Alberto Trentini freed after 423 days in Caracas jail.Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday announced that Venezuela has released Italian nationals, Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlò, from prison.Welcoming the news with "joy and satisfaction", Meloni stated that a plane was on its way from Rome to repatriate the two Italians who "are now safely at the Italian embassy in Caracas". Trentini, a 46-year-old aid worker from Venice, was arrested in Venezuela in November 2024 while working for the Humanity and Inclusion, an NGO that helps disabled people. He was held at the El Rodeo maximum-security jail in Caracas despite not having any formal charges pressed against him. Turin entrepreneur Burlò, 52, had been held for more than a year in the same prison. He was arrested for no clear reason after going to Venezuela in 2024 to explore new business opportunities, according to news agency ANSA. In her statement, Meloni expressed her "heartfelt thanks" to authorities in Venezuela, starting from interim president Delcy Rodriguez, “for the constructive cooperation" shown in recent days. Last week Venezuela released Italian-Venezuelan politician and journalist Biagio Pilieri, 60, and Italian businessman Luigi Gasperin, 77. Pilieri had been in jail for 16 months, while Gasperin was imprisoned since August. Venezuela’s government on Thursday pledged to release "a significant number" of prisoners, including foreign nationals, in what it described as a gesture of goodwill. The move comes after the US attacked Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolas Maduro, with US president Donald Trump claiming that the release of prisoners detained for political reasons was at the request of Washington.

Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday announced that Venezuela has released Italian nationals, Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlò, from prison. Welcoming the news with "joy and satisfaction", Meloni stated that a plane was on its way from Rome to repatriate the two Italians who "are now safely at the Italian embassy in Caracas". Trentini, a 46-year-old aid worker from Venice, was arrested in Venezuela in November 2024 while working for the Humanity and Inclusion, an NGO that helps disabled people. He was held at the El Rodeo maximum-security jail in Caracas despite not having any formal charges pressed against him. Turin entrepreneur Burlò, 52, had been held for more than a year in the same prison. He was arrested for no clear reason after going to Venezuela in 2024 to explore new business opportunities, according to news agency ANSA. In her statement, Meloni expressed her "heartfelt thanks" to authorities in Venezuela, starting from interim president Delcy Rodriguez, “for the constructive cooperation" shown in recent days. Last week Venezuela released Italian-Venezuelan politician and journalist Biagio Pilieri, 60, and Italian businessman Luigi Gasperin, 77. Pilieri had been in jail for 16 months, while Gasperin was imprisoned since August. Venezuela’s government on Thursday pledged to release "a significant number" of prisoners, including foreign nationals, in what it described as a gesture of goodwill. The move comes after the US attacked Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolas Maduro, with US president Donald Trump claiming that the release of prisoners detained for political reasons was at the request of Washington.