{"id":12980,"date":"2026-02-21T10:11:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T10:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12980"},"modified":"2026-02-21T10:11:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T10:11:49","slug":"venezuela-grants-amnesty-to-379-political-prisoners-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12980","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela grants amnesty to 379 political prisoners | News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>The move is in line with a new law, giving hope to throngs of others jailed over alleged plots to oust the government.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><button class=\"article-listen-container\" aria-labelledby=\"listen-text listen-duration\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-listen-container__text\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-text\">Listen to this article<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"article-listen-container__duration\">3 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--main-grey-dark icon--16 listen-to-article-tooltip__icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 21 Feb 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">21 Feb 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Venezuelan authorities have granted amnesty to 379 political prisoners, according to a lawmaker, after a new law was enacted by interim authorities following the United States\u2019 abduction of President Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n<p>Venezuela\u2019s National Assembly unanimously adopted the law on Thursday, providing hope that hundreds of political prisoners may soon be released.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>National Assembly deputy Jorge Arreaza, the lawmaker overseeing the amnesty process, said in a televised interview on Friday that the 379 prisoners \u201cmust be released, granted amnesty, between tonight and tomorrow morning\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRequests have been submitted by the Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office to the competent courts to grant amnesty measures,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Opposition figures have criticised the new legislation, which appears to include carve-outs for some offences previously used by authorities to target Maduro\u2019s political opponents.<\/p>\n<p>It explicitly does not apply to those prosecuted for \u201cpromoting\u201d or \u201cfacilitating \u2026 armed or forceful actions\u201d against Venezuela\u2019s sovereignty by foreign actors.<\/p>\n<p>Interim President Delcy Rodriguez has levelled such accusations against opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who hopes to return to Venezuela at some point from the US.<\/p>\n<p>The law also excludes members of the security forces convicted of \u201cterrorism\u201d-related activities.<\/p>\n<p>Arreaza said earlier that \u201cthe military justice system will handle\u201d relevant cases for members of the armed forces, \u201cand grant benefits where appropriate\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds have already been granted conditional release by President Rodriguez\u2019s government since the deadly US raid that seized Maduro.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"amnesty-is-not-automatic\">\u2018Amnesty is not automatic\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The NGO Foro Penal had said before the announcement that about 650 were detained, a toll that has not been updated since.<\/p>\n<p>Foro Penal director Alfredo Romero said on Friday that receiving \u201camnesty is not automatic\u201d, but would require a process in the courts, viewed by many as an arm of Maduro\u2019s repression.<\/p>\n<p>Opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa, a Machado ally, announced his release from detention shortly after the bill was passed.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, he had been freed from prison but then quickly re-detained and kept under house arrest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am now completely free,\u201d Guanipa wrote on social media. He called for all other political prisoners to be freed and exiles to be allowed to return.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Venezuelans have been jailed in recent years over plots, real or imagined, to overthrow the government of Maduro \u2013 who was taken to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking and other charges.<\/p>\n<p>Rodriguez was formerly Maduro\u2019s vice president and took his place as the South American country\u2019s leader with the consent of US President Donald Trump, if she toed Washington\u2019s line.<\/p>\n<p>The US has taken over control of Venezuela\u2019s oil sales, with Trump promising a share for Washington in the profits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The move is in line with a new law, giving hope to throngs of others jailed over alleged plots to oust the government. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a03 mins info Published On 21 Feb 202621 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Venezuelan authorities have granted amnesty to 379 political prisoners, according [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}