The interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, announced on Friday the 30th a bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons.
The measure had long been sought by the United States-backed opposition. It is the latest concession made by Rodríguez since she took command of the country on January 3, following the audacious capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military attack on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
Rodríguez told a meeting of judges, magistrates and others that the National Assembly, controlled by the ruling party, would review the bill with urgency. “May this law serve to heal the wounds left by the political confrontation,” she added during the televised event.
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The Venezuelan prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal estimates that 711 people are in detention facilities across the South American country for their political activities.
The government did not release the text of the bill on Friday, leaving undefined the specific criteria that will be used to determine who qualifies for amnesty.
Rodríguez’s government, earlier this month, had announced plans to liberate a significant number of prisoners as a goodwill gesture, but the detainees’ relatives condemned the slow pace of the releases.
*Content translated with the aid of Artificial Intelligence, reviewed and edited by the Broadcast Editorial Team
