The Venezuelan Parliament, still controlled by Chavismo, approved this Thursday (5), unanimously and in the first vote, the amnesty bill for political prisoners presented by the country’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez.
According to Chavista deputy Jorge Arreaza, responsible for presenting the proposal, the project covers cases of political prisoners since 1999, when Hugo Chávez came to power, until the present day. The text, however, excludes people prosecuted or convicted of serious human rights violations, crimes against humanity, war crimes, intentional homicide, corruption and drug trafficking.
According to Arreaza, the initiative seeks to “open space for political dialogue processes”, which, in the parliamentarian’s words, would be aimed at the country’s “peace and prosperity” in a national “historic moment”. During the debate, he stated that the proposal aims to contribute to “internal reconciliation”.
The president of Parliament, Chavista Jorge Rodríguez, brother of Delcy Rodríguez, publicly defended the project and asked for “forgiveness” for the regime’s actions.
“We ask for forgiveness and we have to forgive too”, he declared during the session, stating that he does not “like the existence of prisoners”.
Rodríguez also announced the creation of a special commission to conduct a phase of public consultations on the project. The group will be led by Arreaza and will have 18 other deputies, including Nicolás Maduro Guerra, son of the dictator Nicolás Maduro, and the former minister of the Penitentiary Service Iris Varela. The President of Parliament called for speedy work, but demanded that the consultation be “in-depth”.
According to Rodríguez, the listening process should include family members of people deprived of liberty, the detainees themselves and also victims of crimes committed over recent years.
“Let there not be a victim left unheard,” he said.
The amnesty bill was presented on January 30, amid a gradual process of releasing political prisoners announced on January 8, a few days after the capture of Nicolás Maduro by United States forces. According to the NGO Foro Penal, at least 383 political prisoners have been released since then.
According to Venezuelan legislation, the project must still go through a second and final vote, after the consultation phase, when it will be analyzed article by article before eventual final approval.
