United News of Bangladesh

Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Friday announced a proposed amnesty law that could pave the way for the release of hundreds of people jailed for political reasons, including opposition figures, journalists and human rights activists. The long-demanded measure, backed by the United States-supported opposition, marks the latest concession by Rodríguez since she assumed control on Jan 3, following the dramatic removal of then president Nicolás Maduro in a US military operation in Caracas. Addressing a gathering of judges, ministers, senior military officers and other officials in a prerecorded televised event, Rodríguez said the ruling party-dominated National Assembly would consider the bill on an urgent basis. “May this law serve to heal the wounds left by the political confrontation fueled by violence and extremism,” she said. “May it serve to redirect justice in our country, and may it serve to redirect coexistence among Venezuelans.” She also announced the closure of Helicoide, a notorious detention center in Caracas where independent organizations have repeatedly documented torture and other abuses. Rodríguez said the facility would be converted into a sports, social and cultural complex for police and nearby communities. The announcement was made in the presence of several officials whom former detainees and rights groups have accused of ordering abuses at Helicoide and other prisons. Outside Helicoide, relatives of detainees watched Rodríguez’s speech on mobile phones, some in tears as others chanted, “Freedom! Freedom!” “God is good. God heard us,” said Johana Chirinos, an aunt of one prisoner, as she cried. Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado said in a statement that the measures were not adopted “voluntarily, but rather in response to pressure from the US government.” She noted that people have been imprisoned for political activities for periods ranging from one month to 23 years. “The regime’s repressive apparatus is brutal and has responded to the numerous criminal forces that answer to this regime, and it is all that remains,” Machado said. “When repression disappears and fear is lost, it will be the end of tyranny.” According to the Venezuelan prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal, 711 people are currently detained nationwide for political reasons, including 183 who have already been sentenced. Among those still imprisoned after the 2024 presidential election are former lawmaker Freddy Superlano, Machado’s lawyer Perkins Rocha, and Juan Pablo Guanipa, a former governor and close ally of Machado. The government did not release the text of the proposed bill, leaving unclear how eligibility for amnesty will be determined. Rodríguez said the “general amnesty law” would apply to the entire period of political violence from 1999 to the present, but would exclude those convicted of murder, drug trafficking, corruption or human rights violations. Earlier this month, Rodríguez’s administration announced plans to free a large number of detainees as a goodwill gesture, but families have criticised the slow pace of releases. “A general amnesty is welcome as long as its elements and conditions include all of civil society, without discrimination, that it does not become a cloak of impunity, and that it contributes to dismantling the repressive apparatus of political persecution,” Foro Penal president Alfredo Romero said on social media. The group said 302 detainees have been released since the Jan 8 announcement. Human rights organization Provea also criticised the lack of transparency and the gradual nature of the releases, stressing that freeing those still detained is urgent. It said an amnesty should not be framed as a pardon or act of clemency by the state. “We recall that these people were arbitrarily imprisoned for exercising rights protected by international human rights instruments, the National Constitution, and Venezuelan laws,” Provea said. The US State Department confirmed on Friday that all known US citizens held in Venezuelan prisons had been released. It also said Laura Dogu, who will serve as Washington’s top diplomat in Venezuela, was due to arrive in Caracas on Saturday. Outside another detention center in the capital, Edward Ocariz, who was jailed for more than five months after the 2024 election, joined families demanding the immediate release of detainees. “We, Venezuelans, have all endured so much, all unjust, merciless and trampling on our dignity,” Ocariz said. “No one deserves this. And today, the guilty continue to govern Venezuela.”