The US asks to release political prisoners before another dies

Francisco Palmieri, head of mission of the United States Foreign Office for Venezuela, regretted the death on Thursday, November 14, of an electoral witness detained in Anzoátegui and asked the government of Nicolás Maduro free political prisoners before another dies.

“The news that another unjustly detained Venezuelan has died shows how the government of Nicolás Maduro will always prioritize its own interests over the well-being of the Venezuelan people,” he said in a publication on the account in x of the United States Foreign Office for Venezuela.

Palmieri sent words of condolence to the family and friends of Jesús Martínez and added that “releasing the other political prisoners before another dies must be a priority.”

Jesús Manuel Martínez Medina, who was a member of Vente Venezuela, died on Thursday at the Luis Razetti Hospital in Barcelona during an amputation procedure for his legs, according to the version of opposition leader María Corina Machado.

The leader explained that Martínez, detained one day after the presidential elections on July 28, suffered from type II diabetes and heart deficiencies.

During his confinement, he said, he was denied timely medical attention and his health worsened. “He was severely mistreated and was in such precarious hygienic conditions that he had necrosis in both legs,” Machado denounced.

After the elections, more than 2,400 people were arrested – including political leaders – due to spontaneous popular protests against Maduro’s controversial victory, announced without detailed results being revealed.