Amnesty International Says Venezuela’s Amnesty Law Leaves Repression Fully Operational Under Delcy Rodríguez

Venezuela’s newly adopted Amnesty Law, in force since February, has become a focal point in Amnesty International’s assessment that the country’s “repressive apparatus” has not been dismantled after Nicolás Maduro’s capture on January 3 during a U.S. military operation.

“The political transition is advancing at full speed in Venezuela”

Courrier international

In Bogotá, Amnesty International presented its annual report and said the system of repression remains “fully operational under the interim government led by Delcy Rodríguez,” according to UPI’s April 22 report.

Courrier international

EL MUNDO quoted Amnesty International (AI) deputy director Nastassja Rojas saying, “The Amnesty Law is being built as another element of the repressive apparatus rather than a real gesture for the liberation of people and the guarantee of their rights.”

Rojas added that “The law becomes another repressive mechanism in a context of normalizing crimes against humanity,” and she described it as “a pattern of state conduct that repeats itself.”

UPI also reported that Valentina Ballesta, Amnesty International’s research director for the Americas, said the repressive structure continues to operate despite the political transition.

The Amnesty Law is described in the sources as having been promulgated by interim president Delcy Rodríguez after unanimous approval by the National Assembly on Thursday, February 19, less than two months after Maduro’s capture.

France 24 and Le Monde both reported that the National Assembly unanimously approved a general amnesty bill and that Rodríguez promulgated it, with the law intended to enable the release of political prisoners while including exceptions.

The sources present sharply different figures and different ways of counting releases and remaining detainees as Venezuela’s amnesty process unfolds.

EL MUNDO said the “chucuta” Amnesty Law “still keeps 470 political prisoners behind bars, according to Foro Penal,” and it added that “of the 700 releases carried out since January only a quarter have occurred as a consequence of the Amnesty Law.”

El Mundo

UPI reported that Foro Penal and other groups confirmed the release of “673 political prisoners between Maduro's capture and mid-April,” while it also said Rodríguez’s government reported “much higher figures” as part of “peace and reconciliation” measures.

UPI further stated that in March 2026, government spokespeople said “as many as 7,000 people had been granted full release or alternative legal measures,” while Foro Penal said “nearly 500 political prisoners remain in detention.”

France 24 described the amnesty as covering acts during “thirteen specific periods (protests and repression),” and it reported that relatives had been camping out since the promise of releases on January 8.

Le Monde reported that the amnesty covers acts that took place during “thirteen specific periods (protests and repression)” and that the law “will not benefit as planned those who committed 'serious violations of human rights, crimes against humanity and war crimes (...) homicides (...) drug trafficking (...) offenses provided in the anti-corruption law'.”

Le Monde also said that “According to the NGO, while the authorities have freed nearly 450 political prisoners, more than 600 remain imprisoned.”

Courrier international added a different set of release figures, saying that “Since the amnesty law adopted by Parliament on Thursday, February 19, 179 people have been released” and that “They join the roughly 464 prison releases recorded by the NGO Foro Penal since Delcy Rodríguez arrived in power.”

While the amnesty law is presented by Venezuelan authorities as a path toward political reconciliation, Amnesty International and human rights defenders argue that the legal change is not translating into freedom for detainees.

“Chavismo announced this Friday a general amnesty for political prisoners jailed in Venezuela”

EL PAÍS

France 24 quoted interim president Delcy Rodríguez saying, “It is necessary to know how to ask for forgiveness, and it is also necessary to know how to receive forgiveness,” and she added, “We are opening new paths for politics in Venezuela.”

EL PAÍS reported that Rodríguez announced a general amnesty at an event at the Supreme Court of Justice, saying, “I want to announce that we have decided to promote a general amnesty law that covers the entire period of political violence since 1999,” and she asked that “no one impose violence or vengeance.”

Yet EL MUNDO framed Amnesty International’s position through Nastassja Rojas, who said, “Those releases do not mean the end of the persecution,” and she pointed to cases where precautionary measures remained in place.

EL MUNDO also quoted Rojas highlighting the case of human rights defender Javier Tarazona, saying he “still suffers precautionary measures ordered by the judge.”

France 24 included a contrasting personal reaction from Petra Vera, who told AFP, “I am happy, happy and full of hope, but still on edge, because as long as we do not see them outside, we will not stop fighting,” as she camped outside Zona 7 with her husband.

