Venezuela unanimously approves amnesty law for political prisoners

BarcelonaThe National Assembly of Venezuela has finally approved the amnesty law for political prisoners announced three weeks ago The law, passed unanimously by all parliamentary groups on Thursday, grants amnesty for convictions related to 13 political incidents in Venezuela between 2002 and 2025, including the failed coup attempt against President Hugo Chávez in April 2002 and various anti-government protests. It also excludes individuals who participated in "armed actions or the use of force against the people, sovereignty, and territorial integrity." Rodríguez called for the law's implementation with "utmost speed": "We must know how to ask for forgiveness, and we must know how to receive forgiveness, and this is the process that begins with this amnesty law," she stated. The text is the result of several weeks of debate and includes more provisions than initially envisioned. However, some NGOs in the country pointed out that the law has an "unjustifiable excess of exclusions." A parliamentary commission of 23 National Assembly deputies, from both the opposition and the Chavista movement, was also appointed to develop "mechanisms" to guarantee compliance with the law. The deputies on this commission will be the ones who can fight to review cases that may initially be excluded. With the approval of the law, which has been named the "Amnesty Law for Democratic Coexistence," the Venezuelan government wants to lay the groundwork for a "new political era," as the president asserted a few days ago. In a clear shift in rhetoric, Chavismo implicitly acknowledges the existence of abuses and describes some of the events of recent years, which have led to persecution and persecution, as "deplorable and catastrophic," in the words of National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez on Thursday. Until a few months ago, an amnesty in Venezuela like the one recently approved was practically unthinkable. In response to this move, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced that Spain will formally request the European Union to lift the sanctions against Delcy Rodríguez: "Sanctions are never an end in themselves, they are a means," he said. To force changes in the country, the 27 EU member states apply various sanctions to prominent figures of the regime, such as restricting their entry into the EU, prohibiting the transfer of funds, and freezing their assets in member states. In statements to the media, Albares emphasized that Maduro was not sanctioned because presidents and foreign ministers are usually excluded from these measures "to keep the lines of dialogue open."

Releases and possible returns from exile

In recent weeks, the interim president has also pledged to close El Helicoide, a prison denounced as a torture center by NGOs and opposition figures. Even before the US military operation, the Chavista regime had begun releasing some critical prisoners. These releases accelerated after the change in leadership following Washington's aggression against the country. Rodríguez announced a plan to free political prisoners. But so far, releases have been few and far between.According to the organization Foro Penal, authorities have released nearly 450 people, but more than 600 political prisoners remain behind bars. Currently, 174 prisoners are excluded from the law, as they are imprisoned for participating in armed actions or using force. One of the releases that has already occurred—and is among the most politically significant—is that of opposition member Juan Pablo Guanipa, a collaborator of anti-Chavista leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado. Two weeks ago, Guanipa was released after 10 months in prison, but a few hours later authorities rearrested him and placed him under house arrest. This Thursday, coinciding with the approval of the amnesty, the opposition member was released. In a message to X, Guanipa thanked the United States and the international community for "supporting" this process.

The new scenario unfolding in Venezuela should also allow some of the opposition currently operating underground to carry out their political work without fear. It also opens an increasingly real possibility for the return of exiles, including Machado herself and Edmundo González, exiled in Madrid. So far, the opposition leader, whom Donald Trump received at the White House—where Machado presented him with the Norwegian Nobel Prize—has not specified when she plans to return to her country, but she has expressed her desire to come home as soon as possible. For now, the UN, in a statement, while noting that the amnesty law "could be crucial" for Venezuelan society, urges exiles to exercise caution when returning to the country, at least "until the applicability of the amnesty to their cases is clearly determined."