Venezuela’s Amnesty Law Signed Amid Criticism
On Thursday night, Delcy Rodriguez, identified as Venezuela’s “acting president,” signed an “amnesty law” that has drawn criticism from local human rights organizations for not adequately addressing the needs of political prisoners under the socialist regime.
Rodriguez enacted the bill right after it received approval from the National Assembly, which is entirely dominated by the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and led by her brother, Jorge Rodríguez.
“This law opens a special door for Venezuela to rediscover itself, to live democratically, to learn to get rid of hatred, and for understanding and recognition to prevail. The amnesty law is a further step forward,” Rodriguez stated.
Reports from the outlet Runrun outlined that the new 16-article law is not a total pardon. Instead, it restricts the amnesty clause to events during 13 specific periods in Venezuela’s 27-year political crisis. This includes incidents around the controversial presidential election in July 2024 and protests between 2002 and 2025 against the regime.
Excluded from this amnesty are individuals who have been or may face charges related to armed actions facilitated by foreign entities oppositional to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
The newspaper El Nacional noted that the Socialist Party’s members had postponed discussions concerning Article 7 of the law back in February due to debates over its content. In the final version, it specifies that pardons apply to individuals who have been or may be indicted and emphasizes that individuals must “submit” to Venezuela’s courts, which are controlled by the current regime. The language allows for asylum seekers to have legal representation.
Article 7 reportedly states: “After filing an application for amnesty, the person shall not be deprived of his liberty for the acts provided for in this law and shall appear before the competent court for the purpose of granting amnesty.”
According to Reuters, the law lacks clarity about what constitutes “crimes” eligible for amnesty. It also does not provide for the return of seized assets or reverse prohibitions on certain politicians from holding public office.
At the signing ceremony, President Rodríguez urged for quick implementation of the law and called on Venezuelan authorities to consider cases not covered by it to “heal wounds and restore democratic coexistence and justice.”
“I ask all Venezuelans to commit themselves to this fundamental task, which must be justice, as one of the great virtues of our country,” she expressed.
Alfredo Romero, Chairman of the NGO Foro Penal, shared that while the law includes groups of politically persecuted individuals, it is “quite narrow and excludes important areas” of those still unjustly detained.
Immediately following the signing, opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa took to social media to announce his own release. He criticized the amnesty law, referring to it as a “false document that seeks to intimidate many innocent Venezuelans and eliminate several brothers who remain unjustly imprisoned.”
“I advocate for reconciliation for the Venezuelan people, but the truth must come first. Reconciliations based on lies are fragile and will collapse at the first hint of trouble,” Guanipa stated.
He further emphasized, “The release of political prisoners is not an act of clemency. None of them should have been imprisoned. The dictatorship kidnapped them to suppress the spirit of the Venezuelan people, but they failed.” He concluded by saying that, despite the regime’s attempts to instill fear, they were unsuccessful in transforming the people into obedient subjects.
Guanipa, a close ally of anti-socialist leader Maria Colina Machado, had been in hiding for ten months after being accused by the regime of a “terrorist” plot. He was arrested in May 2025 and unlawfully detained until mid-February 2026. Shortly after his release, he faced a rearrest and was placed under house arrest at his son’s residence in Maracaibo, Zulia state.
