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Venezuela Frees Three Jailed Activists in Post-talks Gesture

by Reuters

   CARACAS --

   Venezuela has freed three opposition activists jailed for more than a
   month in a first gesture by President Nicolas Maduro's government after
   talks began with his foes.

   The socialist leader met opposition leaders over the weekend in talks
   convened by the Vatican, but they conditioned further dialogue on the
   release of political prisoners and a national vote on Maduro's rule.

   His adversaries accuse Maduro of creating a dictatorship by blocking a
   recall referendum on his rule and illegally overriding the legislature,
   which was taken over by the opposition in a landslide election last
   year.

   Authorities freed the three activists -- Carlos Melo, Andres Moreno and
   Marco Trejo -- on Monday night, but the opposition says another 100 or
   so Maduro opponents remain in jail.

   "I hope that what happened to me, will happen to all of them," Melo
   said in a video released after his release.

   FILE - A protester, wearing a mask and holding a banner that reads in
   Spanish, "Stop," takes part in a protest against President Nicolas
   Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, Oct. 26, 2016.

   He was detained in August and accused of carrying explosives as part of
   a coup plot against Maduro.

   Moreno and Trejo spent a month in jail, accused of damaging military
   morale in a political propaganda video that showed a soldier suffering
   the same economic hardships as protesters.

   "These [releases] were decisions by the tribunals in the context of the
   dialogue process, gestures," said senior Socialist Party official Jorge
   Rodriguez, who is representing the government in the talks.

   He added that investigations of the three activists were continuing.
   They deny the charges, and opposition parties say they were trumped up
   as part of a wave of repression this year.

   Maduro, who is struggling to control shortages of consumer goods and
   soaring prices in an unraveling economy, says he is a victim of
   opposition conspiracies to overthrow him and of an "economic war" led
   by businesses with the backing of Washington.

   The opposition was planning to conclude a political trial of Maduro in
   the National Assembly on Tuesday. It also aims to march to the
   presidential palace on Thursday, following massive protests and a
   partially observed national strike last week.