Venezuela announces a general amnesty for political prisoners incarcerated since 1999

The Venezuelan president presented the initiative on Friday during the opening ceremony of the judicial year at the Supreme Court. Delcy Rodríguez instructed the Judicial Revolution Commission to prepare the legal text in the coming hours for a vote in the National Assembly.

The law would not include those convicted of murder, drug trafficking or human rights violations. Rodríguez also asked that "vengeance, revenge and hatred" should not prevail among those who regain their freedom.

According to the Venezuelan NGO Foro Penal, there are currently 711 political prisoners. The government had consistently denied this figure, describing the detainees as terrorists. Since 8 January, the organisation has documented 302 releases, although official figures vary: the interior minister speaks of 808 releases since December, while the attorney general mentions 643 precautionary measures.

Cautious hopes amid rapprochement

In a social media post, María Corina Machado, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2025, attributed the decision to US pressure. "It is not something the regime wanted to do voluntarily," she said at the Hay Festival in Cartagena. She recalled that some prisoners have been imprisoned for 23 years and added that President Rodríguez is "incapable" of generating confidence or stability to carry out a political transition.

Venezuelan deputies such as Henrique Capriles and Stalin González welcomed the proposal as a necessary step. Families of detainees expressed hope mixed with scepticism after years of unfulfilled promises.

Venezuela has not enacted an amnesty since 2007, when Hugo Chávez pardoned those involved in the 2002 coup. A parliamentary attempt in 2016 was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. In 2020, Maduro granted 110 pardons by decree ahead of legislative elections that the majority opposition boycotted.

The proposal coincides with rapprochements between Rodríguez and the Trump administration. The president-in-charge confirmed telephone conversations with Trump and Marco Rubio on bilateral issues, including the reopening of airspace and the opening of oil to foreign investment. Rodríguez also proposed to convert the Helicoide, the headquarters of the Venezuelan intelligence service Sebin, which has been used for torturing political prisoners, into a social and sports centre.