María Concepción Sánchez, a mother from Venezuela, suffered a serious stroke on Thursday after learning that her son, Juan Enrique Cruz Sánchez, a political prisoner, would not be released by the government.
Reports indicate that Sánchez is currently in critical condition at a hospital in San Juan de los Moros, located in Guarico state.
Sánchez is among many families of Venezuelan political prisoners who are facing ongoing uncertainty regarding their loved ones. A family member revealed that María’s health has drastically declined after enduring months of “unbearable” mental stress as she awaited news about her son. It was disclosed that she suffered a stroke upon discovering that Cruz Sánchez was not included in the recent release of prisoners by the Venezuelan government.
Local news outlets highlighted that João Enrique Cruz Sánchez was among 170 oil workers from Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, who were arrested during an event referred to locally as “The Incident.” Cruz and his colleagues claim they were wrongfully detained by the socialist government in 2024-2025 for standing up against wrongdoing, demanding fair working conditions, and refusing to sign documents they believed violated local laws.
The Venezuelan government has charged oil workers, police officers, and others not associated with PDVSA with allegations of “sabotage, contraband, corruption, and smuggling of strategic materials.” However, those accused, along with their families, have consistently denied these claims, including assertions that they are “terrorists.”
Cruz Sánchez and others from the PDVSA-Obrero group remain locked up in Yare II prison in Miranda state. Reports suggest that this week, the regime released a group of 27 individuals linked to the PDVSA-Obrero case, but Cruz Sánchez was not among them.
Maria Concepción Sánchez’s situation reflects the distress faced by many Venezuelan families under similar circumstances, and as of the latest updates, she remains in critical condition. In a related incident, Carmen Navas, an 82-year-old mother, passed away recently, just ten days after the regime acknowledged that her son, political prisoner Víctor Hugo Quero Navas, had died back in July 2025. This acknowledgment followed a 16-month search after he had gone missing post his wrongful arrest in January 2025, during which authorities had repeatedly refused to clarify his whereabouts.
Notably, those political prisoners associated with PDVSA-Obrero were left out of a recent “amnesty” law implemented in February. This law was established a month after the regime began releasing prisoners in the wake of the arrest of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces on January 3. Critics have pointed out that the law fails to serve as a general amnesty, but rather limits its benefits to individuals involved in specific political crises throughout the country’s history.
Recently, Jorge Rodriguez, the National Assembly speaker and brother of acting president Delcy Rodriguez, announced the planned release of 300 political prisoners. This announcement came shortly after Donald Trump expressed his commitment to securing the release of all political prisoners currently held by the Venezuelan system.
Rodriguez further revealed that three former police officers, known as some of the longest-serving political prisoners of the regime, would also be released this week after spending 23 years in custody.
However, despite claims of releasing 300 political prisoners, Gonzalo Himiob, vice president of the human rights organization Foro Penal, posted on social media that, as of Friday morning, only 38 political prisoners (36 men and 2 women) had been confirmed for release.
