Venezuela releases Czech political prisoner: Prague signals readiness for diplomatic reset
A Czech political prisoner detained in Venezuela since 2024 has been released with other foreign nationals, Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka said at an impromptu press briefing on Friday. The minister signaled that the Czech Republic is ready to begin restoring diplomatic relations with Venezuela.
Amid the continuing release of political prisoners detained by the Maduro regime in Venezuela, the Czech Foreign Ministry has announced the release of Czech national Jan Darmovzal, who was imprisoned in 2024 when Venezuelan authorities accused him of planning to take part in a plot to kill Nicolas Maduro.
Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists) announced that the Czech citizen was released overnight at around 4:00 a.m. and is in a fairly satisfactory state of health in Caracas. The Czech Republic has already sent an aircraft to Venezuela to bring him home. The minister said his release was preceded by weeks of intensive negotiations.
Venezuelan authorities detained Darmovzal in September 2024, claiming that he was preparing to take part in a plan to assassinate authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro and overthrow the local government. Czech diplomacy refuted the allegations saying that Darmozval was being detained "unlawfully" and "without charges and a fair trial".
According to Minister Macinka, Darmovzal was released together with a group of other prisoners from Ireland, Romania, Germany, Albania, Ukraine and the Netherlands. “We are sending an aircraft there, which is already in the air,” the minister said.
According to the minister, Darmovzal has already spoken with his family by phone and is in a fairly satisfactory physical and psychological condition. A doctor and a psychologist are on board the Czech aircraft.
The father of the imprisoned Czech, Oldřich Darmovzal, told the Czech News Agency that the news was a huge relief for the entire family.
READ ALSO
The Venezuelan government began releasing a larger number of political prisoners last week after the United States abducted President Maduro from Caracas at the beginning of January and subsequently threatened the new government with further military intervention. On Wednesday, the Venezuelan opposition published on social network X an updated list of 100 released political prisoners it has so far managed to verify. Darmovzal, however, was not on the list.
President Pavel says release of Czech imprisoned in Venezuela "great news"
President Petr Pavel described the release of Czech citizen Jan Darmovzal as “great news”. Responding to the development on X, the Czech president thanked experts in the Czech Republic and foreign partners, including the European Union and the United States, who had been dealing with the case for many months. He wished Darmovzal a safe return home and a speedy reunion with his family.
FM Macinka: Czech Republic ready to begin restoring diplomatic relations with Venezuela
The Czech Republic is ready to begin restoring diplomatic relations with Venezuela and to discuss once again having a permanent diplomatic presence in Caracas, Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists) said at the extraordinary conference in the Chamber of Deputies on Froiday. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) added that after the changes in Venezuela, the Czech government considers the territory to be very important also for Czech exporters.
“Together we have agreed that the Czech Republic will be present in Venezuela and that we will do everything possible to have some form of our own representation there as quickly as possible,” Babiš said. The Czech Republic currently has neither an embassy nor a consulate in the country. Its nearest representation is in Colombia.
The Czech Republic closed its embassy in Venezuela at the end of January 2011. The decision was made by the cabinet of then prime minister Petr Nečas (Civic Democrats) For cost-saving reasons, the government also closed embassies in Congo, Kenya, Yemen and Costa Rica. Since then, the Czech Republic has been represented in Venezuela by the Czech ambassador to Colombia.
