Venezuela’s National Assembly leader sets deadline for prisoner release 

The president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, has announced that his government plans to release all political prisoners no later than February 13.

Friday’s announcement was seen as a positive step towards addressing human rights abuses under the leadership of former President Nicolas Maduro.

But critics have long been sceptical of promises made by the Venezuelan government, which remains led by Maduro’s close allies.

Speaking to the family members of political prisoners in the capital Caracas, Rodriguez set a clear deadline for the mass release.

“We hope that, between next Tuesday and by Friday at the latest, they will all be free,” Rodriguez, the brother of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, said as he stood outside the Zona 7 detention centre.

He added that the government would “repair all the mistakes” committed during the Chavismo movement, founded by the late President Hugo Chavez and continued under Maduro.

His remarks come one day after the National Assembly unanimously approved an amnesty bill in the first of two votes before its final passage.

The legislation is designed to absolve those who have been accused or convicted of crimes related to their political leanings or protests. Under Maduro, dissidents were often charged with crimes like treason, terrorism or spreading hate.

The bill would also lift bans that prevent opposition figures like Nobel Prize winner Maria Corina Machado from running for public office.

But the amnesty measure would not cover crimes like murder, human rights violations or corruption.

The second and final vote on the bill is slated to take place on Tuesday. Rodriguez indicated that once the bill was signed into law, the mass release would begin.

“As soon as the law is adopted, they will also be released the same day,” he said on Friday.

The Maduro government had long been accused of stifling political dissent through arbitrary detention, torture and extrajudicial killing.

On January 3, however, United States President Donald Trump authorised a military operation to abduct Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, transporting them to New York to face trial on drug trafficking charges.

Since that time, the Trump administration has pressured the interim presidency of Delcy Rodriguez to comply with its demands, particularly on the sale and extraction of Venezuelan oil.

But administration officials have also repeatedly blasted the Maduro government for its human rights record. This week’s prisoner release deadline, together with the amnesty law, is likely to be hailed as a victory for the Trump White House.

Still, concern abounds over whether human rights commitments will be maintained and justice served to alleged abusers within the government.

The Venezuelan government has said it has already released as many as 900 political prisoners.

But human rights groups like Foro Penal have recorded a number far lower, closer to 383. Foro Penal estimates that nearly 680 people remain jailed for their political activities.

There have also been reports of released prisoners facing gag orders, preventing them from speaking out about their arrest and detention.

Earlier this week, Amnesty International pointed out that 14 journalists were detained and released in the aftermath of Maduro’s abduction, and that others have reported harassment and intimidation from government-aligned forces.

It also argued that Venezuelan laws restricting free speech and political activities remain on the books, while those in power under Maduro also remain in office.

Though Amnesty International said the amnesty bill and other measures were “welcome”, it warned there was no guarantee that the abuses of the past would not be repeated.

“Crimes against humanity do not end with Maduro’s removal,” said the group’s secretary-general, Agnes Callamard.

“Venezuelan victims, survivors, and their families continue to carry physical and psychological scars. The fate and whereabouts of many people subjected to enforced disappearance remain unresolved. The state machinery responsible for those crimes is still firmly in place, now supported by the US authorities’ involvement.”

Callamard also criticised the US’s abduction of Maduro, calling it a violation of international law.

“Not only was the Trump administration’s use of force illegal, but it could encourage unlawful actions by other states and herald similar future actions by the USA,” she said.

In addition to releasing political prisoners, the Venezuelan government has also announced it plans to close one of its most infamous prisons, El Helicoide, a pyramid-shaped structure in Caracas reputed to be a torture site.