Le Monde quoted Gonzalo Himiob of Foro Penal saying, “It is not useless to recall that history is being written right now,” and it described hunger strikes by relatives of political detainees at Caracas’s Zona 7 prison.

UPI added Amnesty International’s warning that “These are not isolated incidents, but rather a pattern that amounts to crimes against humanity,” and it said the report criticized the Amnesty Law’s enforcement as “arbitrary and selective.”

Across the sources, the same amnesty law is framed through different emphases: legal design and release mechanics in some reports, and a broader critique of repression and accountability in others.

France 24 and Le Monde focus on the law’s approval process and its exceptions, with France 24 describing the bill as unanimously approved on Thursday, February 19 and promulgated by interim president Delcy Rodríguez, and Le Monde detailing that the amnesty covers acts during “thirteen specific periods (protests and repression)” while excluding categories such as “serious violations of human rights, crimes against humanity and war crimes (...) homicides (...) drug trafficking.”

France 24

Le Monde also emphasizes procedural aspects, quoting the law’s provision that “after the filing of the amnesty request, the person may not be deprived of freedom for the acts provided by this law,” and it describes the end of hunger strikes after the announcement.

By contrast, EL MUNDO and UPI center Amnesty International’s argument that the law is part of a continuing “repressive apparatus,” with EL MUNDO quoting Nastassja Rojas that “The Amnesty Law is being built as another element of the repressive apparatus” and UPI reporting Amnesty International’s claim that Venezuela has not dismantled its “repressive apparatus” nearly four months after Maduro’s arrest.

EL MUNDO also ties the amnesty debate to a prison crisis, saying the presentation of AI’s annual report coincided with Venezuela’s prison crisis and that “at least seven detainees have died in the last hours, five of them during the riot at Yare III prison.”

UPI, meanwhile, highlights Amnesty International’s documentation of “arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances and torture as tools of social control,” and it says the report documented “hundreds of cases” involving judicial proceedings without basic legal guarantees.

Courrier international frames the transition as “advancing at full speed,” describing releases since February 19 and noting that “The vote on this law, which the opposition was finally able to participate in, marks a turning point.”

EL PAÍS adds another angle by describing the Helicoide prison being turned into “a center of social and sports services for police officers and their families,” and it also says the grace measure could cover “hundreds of political prisoners” while acknowledging that released people may remain under precautionary measures.

The sources portray the stakes of Venezuela’s amnesty and transition as extending beyond immediate releases to questions of judicial reform, ongoing detention practices, and security risks for activists and refugees.

“Venezuela: a historic amnesty law passed by the Assembly”

franceinfo

UPI warned that “Without a genuine dismantling of coercive state structures, Amnesty International said, Venezuela will not be able to restore fundamental freedoms,” and it said the report warned about “the growing use of new technologies and artificial intelligence for population surveillance, along with continued harassment of journalists and human rights advocates.”

franceinfo

EL MUNDO similarly described the repressive system of laws remaining in force, saying “the repressive system of laws, also against non-governmental organizations, imposed by Miraflores Palace during Nicolás Maduro's era remains in force.”

EL MUNDO also linked Amnesty International’s work to transnational threats, reporting that AI’s campaigns manager in Venezuela, Yendri Velásquez, and political analyst Luis Peche were attacked by three gunmen in October 2025 in Bogotá, with Velásquez and Peche “shot 14 times but miraculously survived.”

EL MUNDO quoted Valentina Ballesta saying, “We call on the Colombian Prosecutor's Office, after more than six months, for results on those responsible for this attack,” and it added that Velásquez denounced the investigation as not progressing due to “the complicity of the Government of Gustavo Petro with the revolutionary dictatorship.”

The same EL MUNDO report also described the prison crisis and the Yare III riot, stating that “five of them during the riot at Yare III prison” were officially recognized, and it said AI highlighted “extrajudicial executions” in the Caribbean and Pacific tied to the U.S. “Lanza del Sur operation against the Venezuelan Soles Cartel.”

It further said the attacks on “narco-boats” had “already claimed the lives of 160 people,” and it quoted AI’s view that the U.S. stance involves “collaboration with other countries, such as Ecuador and Mexico.”

EL PAÍS added that even after releases, people “remain under precautionary measures such as bans on leaving the country, making statements, or even taking certain jobs,” and it said they are “also vulnerable to extortion if they are intercepted again at any police checkpoint.”