Venezuela set to release 2nd prominent opponent

Baduel's release comes just 24 hours after Daniel Ceballos, the former mayor of the restive western city of San Cristobal, was granted house arrest on medical grounds while awaiting trial for his alleged role in inciting violence during last year's anti-government protests.

Combined, the two surprise releases could signal a greater leniency on the part of President Nicolas Maduro's socialist administration, which has come under fire from the U.S. over the imprisonment of some 50 anti-government activists on what human rights groups say are trumped-up charges intended to silence dissent.

Ceballos, hours after being reunited with his family, shouted a statement Wednesday to the press from a second floor window of a relative's apartment in an upscale part of Caracas, saying his surprise release represented a hopeful sign "that all political prisoners might be reunited with their families."