On Friday, February 6th, Jorge Rodriguez, the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, announced in a video posted on Telegram that all those who have been imprisoned for participating in protest activities are expected to be released by next Friday, February 13th.
Jorge, the brother of Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez, stated that these prisoners are expected to be pardoned under the upcoming Amnesty Law. The law is aimed at pardoning those who have been jailed for participating in political protests or criticizing public figures and is expected to receive final approval next Tuesday, triggering an immediate release process.
This positive development stems from the voting results of the Venezuelan National Assembly on February 5th. The parliament, controlled by the ruling Socialist Party, unanimously passed the law in the first round of voting. Rodriguez described the legislation as a difficult but necessary step, emphasizing the challenges ahead in implementing the law and the importance of forgiveness.
According to the draft law, the amnesty will cover individuals involved in peaceful protests or with health concerns from January 1, 1999, until the law’s effective date. Those accused of incitement, rebellion, treason in a political protest context, as well as those illegally carrying weapons, will also be eligible for amnesty. However, individuals involved in human rights violations, war crimes, murder, corruption, or drug trafficking are not included in the pardon.
The scope of the law extends to the large-scale protests that shook the country in 2007, 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2024, resulting in casualties. The 2024 protests erupted after the Venezuelan opposition achieved a landslide victory in the elections, but Maduro relied on cheating and government force in the dispute to continue holding the presidential position and suppress dissent forcefully.
In addition to pardoning the crimes, the new law will also return the assets of those detained and revoke previous Interpol and other international alerts, allowing more opposition figures in exile to return home.
This move is expected to be welcomed by the Trump administration, as it has long hoped for the release of such persecuted individuals. Furthermore, the Venezuelan opposition and human rights organizations have been advocating for the reversal of injustices against political figures, security personnel, journalists, and activists persecuted by the Maduro government, to enable them to return to their homeland.
Human rights organization “Foro Penal” confirmed that since the interim government of Venezuela announced a new round of release plans on January 8th, 383 political prisoners have been released, but over 680 individuals remain detained, including allies of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, Juan Pablo Guanipa, and lawyer Perkins Rocha.
Despite the government’s claim of nearly 900 people being released, no specific timeline has been provided, and the data seems to also include individuals released in previous years.
(Reference: Reuters)