Venezuela releases another eight political opponents

Venezuela's government on Monday released another eight political opponents from jail, bringing to 44 the number freed since Saturday in a goodwill gesture timed to happen over Christmas.

But they are only a fraction of the number of political prisoners being held, the head of the rights group Foro Penal, Alfredo Romero, told AFP.

"The government is interested in reducing the number of political prisoners to reduce the cost they represent. There are still 227 political prisoners -- the highest number for any Christmas," Romero said.

The Venezuelan regime had promised to release 80 inmates for Christmas. Delcy Rodriguez, head of a Truth Commission investigating protests against President Nicolas Maduro's regime, had called the move a sign of "reconciliation."

Those jailed had been arrested during demonstrations demanding that Maduro step down. Mass street protests began in 2014, when 43 people were killed in clashes, and have continued sporadically ever since with 125 dead earlier this year.

The government rejects the label "political prisoners" for the opposition inmates, preferring to characterize them as common criminals.

Venezuela's opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable coalition welcomed the release of the inmates. But it said on Twitter that "they should never have been deprived of their freedom" as "striving to reconstruct a country ruined by the regime is not a crime."

Among those freed in the first wave was Alfredo Ramos, mayor of the northwestern municipality of Irribarren, who was arrested in late July and handed a 15-month sentence.