Venezuela says it's releasing political prisoners, instead Edilson Torres' family buried him

Описание: (14 Jan 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Guanare, Venezuela - 13 January 2026
1. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Regina García Cano, The Associated Press:
"So, today is Tuesday and we are in Guanare, Venezuela, which is about five and a half hours southwest of Caracas. At this moment we are outside a family home of Edilson Torres, who passed away in state custody on Saturday of a heart attack. His family believes he was a political prisoner. So up ahead you will see the hearse and some of his closest relatives, including his sister."
2. Relatives and friends of Edilson Torres walking and riding motorbikes behind casket as they lead a procession around streets of their neighborhood
3. Edilson Torres' sister, Emelyn Torres, walking behind hearse with a venezuelan flag turned upside down as a sign of protest
4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Regina García Cano, The Associated Press:
"So, we have just arrived at a cemetery in the outskirts of Guanare, where we will see a brief ceremony from the family of Edilson Torres before he is laid to rest. The wake took place at his sister's home, and then after the hearse left his sister's home, we followed them to his childhood home."
5. Various of relatives of Torres around casket
6. Grandmother of Torres, Maria Cristina Torres, puts her hand gently above casket
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Regina García Cano, The Associated Press:
"I think this case has attracted a lot of attention because he died in custody just days after the government announced that they would be releasing, you know, a significant number of prisoners. So, you know, families continue to wait outside prisons in different parts of the country, hoping to see their loved ones walk out, and you know, in the case of Edilson you know, he will never do that. So I think that is really where this comes from. Right? I think families expected the government to release prisoners as many as possible, you know, right after they made the announcement, and that hasn't happened."
8. Various of Edilson Torres' mother-in-law, Omaira Espinosa, singing
9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Regina García Cano, The Associated Press:
"Today is Tuesday, the announcement was on Thursday and so far, you know, independent groups have only been able to confirm 56 releases. That's by the group Foro Penal"
10. Various of friends covering grave with bricks
11. Friends covering grave with cement
12. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Regina García Cano, The Associated Press:
"At the same time, the government says they released 116 people, but they have not named them, which makes it impossible to tell who they were and if they are actually political prisoners as, you know, as they are classified by advocacy groups."
13. Edilson Torres' daughter writing her father's name on grave
14. Various of Torres' grave
STORYLINE:
Freedom came too late for Edilson Torres.

The police officer was buried Tuesday in his humble, rural hometown following his death in a Venezuelan prison, where he was held incommunicado since his December detention on what his family said were politically motivated accusations.

Before the service, a funeral procession stopped at a local jail, where his wife remains detained on disputed accusations.

Torres, 51, died of a heart attack on Saturday, just as his family awaited the government's promised release of prisoners following the U.S. capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro.

His death comes as scores of families like his — who once hesitated to approach advocacy groups — are now coming forward to register their loved ones as “political prisoners.”











AP video shot by Juan Arraez



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