Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez has announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, her latest major reform since the U.S. military abducted the country’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife earlier this month.
“We have decided to push ahead with a general amnesty law that covers the whole period of political violence from 1999 to the present day,” Rodriguez said on Friday.
Speaking at a gathering of justices, magistrates, ministers, military officials, and other government leaders, the acting president said the National Assembly would take up the amnesty bill with urgency.
Rodriguez also announced the shutdown of El Helicoide, a notorious secret service prison in Caracas, where torture and other human rights abuses have been documented by independent organizations.
The Venezuelan-based prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal estimates that 711 people are in detention in facilities across Venezuela over their political activities. Of those, 183 have been sentenced, the group said.
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Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez Announces Prisoner Amnesty
01/31/2026
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We work side by side with victims to obtain acknowledgment and redress for massive human rights violations, hold those responsible to account, reform and build democratic institutions, and prevent the recurrence of violence or repression.