Sen. Rick Scott Is Leading the Charge to Free Venezuela’s Political Prisoners

Since the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces on Jan. 3, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has escalated a public campaign to gain freedom for Venezuela’s political prisoners.

In the 19 days following the operation, Scott has issued 58 separate calls for their release across his X social media account. This has amounted to a nearly daily streak of messages on behalf of the families and their loved ones being held by the regime.

“The stories of innocent men and women facing torture by Maduro and his thugs are heartbreaking,” Scott wrote in one of his first posts on the issue. “Now that Maduro is facing rightful justice, the political prisoners must be freed.”

Scott was among the first U.S. officials to focus public attention on the plight of the political detainees, and his exceptional attention to the issue has been recognized by the families of the prisoners.

“As a citizen of Doral, Fla. and brother of a political prisoner, I can say my family appreciates all of the attention Sen. Scott has raised,” said Andrés Guanipa, brother of senior opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa. “He has shown the people of Venezuela that a key lawmaker is on their side, and that their freedom is one of his top priorities.”

Juan Pablo Guanipa is the former Vice President of the Venezuelan National Assembly and is currently being held in the Bolivarian National Police Station. He has been arbitrarily detained by the Chavista regime for eight months.

Scott’s home state of Florida is home to over 40% of all Venezuelans living in the United States. Most have celebrated U.S. intervention in Venezuela, and like Scott continue to call for help in securing democratic freedoms and the release of the arbitrarily detained.

“This means everything; since the moment I was born, we lived under an abusive dictatorship,” Valeria Morillo, a 19-year-old demonstrator in Doral, Fla., told a CBS News reporter. “I feel so lucky and privileged to be out in the street, whereas people back home in Caracas are scared for their lives.”

Two weeks ago, the interim government of Venezuela announced the release of hundreds of political prisoners; sources on the ground report the liberations have been few and slow. Foro Penal, a nonprofit human rights organization in Caracas, estimates only 151 of the 777 political prisoners have been released.

“What I’d really like to get done is get all of the political prisoners out of prison. There are Americans in prison,” Scott said in one video. “We’ve got to get the political prisoners out and stop the oppression. I believe all of this is going to happen.”

Scott’s tone has grown more direct in the days following the announcement of the false release. Today’s post concluded with a simple message:

“The oppression has not stopped. This is unacceptable. It has to change.”

These materials are distributed by DCI Group AZ, L.L.C. on behalf of Juan Pablo Guanipa through Ramon Guanipa. Additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.