Venezuela frees two more Italian political prisoners

Venezuela has released Italian citizens Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlo from prison, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Monday, adding that a plane was on its way from Rome to take them home.

Trentini, a charity worker from Venice, was the most well-known among the more than 20 Italian nationals held in Venezuelan prisons.

Venezuela's leadership said on January 8 it was going to release a significant number of prisoners, including foreign nationals, as a gesture of goodwill.

The move, heeding demands from human rights groups, international bodies and opposition figures, came after the U.S. attacked Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolas Maduro.

"I welcome with joy and satisfaction the release of our compatriots Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlo, who are now safely at the Italian Embassy in Caracas," Meloni said in a statement.

Trentini was arrested in November 2024 with his Venezuelan driver Rafael Machado. He was working for Humanity & Inclusion, an NGO that assists disabled people.

Burlo, a businessman from Turin, was also arrested in November 2024 and held in Trenitini's same prison, the El Rodeo I facility in Caracas.

Two other Italian nationals, journalist Biagio Pilieri and businessman Luigi Gasperin, were freed last week.

In her statement, Meloni thanked Venezuela's authorities, starting from interim President Delcy Rodriguez, "for the constructive cooperation demonstrated in recent days."

-Alvise Armellini/Reuters