Venezuelan authorities released a group of political prisoners early on Saturday, according to human rights organizations, shortly after the nation's interim leader met with U.S. President Donald Trump in New York.

Among those freed was Wilder Vasquez, who had received a five-year sentence in 2018 for allegedly plotting to assassinate former President Nicolás Maduro. Rights group Foro Penal confirmed the release of Miguel Castillo Cedeño, detained since June 2019, and Frank Cabañas, held for nine years over the death of a police officer. Foro Penal noted that Cabañas remained the sole suspect in custody despite family reports of health issues.

The releases occurred amid renewed calls for free elections following interim President Delcy Rodriguez's discussions with Trump. Rodriguez, who assumed leadership after Maduro's 2024 election — widely contested as rigged — had previously halted a prisoner-release program in April, stating it was "coming to an end."

Opposition figures and advocacy groups have long accused Maduro's government of using detention to suppress dissent. While Rodriguez's administration framed the releases as gestures of goodwill, critics argued the initiative was incomplete, with Foro Penal stating less than half of Venezuela's political prisoners had been freed before the program ended.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, aligned with Maduro's administration, described Rodriguez's meeting with Trump as "a great triumph of the diplomacy of peace."

The U.S. has supported Rodriguez as Maduro's successor despite the disputed 2024 election, a stance analysts linked to a preference for short-term stability. At the United Nations General Assembly, Rodriguez reaffirmed that elections would occur in Venezuela, though no timeline was provided.

Opposition commentator Pedro Mario Burelli criticized the Trump-Rodriguez meeting, referring to the leaders as "the shameless puppet and her unscrupulous and undignified puppet-master," and asserting that little had changed under U.S. oversight.

No official statement from the Venezuelan government addressed the recent prisoner releases or their connection to the Trump meeting.