Venezuela’s first major wave of public protests since Nicolás Maduro’s capture by U.S. special forces in January is forcing the country’s new leadership into an early test.
Demonstrators gathered in Caracas and other cities during Youth Day rallies this week, demanding the release of political prisoners and calling for reforms that go beyond symbolism. The message was clear. Patience is limited.
Thursday’s rallies were seen as a test for the new government following the U.S. capture Jan. 3 of President Nicolás Maduro.
That framing shifts the focus from one man to the system he left behind.
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Hundreds of peaceful protesters took to the streets in Venezuela’s capital and across the country this week for Youth Day, asserting their right to demonstrate and calling for acting president Delcy Rodríguez to release political prisoners. https://t.co/LjW1LMf2AS
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 14, 2026
Maduro may be in custody, but the courts, prosecutors, and security services that enforced his rule remain intact. The legal tools once used to charge opponents for protest or dissent still exist. For those in the streets, the question is not who holds the presidential title. It is whether the machinery that criminalized opposition will be dismantled.
As lawmakers debate a broader amnesty measure, frustration has moved beyond rallies and into more personal acts of protest.
Relatives of political prisoners launched a hunger strike outside a police facility in Caracas as talks over a promised amnesty law continued.
The hunger strike raises the stakes. Families argue that negotiations have dragged on while hundreds remain detained. Advocacy groups report that 431 political prisoners have been offered conditional release so far, while 644 are still behind bars.
Within hours, officials pointed to a development they said shows progress.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez announced the release of 17 prisoners in a post on social media, without naming them.
Seventeen detainees were freed. That matters. But it does not settle the larger debate. For some families, the announcement is overdue relief. For others, it only highlights how many names remain unaddressed. The hunger strike continued.
The bigger issue goes beyond individual cases.
The demonstrations are an early test of how much political space will exist under the new leadership.
That test is practical, not theoretical. It will be measured by whether opposition leaders can meet openly, whether judges rule without interference, and whether future protests conclude peacefully rather than in custody. It will also be reflected in how lawmakers handle pending amnesty proposals, whether conditional releases are followed by transparent case reviews, and whether those who were once prosecuted for dissent are formally cleared rather than quietly freed without accountability.
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For American policymakers, the implications are real. The United States helped apply pressure before Maduro’s capture. What follows will show whether regime change produces structural reform or simply a reshuffling of authority.
For years, some progressive commentators and sympathizers framed Venezuela’s crisis largely in economic terms. The demands emerging now center on political imprisonment. That shift highlights what many Venezuelans argue was always at the core of the crisis: the suppression of dissent.
Maduro’s capture closed one chapter.
Whether Venezuela dismantles the apparatus that jailed its critics will determine if this transition is genuine or merely cosmetic.
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