Politician jailed in drone attack sent home

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan authorities have released an opposition politician to home detention two years after being jailed on suspicion of taking part in a failed drone attack on President Nicolás Maduro, his family said Friday.

Images on social media showed Juan Requesens arriving home where his relatives greeted him with emotional embraces. His sister, Rafaela Requesens, said on Twitter that he had been released to home detention, which didn’t go far enough.

“Although today my brother will be able to sleep in his house and in his own bed, there are many innocent Venezuelans who can’t do this,” she wrote. “We’re not going to stop fighting for them.”

The Caracas-based prisoner rights group Foro Penal reported that by the end of July, 382 people opposition leaders it considers political prisoners were being detained in Venezuela. They include other lawmakers and military officials, the group says.

Venezuelan authorities have not commented on the terms of Requesens’ release or explained what sparked the decision to move him to house arrest. Officials in the past have taken prisoners on house arrest back to jail, giving no explanation.

Venezuelan security forces arrested Requesens, 31, days following the August 2018 attack when two drones detonated at an outdoor military ceremony out of range of Maduro, who was not injured.

Authorities arrested several suspects including Requesens, who is accused of playing a key role. Authorities also accused fellow anti-Maduro lawmaker, Julio Borges, who lives in exile in Colombia and remains free.

Requesens was a student leader before being elected to Venezuela’s National Assembly in 2015.

Relatives and political allies of Requesens say he’s guilty of nothing more than being an outspoken critic of Maduro’s repressive regime that has led to the once-wealthy nation’s economic and political collapse.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, welcomed Requesens’ release. She has been critical of Maduro’s brutal tactics over Venezuelans.