Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodríguez announced Thursday that the nation's amnesty law is coming to an end, according to reports from latercera.com.
Rodríguez stated the measure has been successful, claiming it has granted "full freedom" to more than 8,600 individuals. She shared these remarks during an event for the formation of a commission tasked with conducting a "Great National Consultation on the Reform of Criminal Justice."
The administration says this new commission aims to restructure the Venezuelan legal system through a "humanist, preventive, and equitable" vision. Rodríguez noted the commission will manage cases that were specifically excluded from the recently concluded amnesty law.
"The amnesty law has gone very well in terms of coverage and beneficiaries," Rodríguez said during the official ceremony. She estimated the total number of people released through the measure at 8,616.
Conflicting release figures
These official figures stand in direct contradiction to data provided by the Venezuelan NGO Foro Penal. The human rights group reported Wednesday that since January 8, 2026, only 768 political prisoners have been released, with just 186 of those resulting from the amnesty law.
Rodríguez defended the expired law, stating it emerged following a period of increased political confrontation and "external aggression." This comment refers to a military intervention by the United States that resulted in the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro and former first lady Cilia Flores, an event that left over one hundred people dead in the country.
The interim president compared the Venezuelan process to the South African amnesty model used during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as the 2024 amnesty law in Spain related to the Catalan independence movement.
The NGO Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón (JEP) condemned the announcement as a "grave violation of the Rule of Law." The organization stated that an amnesty law cannot be terminated by a unilateral administrative declaration from the Executive branch.
"Its validity is inherent to the existence of situations of persecution and arbitrary detention that must be rectified," JEP said in a social media post. The group argued that the decision creates legal insecurity and leaves victims vulnerable.
JEP further argued that the decision is discriminatory and undermines human rights. "Regrettably, this outcome confirms our initial concern: the law has ended up being an exercise in political rhetoric rather than a genuine instrument to restore freedom to political prisoners," the NGO stated.
