Caracas (AFP) – With drawn and angry faces, around ten women, close to political detainees whose release they are demanding, begin their third day of hunger strike on Monday, lying on mattresses in front of the door of the “Zona 7” prison in Caracas.

Published on: 02/16/2026 - 6:25 p.m.

According to their relatives, the detainees - there are around sixty remaining - have also stopped eating since Saturday morning.

Women are protesting against a further postponement on Thursday of the adoption of the amnesty law which should lead to the release of all political prisoners. The start of the week being a public holiday, this will not be examined by the Assembly until Thursday at best.

This historic amnesty law was promised on January 30, under American pressure, by interim president Delcy Rodriguez, a month after the capture of Nicolas Maduro on January 3 by the American army.

The authorities had also promised mass releases on January 8, but these were carried out piecemeal, with dozens of families camping in front of the penitentiary establishments.

According to the NGO Foro Penal, 444 political prisoners have benefited from conditional release and more than 600 remain behind bars.

“No more delays, no more torture. Until when?” asks Evelin Quiaro, 46, lying on a mattress, a small bottle of water with electrolytes at her side.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez "came here and said that by last Friday at the latest, everyone who is here in zone 7 was going to be released. And they only released 17. It's not fair."

His son has been in prison since November, accused of participating in a bomb attack that authorities say he foiled. The latter regularly denounce real or imaginary plots aimed at destabilizing the country.

“We have been here for a very long time, most of them January, sleeping in tents, living here in an inhumane way. We are at the end of our tether,” she says.

“It’s worth it”

"The body is starting to suffer. A lot of weakness, fatigue when I get up. It's already been two days since we ate. It's worth it, it will always be worth it! It must have an effect," she wants to believe.

Doctor Rafael Arreaza, a figure in the Venezuelan medical world who came to assist the families, recalls that going on a hunger strike “is dangerous”.

“Especially given the conditions: in the street, with the dust, the dirt. Immunity drops and health complications can arise very easily,” he explains.

One of the ten women had to stop fasting due to blood pressure problems, said the doctor who asked to be able to visit the prisoners. In vain, because “a judicial order is needed”.

Wrapping himself in a chain, Narwin Gil, whose brother-in-law is imprisoned - his sister has been released -, blocks the path of an agent who comes to take his service.

"You can't come back with food. If they (the prisoners) don't eat, neither can you," she says to the agent who turns back.

“Enough! Enough!”, she shouts, at the end of her nerves and in tears. "Let us (free) not one or two, but all! All, all those who are in Venezuela. They are not delinquents. That's enough. None of us wants to be here. We don't want to be here!"

Maria Escalona, ​​41, whose husband has been in detention since September, confides: "It's terrible, terrible. My little ones (8 and 9 years old) are suffering. It's stressful, it's worrying. We are already exhausted by this hunger strike."

She hopes the law will be reviewed on Thursday. But she doesn't want to wait any longer. “I want them out right away. It has to be before Thursday.”

Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, opposition candidate who claims victory in the 2024 presidential election, railed against

© 2026 AFP

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