Colombia’s foreign ministry said the prisoners, 17 men and a woman, had been released after “months of dialogue and diplomatic coordination.”

They had been held “without trial,” minister Rosa Villavicencio said in a statement from the border city of Cucuta, where the 18 were handed over to their loved ones.

Venezuela has been hit with accusations of human rights violations and the jailing of political dissidents under President Nicolas Maduro, widely accused of stealing elections last year.

Colombian news organizations say another 20-odd Colombians remain in Venezuelan prisons on charges of spying or conspiring against the government in Caracas.

Maduro, who claims to be a target of “regime change” orchestrated by the United States, has said there are about 50 Colombians in Venezuelan prisons. He describes them as mercenaries.

According to the latest report by the NGO Foro Penal, approximately 845 people are detained in Venezuela for political reasons, ranging from “incitement to hatred” to “terrorism.”

The charges, widely regarded as spurious, are punishable by sentences of 10 to 30 years in prison.

Bogota, which also does not recognize Maduro’s 2024 reelection but has kept diplomatic channels open, has repeatedly demanded the release of all citizens held in Venezuela.

Ties between the neighbors have grown stronger in their joint opposition to a US military offensive in the Caribbean, with attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats claiming over 40 lives to date.

The victims’ governments and loved ones say they were mainly civilians, including fishermen out at sea, and Maduro says the US deployment is part of a bid to unseat him.

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