The president of the Venezuelan Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, had promised the release of all those considered political prisoners by February 13 at the latest. But the key that is expected to open the cells, the Amnesty Law, is not available at the moment, after differences that forced the suspension of the second discussion. Although promoters and detractors continue to agree on the relevance of the instrument, the latest modifications increasingly distance the possibility of an agreement.

First modification: 02/13/2026 - 02:20

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The Amnesty Law has stopped predicting solutions and has begun to anticipate more disagreements, as demonstrated by the postponement of the second discussion in the National Assembly (AN, Parliament) this February 12.

The instrument, designed in the shadows in the Parliament controlled by Chavismo, was intended to pave the way for the freedom of those detained for political reasons in Venezuela, but it protects fewer and fewer of them with each new modification that is adopted.

The full version has not yet been read in the unicameral Congress, but the breadth of coverage that was initially anticipated appears to have been considerably diluted, excluding more and more people and situations from its scope.

For example, article 7, which caused the deferral, reserves the benefits derived from the law exclusively to those who are already being prosecuted in court or have a final sentence, which motivated the objection of opposition deputy Luis Florido.

“There are many people who have not even been brought before the courts and have been in prison for years, people in forced disappearance, wanted people who are outside the country and have no guarantees to return and get their rights, to be protected by the law,” recalled Nora Bracho, part of the same Florido bench, in statements to the media.

The disagreement may be the reason why several hundred detainees spend at least another week in prison, because activity in the National Assembly will almost certainly cease during the national Carnival holiday.

However, Bracho insisted that the releases continue to be a political decision of the Executive, which has already been carried out since January 8 (when they were originally promised), and are not necessarily tied to the Amnesty Law, which was announced three weeks later.

“This is a law for reconciliation, for reunion, we cannot start from exclusion,” insisted Bracho, vice president of the commission drafting the law.

But the procedural status of the detainees is only one of the knots that have hindered the process and only one of the objections of non-governmental organizations, human rights activists and opposition politicians.

Time range: from 27 years to just a few months

When the president in charge, Delcy Rodríguez, first mentioned the prospect of a "general amnesty" on January 30, she said it would cover "the entire period of political violence from 1999 (when Chavismo came to power) to the present."

However, those 27 years have been reduced to a few months by article 6, which was approved in the second discussion, which limits the scope of application of the law to 10 specific historical moments.

These are the 2002 coup d'état against the late President Hugo Chávez, the oil strike of 2002 and 2003, the protests that preceded and followed the recall referendum of 2004, the student demonstrations of 2007, those that occurred after the presidential elections of 2013 and 2024, and periods of political unrest in 2014, 2017 and 2019.

Delsa Solórzano, former representative and defender of Human Rights, pointed out in

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It also leaves out, according to Solórzano, cases of a military nature, such as those faced by those accused of conspiracies, assassination attempts and coup attempts denounced by the now deposed Nicolás Maduro.

"There are more than half of political prisoners who would be excluded from this amnesty law, if it is approved without listening to the victims," ​​Andreína Baduel, daughter and sister of those detained for political reasons, warned in a protest before the National Assembly.

His father, former Chávez Defense Minister Raúl Isaías Baduel, died in prison in 2021. His brother Josnars would be one of those excluded. Sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison for his alleged participation in the 'Gedeón' operation to depose Maduro, Josnars does not fall within the temporal scope of the Amnesty Law.

“Political persecution has been a continuum, not a sum of isolated events,” said Gonzalo Himiob, vice president of the Penal Forum, an organization that has carried out the defense of those considered political prisoners, in statements to the ‘Analítico’ portal.

Speaking with the EFE agency, Himiob added that "it seems that the clear intention is not to include the military in the amnesty."

Human Rights Defenders who were detained and are still subject to precautionary measures, such as Rocío San Miguel, Javier Tarazona or Eduardo Torres, would not benefit from the amnesty either, since the detention of the three occurred outside the periods contemplated in article 6.

Imprecision in the definition of crimes

NGOs, activists and family members have also questioned that the latest versions eliminate the list of crimes considered political (such as instigation, resistance to authority, rebellion or treason), thereby increasing the discretion to choose those eligible for amnesty.

Offenses that are excluded from the scope of the law, such as drug trafficking, corruption or offenses against public property, can also constitute a “wrong argument,” as Alfredo Romero, president director of the Penal Forum, explained to EFE: "The end of detention is political on many occasions."

This is the case, for example, of former judge María Lourdes Afiuni, who served prison and then house arrest for 10 years since 2009, and is still prohibited from leaving the country today, for an alleged crime of corruption, although her process is related to a decision made when she was in charge of a court in Caracas.

No restitution, no authorization, no reparation

The latest drafts to which the Reuters agency has had access do not include provisions that were in the first version, such as the restitution of assets confiscated from those detained for political reasons, ranging from simple cell phones or purebred dogs to houses and businesses.

The elimination of sanctions on media outlets, which were originally included, is also no longer contemplated, resulting in the closure of hundreds of radio and television stations, the million-dollar fines that forced the closure of several media outlets, and the technical restrictions that keep the country's main news portals blocked.

In an analysis published on February 9 on its official website, Espacio Público, it cited as a condition for advancing "credible coexistence" that the law includes the return "of radio licenses and equipment seized from media and journalists," as well as "the reopening of arbitrarily closed radio, television, print and digital media."

What is known so far about the Amnesty Law does not include provisions for reparation to the victims and there is no longer talk of the lifting of restrictions on holding public office against opposition figures, which is why political disqualification persists, for example, for the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize María Corina Machado.

"The persecution has not only been criminal; it has had labor, civil, tax and administrative dimensions that are not being covered," warned Gonzalo Himiob in conversation with 'Analítico'.

Validity of repressive laws

In an analysis published on February 9 on its official website, Espacio Público points out that the Amnesty Law project “keeps the repressive legal environment intact,” as it does not provide for the repeal of instruments approved by the defunct Constituent Assembly and the National Assembly with a Chavista majority, which have served as the basis for the imprisonment of many opponents.

He cites as an example the Law against Hate, which provides for heavy fines and sentences of 10 to 20 years in prison for crimes that do not appear in the Venezuelan Penal Code, or the Simón Bolívar Law against the Imperialist Blockade, which persecutes and punishes with up to 30 years in prison those who have instigated, supported or favored international sanctions.

“Without these derogations, the amnesty is a temporary palliative that does not offer real structural guarantees and gives way to a new permanent threat,” says Espacio Público.

Selective memory

The humanitarian organization Cofavic pointed out in an analysis of the bill that it was originally known that the objective of social peace pursued by the instrument must be compatible with “the indeclinable obligation” of the State to “investigate and punish human rights violations.”

Like Cofavic, Espacio Público has also expressed its concern about article 11 of the law, which orders administrative bodies to “delete from their files the records and antecedents” of the people who benefit from the amnesty.

Although it agrees with the purpose of “leaving criminal records and records without legal effect,” the organization points out that these records “become having evidentiary merit and cultural value for the Nation.”

“Society has the imprescriptible right to know who was persecuted, for what opinions and which officials executed said orders to guarantee the truth and non-repetition,” adds the NGO's analysis.

With Reuters, EFE, AP and local media

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