TOCUYITO, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's government on Saturday released some of the thousands of people who were detained during and after deadly protests that followed the July presidential election. The disputed results have earned officials, including President Nicolás Maduro, international scorn.
The individuals left prison a day after the attorney general, who is loyal to the ruling party, announced the review of 225 cases linked to the aftermath of the election, which Maduro and opposition candidate Edmundo González both claim to have won. Tearful reunions took place outside prisons in various cities.
The Venezuelan-based nongovernmental organizations Penal Forum and Venezuelan Prison Observatory announced the prison releases on X. The former confirmed the release of at least 70 people, while the latter said the government freed the individuals under certain conditions, which it did not explain further.
Members of the armed forces escorted down a pedestrian bridge those who were released from the prison in the northern Venezuela city of Tocuyito. Some of the detainees kneeled and raised their arms after going down the stairs. Two detainees helped a third one who could not walk on his own and later collapsed into the arms of a relative as they sobbed.
“My son, thank you, Lord, thank you!” a woman said as she hugged her son with one arm and lifted the other to the sky.
Images shared on social media by the Venezuelan Prison Observatory showed women tearfully hugging loved ones outside another prison in the South American country. The organization described the releases as a “victory” and demanded that all who remain in prison for their roles in the election and activities in its aftermath be freed.
Maduro’s government has come under heavy criticism for the election’s lack of transparency and the repression unleashed in its aftermath, including the arrests of political leaders, lawyers, poll workers, election volunteers and protesters, both minors and adults.
The protests erupted after Venezuela’s electoral authorities declared Maduro had won the July 28 contest and alleged they could not publish precinct-level results because their website had been hacked. At the same time, the main opposition coalition announced it had secured vote tally sheets from more than 80% of the electronic voting machines used across the country, published them online and declared that its candidate, González, had defeated Maduro by a landslide.
The government’s arrest tally included about 2,200 people. Government officials, including Attorney General Tarek William Saab, have strongly defended the detentions, but earlier this week, Maduro called on Saab and judges to ensure “justice” in the event that a case “needs to be rectified and reviewed.”
In September, independent United Nations human rights experts issued a report accusing Venezuela’s government of intensifying the use of its “harshest and most violent” tools of repression following the disputed July election. The report, commissioned by the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council, denounced rights violations including arbitrary detentions, torture and sexual and gender-based violence by the country’s security forces that “taken as a whole, constitute the crime against humanity of persecution on political grounds.”
Several countries, including Venezuelan allies, have called on Maduro and his government to free from prison arbitrarily detained people and to release detailed election results.
Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.
Keylumi Navas, relative of Samuel Borges, waits for his release outside the Yare 3 prison in San Francisco de Yare, Venezuela, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced the release of some of those who were detained during a government crackdown following anti-government protests against the results of the presidential election. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Julia Azocar, right, relative of Luis Velasquez, waits for his release outside the Yare 3 prison in San Francisco de Yare, Venezuela, Saturday, Nov 16, 2024. Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced the release of some of those who were detained during a government crackdown following anti-government protests against the results of the presidential election. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Relatives of those who were detained during a government crackdown following anti-government protests against the results of the presidential election, wait outside the Yare 3 prison in San Francisco de Yare, Venezuela, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, after Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced the release of some. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Alexandra Hurtado, center, waits for the release of her son Oscar Escalona, outside the Yare 3 prison in San Francisco de Yare, Venezuela, Saturday, Nov 16, 2024. Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced the release of some of those who were detained during a government crackdown following anti-government protests against the results of the presidential election. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump made his selection for energy secretary on Saturday, even as a key ally, billionaire Elon Musk, called for more direct public input into the decision-making process for another top post: the head of the Treasury Department.
Trump picked Chris Wright, CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, as energy secretary. Wright is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market.
The announcement of that selection came hours after Musk mused about the president-elect's yet-to-be-made treasury secretary choice. “Would be interesting to hear more people weigh in on this for @realDonaldTrump to consider feedback," Musk, who Trump has already tapped to co-lead a commission tasked with increasing government spending efficiency, posted Saturday on the X social media platform he owns.
Musk then used the rest of his post to become the first participant in the public poll he was proposing. He endorsed Howard Lutnick, the CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald and co-chair of Trump’s transition team ahead of Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2025, over hedge fund manager Scott Bessent.
Musk said in his post that “Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change."
“Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change," he said.
Both Lutnick and Bessent have been mentioned as possible picks to lead the Treasury Department. Bessent is considered the more conventional, business-friendly choice. He is skeptical about cryptocurrency, while Lutnick has suggested it could be used for people to pay their taxes.
A short time later, Trump's pick to lead his Health and Human Services Department, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also endorsed Lutnick, posting on his own X account, “Bitcoin is the currency of freedom, a hedge against inflation for middle class Americans.”
“Bitcoin will have no stronger advocate than Howard Lutnik,” he wrote, misspelling Lutnick's last name.
Wright, meanwhile, has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change and could give fossil fuels a boost — including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas export approvals by the Biden administration. Wright has criticized what he calls a “top-down” approach on climate by liberal and left-wing groups and said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.”
His selection came after Trump had already announced many picks in recent days, including his choice for Secretary of State, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and attorney general, former Florida Rep . Matt Gaetz.
Treasury is the most important slot he has left to fill, but the president-elect also has yet to announce choices for other roles, including the heads of the Education and Labor Departments.
Separately, Trump said he'd picked a member of his legal team and former federal prosecutor, Will Scharf, as assistant to the president and White House staff secretary.
That announcement came as Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson was at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, this weekend, and meeting with the president-elect. Trump was also set to head to Saturday night's UFC heavyweight championship fight between Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Except for a day trip to Washington this week to meet for nearly two hours with President Joe Biden, and separately address House Republicans, Trump has been spending his time since his Election Day victory at Mar-a-Lago, which has hosted galas and conservative events throughout the week,
A return to Madison Square Garden means revisiting the place where a comedian caused an uproar at a Trump rally last month by likening Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage.” Yet Trump continues to relish visits to New York, where he lived for decades.
Trump also has been close to Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White for more than two decades.
White hosted a 2001 UFC battle at Trump Taj Mahal, a former casino-hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Trump has frequently attended UFC matches since – including during his 2024 campaign. Trump has turned up at fights recently with famous entourages, including White, musician Kid Rock and former Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson.
In 2018, during Trump's first term, he and White starred in a UFC video where the then-president was called the “Combatant In Chief.”
As Trump has strengthened his grip on the national Republican Party over the last near-decade, White’s personal political profile has grown exponentially. White spoke at the 2016 and 2020 Republican conventions, and when the party gathered in Milwaukee this past July. He also addressed the crowd at Trump’s Florida victory party in the wee hours of the morning after Election Day.
“This is what happens when the machine comes after you,” White said then. “What you’ve seen over the last several years, this is what it looks like: couldn’t stop him. He keeps going forward. He doesn’t quit.”
FILE - Stipe Miocic in action against Francis Ngannou during a heavyweight championship mixed martial arts bout at UFC 220, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018, in Boston. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan, File)
FILE - Jon Jones reacts after his victory over Ciryl Gane in a UFC 285 mixed martial arts heavyweight title bout Saturday, March 4, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker, File)
CEO of UFC Dana White speaks as speaksRepublican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump looks on at an election night watch party, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., smiles as President-elect Donald Trump attends a meeting with House Republicans in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Allison Robbert/Pool via AP)
Elon Musk arrives before President-elect Donald Trump speaks during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
