VENEZUELA: Opposition leader Guanipa Released & more – 26th Feb 2026

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Venezuela Update from the 26th of February twenty twenty-six. A quick summary of what's going down in Venezuela.

On Thursday the 19th, Venezuela’s refinery network raised crude processing to about thirty-five percent of installed capacity, up from around twenty to twenty-five percent a year earlier. Processing was reported across Amuay and Cardon in the Paraguaná peninsula in western Venezuela, plus El Palito in Carabobo state and Puerto La Cruz in Anzoátegui state in the east.

The increase still leaves output below what is needed to fully cover domestic demand, which is why gas queues and uneven supply can return quickly..

Next up, the investment rush is meeting the reality of broken infrastructure. On Thursday the 19th, foreign oil companies, including major US producer Chevron, Spain’s Repsol, and Italy’s Eni, pushed for projects that could raise Venezuelan output quickly.

The first wave of work tends to focus on repairs that can move volumes fast, well reactivations, power supply, basic services, and restoring equipment that has sat idle. The harder phase comes when the simplest fixes are exhausted, and projects require bigger spending, longer timelines, and more stable logistics.

For anyone trying to keep track of which companies are still in the country, here is the map in plain terms. On Thursday the 19th, an updated status breakdown outlined where major international oil companies stand in Venezuela, including which firms still operate through joint ventures with PDVSA, the state oil company, and which left after earlier expropriations. It also highlighted how arbitration rulings, court claims, and past settlements still shape what companies can sign today.

In practice, it means new deals sit on top of older disputes, and legal exposure remains part of the calculation for companies deciding how far to go.

On exports, the logistics story changed scale. On Tuesday the 24th, trading houses chartered the first very large crude carriers, known as VLCCs, to ship Venezuelan oil since the new supply arrangement began. VLCCs are among the largest tankers in the world, so the shift allows larger cargoes per trip and can change scheduling and buyer options.

The same update said shipments were aimed mainly at India, which has been a major destination for heavier crude when shipping and payment channels allow it. The shift can cut costs per barrel and simplify schedules.

Meanwhile, one opposition figure saw his legal status change after a long period under detention and restrictions. On Friday the 20th, opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa was granted full freedom after earlier release conditions were lifted. Guanipa is linked to Primero Justicia, an opposition party, and has been allied with María Corina Machado and Edmundo González. He had been held for years as a political prisoner following the post-twenty twenty-four election crackdown and related protest cases, and his release had initially come with monitoring measures and limits on movement.

Some people leave prison but remain under measures.

We’ve got an update on the amnesty story that we have been covering in previous shows, as it moved from proposal to law. On Thursday the 19th, Delcy Rodríguez signed an amnesty law that could lead to the release of people detained in political cases, with exclusions for serious crimes. Implementation depends on case review and court steps, so results show up file by file.

The new law quickly triggered a wave of paperwork. On Saturday the 21st, the National Assembly said more than 1,550 requests had been filed to benefit from the amnesty. Requests can be filed by detainees, lawyers, and relatives, and the review process runs through commissions and courts. The volume matters operationally, because it determines workload, the pace of hearings, and how quickly decisions can move across a legal system that is already stretched.

On Sunday the 22nd, pressure also came from inside prisons. More than 200 detainees went on hunger strike seeking inclusion in the amnesty and better detention conditions. The action centered on prisoners who say their cases fall outside the law’s narrow categories.

Hunger strikes tend to raise urgent questions for families and monitors about health checks, access to medical care, and whether authorities respond with negotiations, transfers, or silence.

An independent monitor offered a narrower count focused on political prisoner cases. On Tuesday the 24th, Foro Penal, a Venezuelan legal rights group that tracks detentions, said 545 political prisoners had been freed since the 8th of January, with ninety-one released after the amnesty law was passed. Officials have cited higher numbers that also include lifted restrictions, not only releases from jail.

This is why the amnesty story often comes with two sets of numbers, one from state institutions and one from watchdog groups using different definitions.

Let’s talk about a regional security shift that has been a sensitive topic for years. On Saturday the 21st, Cuban security advisers and medical staff began leaving Venezuela as part of a move away from the long-standing Cuba-Venezuela security partnership. The changes included removals linked to Venezuela's military counterintelligence agency.

The update was framed as a response to external pressure and a reconfiguration of who sits in sensitive advisory roles. Even without a detailed public roster, departures like this signal changes in how the security apparatus is staffed and supervised.

In Europe, a sanctions decision moved closer to a proposal. On Monday the 23rd, the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she will propose lifting EU sanctions on Delcy Rodríguez. Any change would require agreement among EU member states. The update reflects a wider recalibration question in Europe, whether to keep pressuring through targeted sanctions or adjust measures in response to the new political phase and the amnesty rollout. The next steps depend on internal EU consensus.

Now, to news about an institutional reshuffle at the top of the justice system. On Wednesday the 25th, Tarek William Saab, the Attorney General, resigned and was appointed acting ombudsman, the state office formally tasked with monitoring rights and public agencies. Larry Devoe, who chairs the National Council of Human Rights, was named acting attorney general while the legislature begins the selection process for permanent appointments.

Shifting gears, on Thursday the 19th, El Sistema, Venezuela’s national youth orchestra and music education program, continued marking its 51st anniversary with free entry performances at the Sala Simón Bolívar in Quebrada Honda, Caracas. El Sistema is one of Venezuela’s most recognized cultural exports, known globally for training young musicians.

Staying with music, a Caracas date landed for the alternative scene. On Thursday the 19th, the Venezuelan indie band Americania announced a show in Caracas for Thursday the 30th of April. Concert announcements tend to move quickly through social media because they depend on venue availability, ticketing, and travel plans for fans coming from outside the capital. For listeners, it is a simple sign of planning ahead, venues booking, and audiences willing to show up for live events.

And to close the last episode of the Rorshok Venezuela Update, on Wednesday the 25th, El País published a column titled La dignidad no se subasta by Antonio Ledezma, a Venezuelan opposition figure living in exile. The piece argues the amnesty debate is also a debate about accountability and the boundaries of reconciliation, and it frames the current release process as part of a broader dispute over legitimacy and justice

. Read the full piece in Spanish with the link in the show notes.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

This is our last goodbye. We are very sad that this project has to come to an end. Thank you so much for your support for our experiment. We put so much effort into making these updates, so we hope you have connected with them and with us. We are really grateful to each one of you who has stuck with us until the end.

Again, thank you so much for being on the other side.

You can still contact us at info@rorshok.com. Who knows, we might get the Venezuela update running again someday.

¡Hasta la próxima!