Irish citizen among group freed from Venezuelan prisons lands in Prague, officials say
An Irish citizen previously imprisoned in Venezuela has arrived in Prague amid a wave of detainee releases involving several European nationals, according to RTÉ News and Reuters.
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Reuters reported that a plane carrying freed Irish, Polish, Romanian and Czech citizens landed at Prague’s Vaclav Havel Airport, where relatives had gathered to meet them.
Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the case involving an Irish citizen and had provided consular assistance to the individual. The department did not offer further details.
Czech media identified one of those freed as Czech citizen Jan Darmovzal, who was detained in 2024 after Venezuelan authorities accused him of planning to participate in a plot to assassinate Nicolás Maduro, then serving as Venezuela’s president, and overthrow the government.
Venezuelan human rights group Foro Penal said Darmovzal was detained for political reasons.
Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka said Darmovzal was released alongside imprisoned nationals from Ireland, Romania, Germany, Albania, Ukraine and the Netherlands.
Jorge Rodríguez, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, and U.S. President Donald Trump had both said large numbers of prisoners would be released after the United States captured Nicolás Maduro at the start of the year.
Venezuelan authorities said last week that more than 400 people had been released. Rights groups dispute that figure, saying the true number is lower.
Additional reporting Philip Bromwell
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
