SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last week but left his repressive government in place. And since then, there's been a crackdown on dissent. Several journalists were detained as they covered the National Assembly, and there are reports of paramilitary groups setting up checkpoints, searching people's phones for messages or social media posts celebrating Maduro's capture. The regime has freed a number of political prisoners this week, including activists, journalists and opposition politicians. But experts say there's still over 800 political prisoners jailed in Venezuela. Ofelia Riquezes is a Venezuelan human rights lawyer and a professor at Florida International University. She joins us now from Miami. Thanks so much for being with us.
OFELIA RIQUEZES: Thank you so much, Scott, for this opportunity.
SIMON: Professor, how do you read this? - the release of at least a few political prisoners but also continued repression. What does that signal to you?
RIQUEZES: Well, I'm very glad that you began by phrasing the conversation in those terms because I think something that must be underscored is the continuity. Even though the lead man is gone, the system very much remains. So there are some indications that the people who are left in power now are willing to, you know, give in to the requests by the United States, given this use of force. However, there doesn't seem to be much of a showing of a will for a democratic opening. The release of these political prisoners is part of a phenomenon that we have seen in Venezuela for years, which is referred to as a revolving door. Some people are released, while other people are detained. And so although this has been framed as a unilateral show of goodwill on behalf of the Chavista regime, it must be said that there are over 800 political prisoners confirmed at the moment who are detained in Venezuela and other hundreds of them that we don't know their whereabouts.
SIMON: Can you help us understand the range of the people that are being held as political prisoners?
RIQUEZES: When we talk about political prisoners - and many people tend to think that that means public figures and, you know, people who dedicate themselves to politics, but that's not always the case. There are people who simply because they have a conversation that's critical of the government within their phones or people who are perceived to be opponents of the regime with no further proof are detained and then are, you know, subject to this very arbitrary process in which they do not have access to their attorneys. They do not have access to impartial judges. And so within this group that's classified as political prisoners, we really have people of many different profiles.
SIMON: You wrote a piece recently for The Bulwark in which you suggested that the removal of President Maduro could actually kind of lead to a renewal of that regime. How so?
RIQUEZES: The removal of just the one figure definitely satisfies international optics. It comes as a very dramatic moment, but the real challenge really lies ahead. In order for there to be a true transition in the country and not just an autocratic mutation or an autocratic reshuffling, there need to be certain elements present that they don't seem to be there at the moment. So among those, I believe that it's very important for the legitimate opposition in Venezuela to have a voice within this process.
So in the framework that has been laid out by the Trump administration, first, it talks about recovery and control and the sort of stabilization, especially of the oil industry, and then the elections are pointed as the last step in that process. However, in order for this to be a true democratic opening, it is very important for Venezuelan voices to have a say in how this process is led. It is very important for political prisoners to be released as a first priority, and it is very important to focus efforts on the reconstruction or the reform of all of these institutions that have maintained Chavismo in power for 27 years now.
SIMON: President Trump indicated he's going to meet with Maria Corina Machado next week, of course, opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Do you see a role for her?
RIQUEZES: Yes, of course. That electoral victory in 2024, she has been the architect of that victory and the internationally recognized leader of the opposition movement in Venezuela. So the fact that she was sidelined by both President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has come as a bit of a surprise. Of course, the uncomfortable reality is that Maria Corina Machado, according to credible sources, does not have an immediate control of the armed forces. So it is understandable that within a negotiated transition, there have to be some uncomfortable realities. And some members of the regime who currently hold power in Venezuela, of course, have to be, you know, participants of that process. But as I was saying before, it is very important that the legitimate opposition also has a central role within a democratization process, and that begins with her.
SIMON: What are your concerns at this point about what could be over the horizon?
RIQUEZES: Delcy Rodriguez, who is currently in power, she is not new. She is not a moderate. Her political career began under Hugo Chavez. And between the years of 2018 and 2021, as vice president, she controlled the Bolivarian intelligence agents who are appointed as responsible for many of the crimes that are, you know, constituting crimes against humanity, including detentions and torture. So my concern is this continuity that the Trump administration seems to be favoring, at least for now, if it does not open up to the legitimate voices in the opposition in Venezuela and the process continues, then this gives the regime a chance to recalibrate. It gives it a chance to shed the most internationally toxic figure they had, which was Maduro, and sort of rebrand itself in a way that will allow it to work with the United States without opening up the country to a democratic process. That is really my main concern.
SIMON: Ofelia Riquezes, who's a Venezuelan human rights lawyer and a professor at Florida International University. Thank you so much for being with us.
RIQUEZES: Thank you so much for the opportunity.
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