Venezuela frees three former metropolitan police officers after 23 years in prison
On 19 May 2026, Venezuela’s National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez announced the conditional release of three former Metropolitan police officers—Héctor Rovaín, Erasmo Bolívar and Luis Molina—who had spent more than 23 years behind bars for their alleged involvement in the April 11, 2002 Llaguno Bridge clashes that left 19 dead. The men were granted conditional liberty on humanitarian grounds as part of a broader move to free up to 300 political prisoners that week.
Opposition figures celebrated the release. Nobel‑peace laureate María Corina Machado wrote on X, “Three innocent Venezuelans who should never have been imprisoned,” while presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia warned that the act should be seen as a restitution of a right, not a “gesture” of goodwill. The ex‑officers thanked supporters and said they would appear before a court in Maracay to comply with remaining legal requirements.