The National Assembly, Venezuela’s parliament controlled by Chavismo, definitively approved this Thursday (19) the amnesty bill for political prisoners. The text will now go to interim dictator Delcy Rodríguez for sanction.
The approval comes about a month after the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro by United States forces in January. Since then, the White House has been pressuring the Chavista regime, now represented by Delcy, for profound political changes and concrete advances towards a democratic transition.
The amnesty law had already been approved in the first debate at the beginning of this month. The second discussion held this Thursday represented the last step before sending it to the Executive for promulgation.
According to information, the law could benefit hundreds of people detained for political reasons in Venezuela. All those who have been detained for political reasons since 1999, when dictator Hugo Chavéz came to power, will benefit from it.
According to the NGO Foro Penal, at least 448 political prisoners in Venezuela have already been released in recent weeks, but there are still between 600 and 644 prisoners for political reasons in the country.
The project has controversial points, such as the requirement that the beneficiary of the law formally present himself to the Venezuelan authorities to access the amnesty. In practice, this means that opponents in exile will need to appear before the country’s courts to be included in the measure. Because of articles like this, the law even generated concern among opponents living in exile, such as María Corina Machado and Edmundo González.
The approval comes amid protests and hunger strikes by family members of political prisoners, who demand full freedom for those detained. Civil organizations defend that the amnesty be broad and without restrictions.
