Irish Citizen Imprisoned in Venezuela Arrives in Prague After Release

An Irish citizen imprisoned in Venezuela arrived in Prague last night as part of a flow of prisoner releases following the US capture of Nicolas Maduro, RTÉ News understands. Reuters reported that a plane carrying freed Irish, Polish, Romanian, and Czech citizens landed at Prague airport, where family members waited for their arrival. A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said it was "aware of the case (involving an Irish citizen) and provided consular assistance to the citizen involved". The Czech media reported that the freed Czech citizen, Jan Darmovzal, had been detained in 2024 when Venezuelan authorities accused him of planning to take part in a plot to kill Nicolas Maduro, who was still in power as president at the time, and overthrow the government. The Czech foreign ministry said last year Mr Darmovzal had been imprisoned "without charges and a fair trial". Venezuelan human rights group Foro Penal said he was detained for political reasons. Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka said Mr Darmovzal had been released together with imprisoned nationals from Ireland, Romania, Germany, Albania, Ukraine and the Netherlands. Jorge Rodriguez, the president of Venezuela's National Assembly, and US President Donald Trump had both said large numbers of prisoners would be released after the United States captured Nicolas Maduro at the start of the year. Venezuela said last week more than 400 people had been released. Rights groups say the figure is smaller.