Landmark amnesty bill was signed by Venezuela’s interim president nearly seven weeks after the capture of Nicolas Maduro by the US
Venezuela’s National Assembly on Thursday unanimously approved a long-awaited amnesty law that could free hundreds of political prisoners jailed for being government detractors.
But the law excludes those who have been prosecuted or convicted of promoting military action against the country - which could include opposition leaders like Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who has been accused by the ruling party of calling for international intervention like the one that ousted former president Nicolas Maduro.
The bill was then signed by interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who pushed for the legislation under pressure from Washington, after she rose to power following Maduro’s capture during a US military raid on January 3.
“One must know how to ask for forgiveness and one must also know how to receive forgiveness,” Rodriguez said at the Miraflores presidential palace in the capital Caracas, after signing the bill into law.
The law is meant to apply retroactively to 1999 - including the coup against previous leader Hugo Chavez, the 2002 oil strike, and the 2024 riots against Maduro’s disputed re-election - giving hope to families that loved ones will finally come home.
Source: News - South China Morning Post
