, January 9, that he is awaiting the possible release of “another Spaniard” in Venezuela “in the coming hours or days.”</strong></h4> The government is “hopeful” that “there may be another release of a Spaniard” and that “they may be freed in the coming hours or even in the coming days,” Albares declared during an interview on the TVE program 'La hora de La 1'. Albares made these statements a day after the president of Venezuela's National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez (brother of the country's new interim president, Delcy Rodríguez), announced the release of a "significant number of people," including five Spaniards, among them José María Basoa Valdovinos and Andrés Martínez Adasme, who were arrested in September 2024 on charges of plotting an attack against President Nicolás Maduro and of being agents of the Spanish National Intelligence Center (CNI). According to Albares, the released Spanish prisoners are doing well, but are in a "state of shock." "They woke up one day thinking they were going to be there indefinitely, and a few hours later, they were free at the residence of the Spanish ambassador," he explained. "Today is a moment of great happiness," he added. He also stated that these releases represent a “positive step” by “the new interim president,” who assumed the presidency following the US military assault of January 3, which culminated in the overthrow and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro. In this regard, he expressed his satisfaction with the “new stage that is opening in Venezuela” and his hope that the new government of Delcy Rodríguez “will continue along this path.” He insisted on the need to foster “a broad dialogue to achieve a Venezuelan solution,” because “it cannot be any other way; only the people of Venezuela can decide the destiny of that country, and the solution must, of course, be peaceful, democratic, and among Venezuelans.” Therefore, Albares reiterated Spain’s offer of mediation, stating that Spain will speak “directly with the Venezuelan government, as well as with Edmundo González (opposition candidate in the July 2025 presidential elections, currently in exile in Spain) and with the other opposition leaders.” Jorge Rodríguez announced this Thursday the release of a “significant number of people, both Venezuelan and foreign,” with the aim of “contributing and collaborating” in favor of “national unity and peaceful coexistence” and “to strengthen his unwavering commitment to consolidating peace in the Republic and peaceful coexistence” for all, without distinction of ideology or religion. In the same address, Jorge Rodríguez thanked those who “have always stood by the people of Venezuela to defend the right to a full life, to self-determination, to independence, and to peace,” with special mention of former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the Government of Qatar. Two of the released Spaniards, José María Basoa Valdovinos and Andrés Martínez Adasme, were arrested near the Colombian border on charges of being linked to an opposition plot to assassinate Maduro and other leaders of the regime. The Venezuelan government has asserted that both men belong to the Spanish National Intelligence Center (CNI), but the Spanish government has repeatedly denied their affiliation with any state agency. Two other individuals released had also been detained for “suspicious” activities and were being held in pretrial detention. The fifth person released is Rocío San Miguel, a woman with dual nationality and president of an activist organization that monitors the armed forces in Venezuela. Following the news of their release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement celebrating this “positive step in the new stage that Venezuela is entering,” and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described it as “an act of justice and a necessary step to promote dialogue and reconciliation among Venezuelans.”
