The interim president Delcy Rodríguez announced a general amnesty in Venezuela just weeks after taking power following the capture and overthrow of Nicolás Maduro during a U.S. military incursion. This measure aims to address the entire period of political violence from 1999 to the present, as Rodríguez noted during the opening of the judicial year at the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), an event broadcasted by the state-run Venezuelan Television.
Rodríguez, who became interim president after serving as Maduro’s vice president, explained that the law will be presented urgently to the National Assembly (AN), which has an official majority. She stated the goal is to “heal the wounds left by political confrontation through violence and extremism, and to redirect harmonious living among Venezuelans.” The president specifically asked political prisoners and those who have received measures for release not to let “revenge, retaliation, or hatred prevail.”
The proposed law excludes individuals prosecuted or convicted for homicide, drug trafficking, corruption, and serious human rights violations. The text of the law has yet to be released, so the specific criteria for determining who will benefit is not clear.
This announcement comes amid a process of releases that began on January 8, which has made slow progress. According to the organization Foro Penal, which specializes in the defense of political prisoners, Venezuela currently has 711 people detained for political reasons, although 302 have been released since the new administration started. However, the same NGO reports that more than 11,000 individuals remain under arbitrary restrictions of their freedom.
Rodríguez also ordered the closure of the El Helicoide prison, home to the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) in Caracas, which is considered a torture center by human rights organizations and the opposition. She announced that the facility will be transformed into a social, sports, cultural, and commercial center for police families and nearby communities.
Several non-governmental organizations, including Surgentes, the Committee of Mothers for Truth, Foro Penal, and Provea, have long called for a general amnesty for those they consider political prisoners. The last formal amnesty proposal was presented by these organizations days before the presidential announcement, covering social fighters, journalists, military personnel, and activists who were pursued or imprisoned in the context of post-electoral mobilizations.
Previously, in December 2007, then-president Hugo Chávez enacted an amnesty law for individuals involved in the 2002 coup. In 2016, the National Assembly approved a similar law, but it was declared unconstitutional by the TSJ and was never implemented. In 2020, Nicolás Maduro decreed 110 pardons to opponents and social actors ahead of that year’s legislative elections, although the government has repeatedly denied the existence of political prisoners, attributing their detentions to terrorism-related crimes.
Rodríguez’s initiative has been met with caution by human rights organizations, which insist the amnesty must include all of civil society without discrimination and warn that the release of detainees “should not be seen as an act of clemency, but as the restoration of fundamental rights.” Provea emphasized that the incarcerated individuals were jailed for exercising rights protected by international instruments and Venezuelan legislation.
The discussion and approval process of the amnesty law now depends on the National Assembly, while national and international organizations continue to monitor the conditions and scope of the measure.
Agencies