CARACAS, Jan 31, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US authorities said Friday that all Americans known to be held prisoner in Venezuela had been released, a major diplomatic concession from the new leadership in Caracas.

"We are pleased to confirm the release by the interim authorities of all known US citizens held in Venezuela," the embassy in Caracas posted on social media.

The announcement came hours after the release of Peruvian-American political prisoner Arturo Gallino Rullier.

"He is already on his way to the USA," Gonzalo Himiob of the Foro Penal NGO posted on X. Gallino was arrested last November on unspecified charges.

For years, Venezuela has routinely arrested foreigners on a range of charges from spying to plotting attacks.

Foreign governments have long alleged the charges were trumped up and the arrests amounted to little more than hostage-taking.

But since US special forces swooped into Caracas this month and captured then president Nicolas Maduro, decades of bitter relations between Venezuela and the United States have eased and there has been a trickle of prisoner releases.

Interim president Delcy Rodriguez has moved to free up Venezuela's oil sector to foreign investment and spoke about developing ties with the United States.

But moves toward easing the military-backed government's grip on power have been more halting.

The government claims to have freed more than 800 people since last year, but NGOs have counted about 400 since December -- just over 300 in total since Rodriguez's announcement, according to Foro Penal.

Families of dozens of detainees have anxiously waited for three weeks outside prisons for their release.

US President Donald Trump has agreed to work with her as long as she toes Washington's line, especially on access to the country's vast oil resources.