Italy to upgrade relations with Venezuela as two more Italians freed

ROME, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Venezuela has released Italian citizens Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlo from prison, Italy said on Monday, pledging to upgrade relations with Caracas in response.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said no other citizens with solely Italian nationality remained in prison, after Venezuela freed two other Italian nationals, journalist Biagio Pilieri and businessman Luigi Gasperin, last week.

Dozens of dual Italian-Venezuelan nationals continue to be held.

Venezuela’s leadership said on January 8 it was going to release a significant number of prisoners, including foreign nationals, as a gesture of goodwill.

The move, heeding demands from human rights groups, international bodies and opposition figures, came after the U.S. attacked Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolas Maduro.

Trentini, a charity worker from Venice, was the most well-known among the Italian nationals held in Venezuelan prisons.

He was arrested in November 2024 with his Venezuelan driver Rafael Machado. He was working for Humanity & Inclusion, an NGO that assists disabled people.

Burlo, a businessman from Turin, was also arrested in November 2024 and held in the same prison as Trentini, the El Rodeo I facility in Caracas.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said a plane was on its way from Rome to bring Trentini and Burlo home.

“I welcome with joy and satisfaction the release of our compatriots Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlo, who are now safely at the Italian Embassy in Caracas,” Meloni said in a statement.

UPGRADE IN DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

Tajani told reporters in Rome that Venezuela had not given reasons for the pair’s prolonged detention.

“What matters now is that they are returning home”, he said, adding that they were expected to land on Monday or early on Tuesday.

Tajani said there were still 42 prisoners in Venezuela with dual Italian-Venezuelan citizenship, including 24 held for “political” reasons.

Meloni thanked Venezuela’s authorities, including interim President Delcy Rodriguez, “for the constructive cooperation demonstrated in recent days.”

Tajani said Rome would upgrade relations with Venezuela, changing the status of its top envoy from charge d’affaires to fully-fledged ambassador.

He described Venezuela as a “very important country” for Italy, noting its sizeable Italian immigrant community and Italian energy company Eni’s presence there.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini and Angelo Amante; Editing by Michael Perry, Aidan Lewis)