Hundreds of political prisoners in Venezuela could be released under new amnesty bill

Hundreds of political prisoners in Venezuela, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists, could soon be freed under an amnesty bill that the country’s acting president announced on Friday. 

The move represents the latest concession Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez has made since the Jan. 3 capture of the country’s former leader Nicolás Maduro by the U.S.

Rodriguez told a group of justices, magistrates, ministers, military brass and other government leaders that the National Assembly, which is controlled by the ruling party, would promptly take up the bill, The Associated Press reported.

“May this law serve to heal the wounds left by the political confrontation fueled by violence and extremism,” she said in the pre-taped televised event, according to the AP. “May it serve to redirect justice in our country, and may it serve to redirect coexistence among Venezuelans.”

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Rodriguez said the amnesty law would cover the “entire period of political violence from 1999 to the present,” and that those incarcerated for murder, drug trafficking, corruption or human rights violations would not qualify for relief, the AP reported.

In addition to the amnesty law, Rodriguez announced the shutdown of Venezuela’s notorious El Helicoide prison in Caracas. Torture and other human rights abuses have been repeatedly documented at El Helicoide. The facility is set to be transformed into sports, social and cultural center, according to reports.

Alfredo Romero, the head of Foro Penal, Venezuela’s leading prisoner rights organization, welcomed the legislation while expressing some skepticism.

“A General Amnesty is always welcome as long as its elements and conditions include all of civil society, without discrimination, that it does not become a blanket of impunity, and that it contributes to the dismantling of the repressive apparatus of political persecution,” Romero said in a post on X.

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Relatives of some prisoners livestreamed Rodríguez’s speech on a phone as they gathered outside Helicoide, according to the AP.

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado said in a statement that the moves were not made “voluntarily, but rather in response to pressure from the US government,” the AP reported. She also reportedly noted that people detained for their political activities have been held for anywhere between a month and 23 years.

Foro Penal estimates there are 711 political prisoners held in Venezuela, 183 of whom have been sentenced, the AP reported. The outlet identified prominent members of the opposition who were detained after the 2024 election and remain in prison as former lawmaker Freddy Superlano, Machado’s lawyer Perkins Rocha, and Juan Pablo Guanipa, a former governor and one of Machado’s closest allies.

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On Friday evening, Venezuela released all known American citizens being held in the country.

“We are pleased to confirm the release by the interim authorities of all known U.S. citizens held in Venezuela,” the U.S. embassy wrote on X. “Should you have information regarding any other U.S. citizens still detained, please contact American Citizen Services.”

The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.