Caracas (AFP) – The president of the Venezuelan Parliament announced this Friday that the general amnesty will be approved next Tuesday and promised relatives of political prisoners their immediate release.

First modification: 02/07/2026 - 03:37 Last modification: 02/07/2026 - 15:30

The amnesty law was promoted by President Delcy Rodríguez, who governs on an interim basis under pressure from the United States after the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a US military operation on January 3.

The deputies voted in favor of this historic law - which covers almost three decades of Chavismo - in the first of the two regulatory debates.

"We are going to repair all the mistakes that have been made," said parliamentary leader Jorge Rodríguez during a meeting with relatives of those detained for political reasons outside a National Police cell known as Zone 7.

"We already approved the law yesterday (Thursday), then on Tuesday we have to give it the second discussion and it will be approved definitively," he added. "When that law is approved, everyone leaves that same day."

The largest opposition coalition in Venezuela denounced "serious omissions" in the amnesty on Friday, after learning of a shorter and more general draft of the law than a previous version released the day before.

The text "excludes large groups of civil and military political prisoners, does not repeal the current repressive legal framework (...), does not guarantee the safe return of exiles, does not lift political disqualifications and does not establish reparation mechanisms for the victims," ​​the Democratic Unitary Platform said in a statement.

"It is an ambitious law"

Rodríguez is the brother of the president in charge and first in the line of succession.

Relatives in Zone 7 surrounded him while demanding freedom for their prisoners.

"Help me get my family member out of there, please," a woman told him. "We are going to get them all out," he responded while hugging another family member.

"I told him to please do it for my children, for me, for all the political prisoners, that there are many mothers suffering," Nancy Plaza, who has her husband detained in Zone 7, told AFP. "We need them to release him."

"I'm going to believe him that he's going to keep his promise," he added.

Delcy Rodríguez announced on January 8 a release process, which progressed very slowly.

Since then, the NGO Foro Penal has verified 383 releases of political prisoners as of February 5. There are still more than 600 political prisoners, according to this NGO.

The former head of the Spanish government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, traveled to Caracas in the middle of the amnesty process.

"I feel very satisfied with the Amnesty law, it is an ambitious law," he told journalists during a forum with representatives of the dialogue tables organized by the government. "Venezuela is taking steps (...) in a very short time, after many very difficult years," he stressed.

"Mantle of impunity"

Maduro's son, deputy Nicolás Maduro Guerra, led the meeting with the jurists at the Legislative Palace.

It is part of the public consultation of the law, a stage after approval in first reading.

"This weekend we are going to quickly collect the comments, the proposals, the constructive criticism, the solutions to incorporate it into the amnesty law," said the nicknamed 'Nicolasito' at the end of the meeting.

"It is necessary to advance this law to advance reconciliation, advance forgiveness," he added. "Those of us who have made a mistake, apologize, apologize, compensate for the damage that may have been done and move forward."

"We made contributions so that the content of that law is enriched," said the jurist from the Central University of Venezuela (UCV). "Nor can this amnesty law in any way generate a cloak of impunity for those who committed torture, cruel and inhuman treatment."

The Constitution already prohibits amnesty for crimes against humanity.

© 2026 AFP

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