BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP)—Seventeen Colombians imprisoned in Venezuela have been freed, the Colombian government said Friday.

Venezuela has been hit with accusations of human rights violations and the jailing of political dissidents since President Nicolas Maduro began another term after 2024 elections he is widely accused of stealing.

The 17 Colombians were freed “after months of dialogue and diplomatic coordination,” the Colombian foreign ministry said.

Colombian news organisations say another 20 or so Colombians remain in Venezuelan prisons on charges of spying or conspiring against the Caracas government.

Maduro has said that around 50 Colombians he describes as mercenaries are being held in Venezuelan prisons.

Like many other leaders, leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro never acknowledged Maduro as having won the last election, but he has kept diplomatic channels with Venezuela open.

The two countries have come together in opposition to a US naval deployment in the Caribbean and its deadly attacks on what the United States claims — without providing evidence — are drug-smuggling boats.

Colombia is asking Venezuela to free any of its detained nationals who have not been charged or against whom there is no evidence.

Human rights groups say prisoners in Venezuela suffer from abuses and a lack of legal guarantees.

A rights group called Foro Penal said on October 7 that there were 845 political prisoners in Venezuela.