The new Venezuelan government announces the release of several foreign prisoners . Italian Luigi Gasperin , arrested last August for possession of explosives, and Italian-Venezuelan Biagio Pilieri have been released. There is hope for Alberto Trentini, the Venetian aid worker arrested in November 2024 and currently in a maximum security prison on the outskirts of Caracas .
There is also anticipation for the other 28 Italian-born inmates: these are crucial hours for entrepreneur Mario Burlò, who has been in prison for over a year without "clear motives." In Rome, the spotlight has been particularly on Trentini, arrested on November 15, 2024, in the state of Apure, without formal charges, while working for the NGO Humanity and Inclusion, and subsequently held in the capital's El Rodeo maximum-security prison. During these more than 400 days of detention, Italian authorities at all levels—government, diplomacy, and intelligence—have worked behind the scenes to bring him home, under extremely difficult conditions, dealing with a regime Rome does not recognize as legitimate and that uses so-called hostage diplomacy to obtain compensation.
