Venezuela’s Acting President Signs Amnesty Law for Political Prisoners

Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, signed an amnesty bill into law on Thursday that could lead to the release of politicians, activists, lawyers and many others, NPR and the Associated Press reported. The signing came hours after the legislature approved the measure. Authorities had denied for decades that Venezuela held political prisoners, and the AP wrote that the law effectively acknowledges that the government has held hundreds of people in prison for political motivations. Al Jazeera, carrying AP and Reuters reporting, called it the government’s latest about-face since the Jan. 3 U.S. military attack on Caracas and the capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro.

At the signing, Rodríguez said the law showed that political leaders were “letting go of a little intolerance and opening new avenues for politics in Venezuela,” NPR reported. She had proposed the bill in late January, NPR and El País said. The measure is expected to benefit opposition members, activists, human rights defenders, journalists and others targeted by the ruling party over the past 27 years, according to NPR and Al Jazeera. The AP said the bill grants a “general and full amnesty” for offenses committed during specific periods since 1999 marked by politically driven conflict, including acts of political violence tied to the 2024 presidential election, whose aftermath led to protests and the arrest of more than 2,000 people.

There are limits. El País and Al Jazeera reported that people tied to military rebellions are excluded (Al Jazeera cited those convicted over events in 2019), and Al Jazeera said the law does not return assets of those detained or revoke bans on holding public office. After lawmakers stalled last week over whether people who fled the country could be covered, they agreed on Thursday that those abroad can have a lawyer seek amnesty for them rather than return to Venezuela, NPR and the AP reported.

The scale of the problem is disputed. Foro Penal, a Venezuelan prisoners’ rights group, estimates that more than 600 people are in custody for political reasons and has tallied 448 releases since Jan. 8, when Rodríguez’s government announced it would free “a significant number,” according to NPR, Al Jazeera and the AP. El País put the releases at 444 over the last month and a half. Relatives and human rights watchdogs have criticized the slow pace of releases, and families have kept vigils outside prisons, Al Jazeera and El País reported.

Reaction was divided. Opposition lawmaker Nora Bracho, who helped draft the bill, said during the debate, “It’s not perfect, but it’s a great step forward,” according to NPR and El País, which also quoted her saying the interest is for political persecution to cease. Pedro Urruchurtu, who directs international relations for opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado, wrote on X that it is “not only an invalid and illegitimate law, but also a trap to buy time and revictimize those persecuted,” the AP reported, as carried by Al Jazeera and The Independent. The AP wrote that opposition members and rights groups had viewed the proposal with cautious optimism and raised concerns about eligibility and implementation.

The United States looms over Venezuela’s transition. The AP reported that the government has been quick to comply with orders from the Trump administration, including last month’s overhaul of the country’s oil industry law, which El País said opened the sector to private companies. El País added that the amnesty is the second law passed with the support of a minority of moderate opposition members who coexist with the ruling party in the National Assembly.