Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday pardoned more than 100 politicians and associates of opposition leader Juan Guaido "in the interests of promoting national reconciliation," the government said.
Mr Guaido's assistant Roberto Marrero and MPs Gilber Caro and Renzo Prieto were among the names read out by Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez live on state television.
The three were released in Caracas on Monday night just hours after the announcement, according to opposition leaders. Other detainees were also freed.
The presidential decree "comes into force from its publication" after which the courts "must implement immediate measures to liberate the persons mentioned," said Mr Rodriguez.
Mr Marrero was arrested in March 2019 and accused of being part of a "terrorist cell" planning attacks to destabilise the Maduro government.
"Freedom is always welcome, whatever people might say," he told media upon leaving intelligence service headquarters.
Mr Guaido himself was not among those pardoned, though, despite several cases open against him.
He insisted that Mr Maduro's government was using the pardons "as trading pieces" to "legitimise a farce," referring to upcoming legislative elections.
"It is a trap and we are not going to fall for it," he wrote on Twitter, emphasising that "you cannot pardon those already innocent or who have immunity."
The list of 110 people included lawmakers whose immunity had been lifted and people with outstanding judicial cases, including opposition lawmakers living in exile.
Opposition MP Freddy Guevara, who fled to the Chilean embassy in the capital Caracas in 2017 after leading anti-government protests that left 125 people dead, was among those pardoned.
The Supreme Court - which has been accused of pandering to the regime - ordered that he be denied the freedom to leave the country.
Also among the pardoned is Henry Ramos Allup, the head of the Democratic Action party which is the oldest in Venezuela.
"Pardon or insult, Maduro is neither president, nor am I a criminal," wrote Americo De Grazia, a MP living in exile.
"If you (Mr Maduro) want to contribute to peace in Venezuela, pardon the country from the usurpation of power, quit the occupation that has resulted in a tragedy inflicted on our people and maybe then we'll have something to thank you for."
The opposition considers Mr Maduro a usurper over his 2018 re-election in a poll widely seen as fraudulent.
In January 2019, Mr Guaido launched a challenge to Mr Maduro's authority by declaring himself acting president, quickly receiving the backing of more than 50 countries.
The pardons announcement came a day after Mr Maduro claimed to be supporting measures to bring "reconciliation" and "dialogue" to the deeply polarised South American country ahead of December legislative elections.
Mr Guaido and leading opposition figures have already vowed to boycott those polls over a lack of transparency after the Supreme Court appointed election officials - a role that should have been conducted by the opposition-controlled legislature.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
info-box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Happy Tenant
Started: January 2019
Co-founders: Joe Moufarrej and Umar Rana
Based: Dubai
Sector: Technology, real-estate
Initial investment: Dh2.5 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 4,000
The biog
Age: 46
Number of Children: Four
Hobby: Reading history books
Loves: Sports
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Rawat Al Reef, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Noof KB, Richard Mullen, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Jabalini, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: UAE Arabian Derby – Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Dergham Athbah, Richard Mullen, Mohamed Daggash
7.30pm: Emirates Championship – Group 1 (PA) Dh1,000,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
8pm: Abu Dhabi Championship – Group 3 (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Irish Freedom, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
