The number of prisoners released in Venezuela has risen to ‍18, human rights groups said on Saturday, from nine on Friday afternoon. The release ‍of hundreds of political prisoners in the South American country is a long-running demand of human rights groups, international bodies and opposition figures, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who has several close allies imprisoned. Both US ⁠President Donald Trump and Venezuela’s top lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez, the brother of acting President Delcy Rodriguez, have said the releases are a gesture of peace. Trump added in a post on Truth Social that he had canceled a second wave of attacks on Venezuela following cooperation from the South American nation.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The releases cap a week of political turmoil in Caracas: ‍the US attack on Venezuela, the stunning capture of President Nicolas Maduro, his arraignment in a ‍New