After announcing the Amnesty Law, Venezuela releases activist Javier Tarazona; more than 700 political prisoners remain in detention, says NGO

Interim president of Venezuela proposes general amnesty The Venezuelan government released this Sunday (1st) opposition activist Javier Tarazona, one of the main names among Venezuelan political prisoners, according to the NGO Foro Penal, which monitors the release of detainees. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp Tarazona, director of a human rights NGO in Venezuela, had been detained in the controversial El Helicoide prison for four years, the NGO also said. His release was the first since the country’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, proposed an Amnesty Law providing for the release of all political prisoners (read more below). According to the NGO Foro Penal, which monitors political prisoners in Venezuela, Tarazona was released along with a small group this Sunday. Venezuelan activist Javier Tarazona (in blue, on the right), alongside his mother and brother after being released from prison in Venezuela, in Disclosure/ Foro Penal The release of political prisoners was one of the points demanded by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, after the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the USA, in early January, according to the North American press. However, organizations and relatives of prisoners have stated that the releases are taking place very slowly. The NGO Foro Penal states that more than 700 remain in detention. The NGO said it has verified more than 300 releases of political prisoners since the government announced a new series of releases on January 8. Organizations monitoring the situation say that, in total, there were between 800 and more than 1,000 political prisoners in Venezuela at the end of last year. Among the prominent figures who remain imprisoned are opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa and lawyer Perkins Rocha, both close allies of opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado; and Freddy Superlano, leader of the opposition party Voluntad Popular. . Rodríguez announces Amnesty Law El Helicoide Prison, in Caracas RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP Interim President Delcy Rodríguez announced on Friday (30) a general amnesty in Venezuela, a few days before completing a month since she took power after the overthrow of Nicolás Maduro in a United States military operation. “We have decided to implement a general amnesty law that covers the entire period of political violence from 1999 to the present,” Rodríguez said in a speech to the Supreme Court. Rodríguez also announced the closure of the famous Helicoide prison, in Caracas, denounced by activists as a torture center for opponents of Chavismo. “We have decided that the Helicoide facilities, which currently serve as a detention center, will be transformed into a social, sporting, cultural and commercial center for the police family and the surrounding communities,” Rodríguez said in a speech before the Supreme Court. In 2022, a United Nations report alleged that Venezuelan state security agencies subjected detainees at the notorious prison, originally designed as a shopping mall, to torture. The government rejected the UN conclusions. In recent weeks, family members of inmates at Helicoide have held vigils and camped overnight in front of the prison, demanding the release of their relatives. Families and human rights defenders have long demanded the annulment of charges and convictions against detainees considered political prisoners. Opposition politicians, dissident members of the security forces, journalists and human rights activists are often the target of accusations such as terrorism and treason, which their families consider unfair and arbitrary. See the videos that are trending on g1

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