The relatives of those detained for political reasons demonstrated again this February 7, demanding that the word promised by the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, that all of them will be released next week be fulfilled. They also described the appearance of the Chavista leader outside a detention center, where he made the announcement, as a "show." Meanwhile, organizations defending those considered political prisoners have questioned the text of the Amnesty Law.
First modification: 02/08/2026 - 03:43 Last modification: 02/08/2026 - 03:45
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The announcement by the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, that all those considered political prisoners will be released no later than February 13, far from bringing peace among family members, has been a source of new protests.
The vigils that have been held for almost a month in front of the detention centers that house detainees for political reasons added this February 7 to renewed demands for the releases to occur with or without the Amnesty Law, a text that is currently being analyzed in Parliament, with a large Chavista majority.
"This is a bill that was made behind the victims' backs, without consultation. With or without amnesty law we will continue to demand the full and immediate freedom of all," demanded Andreína Baduel, daughter of former Defense Minister Raúl Baduel, who died in prison, and sister of another detainee.
Baduel was part of the family members who demonstrated in front of the Helicoide, headquarters of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) and symbol of torture and repression denounced by victims, human rights defense organizations and by the UN Independent International Mission to Determine Facts about Venezuela.
"We, as family members, and I personally on behalf of my husband, feel that this is a mockery, a lack of respect," added activist Aurora Silva, wife of Freddy Superlano, a former opposition deputy detained for a year and a half, within the framework of the repression that followed the elections of July 28, 2024.
The protesters showed signs with the word “Freedom” and banners with photographs of some of the 687 people who remain detained, according to the records of the Penal Forum, one of the organizations that provides assistance to political prisoners.
"A media show"
On the other side of Caracas, in front of Zone 7 of the National Police, which on February 6 received a visit from Rodríguez, relatives of the detainees described the presence of the parliamentarian, brother of the acting president Delcy Rodríguez and long-standing leader of the Government of the now deposed Nicolás Maduro, as a "media show."
"They (Rodríguez and fellow congressman Jorge Arreaza) didn't last, I think, 10 minutes, everything was like a media show," complained Evelis Cano, Jack Tantak's mother and one of the most active voices at the vigils.
Cano questioned that Rodríguez did not enter the center where several of those considered political prisoners are held to "listen to testimonies from their own mouths, which is what he had to do."
"We are hoping that if he (Rodríguez) gave his word, that he would fulfill it," added Marina Saldivia, who has four detained relatives: two sons, a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter.
The opposition coalition Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) questioned the slowness with which the releases have occurred, with a publication on social networks in which it condemned that in "72 hours there have only been barely 10 releases, while the relatives of the political prisoners remain constantly vigil."
Amnesty Law, under the magnifying glass
A commission of the National Assembly headed by pro-government deputy Jorge Arreaza received representatives of public powers and non-governmental organizations to hear their proposals on the Amnesty Law, which was approved on February 5 in its first discussion.
The president of the Supreme Court of Justice, Caryslia Rodríguez, Attorney General Tarek William Saab and spokespersons for NGOs such as Provea, the Penal Forum, the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners and Access to Justice attended the meeting.
The instrument has been the subject of questioning by activists and human rights defenders, after a text was released that, they say, excludes more than 24 years of events and circumstances, including those of a military nature, such as the multiple conspiracies reported during the Maduro government.
Gonzalo Himiob, member of the Penal Forum, made a publication in
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Before that, Himiob had expressed his opposition to the fact that the project only refers to 10 historical moments, "because in this way many situations that clearly qualify for the amnesty but that did not take place in the 'chosen' moments are left out."
According to the text published by the National Assembly, these 10 moments are the coup d'état of April 11, 2002, the oil strike, the political protests of 2004, 2007, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2019 and those after the elections of July 28, 2024.
The activist also called for "repealing several laws that have been continuously used as tools of persecution."
Another expert agreed with him, the international law lawyer Mariano De Alba, who in another publication in
Other critics have rejected that the project does not lift political disqualifications, nor does it include a framework for the safe return of exiles and members of the diaspora of more than eight million people who have left Venezuela, fleeing the economic crisis and personal insecurity, but also political repression.
With EFE, AP and local media
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