Venezuela Frees 131 Political Prisoners in 1st US-Brokered Talks Round

2 articles · Updated · MercoPress · Aug 18

131 political prisoners were released on Aug. 15 after Venezuela's government confirmed a first round of US-brokered talks with the opposition.
The move is being treated as an early signal of a possible post-Maduro opening, though any broader sanctions relief, oil recovery and formal economic reintegration are still expected to take years.
That uncertainty has sharpened focus on Venezuela's fractured payments system, where households already rely on dollar cash, border currencies and stablecoins such as USDT after years of bolívar collapse and banking distrust.
Analysts expect any reopening to produce a layered mix rather than a clean shift: cash for daily use, crypto for savings and remittances, and cards or digital rails only gradually regaining ground as trust and regulation rebuild.