Caracas (AFP) – The Venezuelan Parliament faces on Thursday the final discussion of a broad amnesty law that could open the door to mass releases of political prisoners after almost three decades of Chavismo. The initiative, promoted by President Delcy Rodríguez, has already been approved in the first reading. The authorities have promised that, once the law is passed, those detained for political reasons could be released immediately.
First modification: 02/12/2026 - 06:01
The Venezuelan Parliament begins on Thursday the final debate for the approval of a general amnesty law that covers the 27 years of Chavismo and leads to mass releases of political prisoners.
The amnesty is a project promoted by President Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed power after the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a United States military raid on January 3, and who governs under pressure from Washington and Donald Trump, to whom he ceded control of the oil.
A few days later he announced a release process, which gave more than 400 political prisoners conditional freedom.
Experts estimate that the amnesty will lead to the release of more prisoners without conditions.
The secretariat of the National Assembly reported that the only item on the agenda will be the discussion of the draft amnesty law for democratic coexistence.
The debate coincides with youth day in Venezuela, when demonstrations are traditionally called.
Students from the Central University of Venezuela, the largest in the country and critical of Chavismo, called for a rally on campus, while the ruling party announced a "great march" in Caracas.
"We deserve peace"
Deputies voted last week in favor of the law in the first of two regulatory debates.
The second was scheduled for Tuesday, but the session was suspended in the middle of the public consultation process that the laws go through. Jurists, opposition leaders and even relatives of political prisoners participated.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab also responded to the call along with other members of the judiciary.
"We deserve peace, for everything to be debated through dialogue," Saab said in an interview with AFP. The amnesty, he considered, should consequently lead to a gesture by the United States to release the deposed Maduro and his wife, imprisoned in New York.
Rodríguez also ordered the closure of the feared Helicoide prison, designated as a torture center by the opposition and human rights activists.
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His brother Jorge Rodríguez, who presides over Parliament, anticipated last week that the approval of the law will result in the release of all political prisoners.
"Once this law is approved, everyone will leave that same day," he promised outside some National Police cells known as Zone 7, in Caracas.
"We are all afraid"
In the midst of the debates on the regulations, the opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa was released from prison as part of the release process.
Less than 12 hours later, he was arrested again and sent to Maracaibo (west) to serve house arrest.
The authorities accused him of violating his parole after requesting elections during a visit to Helicoide, where he participated in a demonstration with relatives of political prisoners.
Guanipa is a close ally of the Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader, María Corina Machado, who was in hiding for more than a year before fleeing the country to travel to Oslo to receive the award.
"We are all afraid, but we have to continue fighting so that we can talk and we can live in peace," Guanipa's son told reporters at the door of his house in Maracaibo.
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