'We are free!': Venezuelans see signs of a new dawn

Venezuela’s announcement of an amnesty for political prisoners and the closure of a notorious detention centre has raised hopes that a quarter-century of state repression may be coming to an end.

Less than a month after the United States removed President Nicolás Maduro from power on 3 January, his former vice-president Delcy Rodríguez has gone further than critics expected in restoring the rule of law, a key demand of Washington.

“We are free!” chanted relatives of political prisoners camped outside the Rodeo 1 prison near Caracas on Friday, following the announcement of an amnesty for all political detainees held since 1999, when Maduro’s firebrand socialist mentor Hugo Chávez came to power.

Zoraida González, 64, was among those celebrating.

“I felt that I was free and that the whole country was free,” she told AFP.

In recent days there have been growing signs that the fear which permeated Venezuelan society for more than two decades is beginning to ease.

Fear has been defeated

On Tuesday, opposition activist Delsa Solórzano emerged from hiding after 17 months.

“We believe Venezuela is in a new phase, and I think the entire country feels that,” the 54-year-old former lawmaker said.

In scenes unthinkable just weeks ago, a student confronted Rodríguez in the street, arguing with her over the slow pace of prisoner releases.

Student leader Miguelangel Suárez criticised Rodríguez over “what families are going through outside detention centres” since the government announced plans on 8 January for mass releases, which have so far proceeded only gradually.

Venezuelans were also treated on Wednesday to the rare sight of opposition leader María Corina Machado sharply criticising Rodríguez live on pro-government television, following a meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“Fear has been defeated,” said María Isabel Centeno, a graduate in international relations, describing a clear “before and after 3 January”.

She credited students, civil society groups and the families of political prisoners with “opening this breach… which allowed us to feel less afraid”.

A before and after

Opposition MP Tomás Guanipa is among those struggling to absorb the speed of change since US forces seized Maduro from a compound in Caracas and flew him to the United States to face trial.

“Who would have thought a month ago that we would be experiencing what we are experiencing today?” said Guanipa, who has one brother in prison and another under house arrest.

“May this be a process that leads us to a democratic transition,” he added.

Rodríguez has been walking a diplomatic tightrope, attempting to satisfy US demands while avoiding alienating Maduro loyalists within her administration.

So far, she has taken no steps towards calling new elections.

Political analyst Pablo Quintero cautioned that it was “premature” to speak of sweeping change.

However, US pressure on Rodríguez’s government means that “the cost of silencing dissent through persecution and imprisonment is very high,” he said.

The shadow of Chávez

The final years of Maduro’s rule were marked by deepening repression and paranoia, culminating in a crackdown following the July 2024 elections, which he is widely believed to have rigged.

González’s son was 23 when he and his girlfriend were arrested in 2019 over an alleged attempted drone attack on Maduro.

“We have been living under repression for 25 years. We have been persecuted and intimidated… my son is innocent,” she said.

Outside Zona 7, another prison in Caracas, 65-year-old Alicia Rojas, whose husband was detained in November on terrorism charges, said the amnesty announcement gave her hope.

But she admitted she remained fearful because “you never know when… the neighbour might” report you to the authorities.

Behind her, a mural of Chávez on the prison wall, his eyes hooded, stood as a reminder of the state’s former omnipotence.

“Oligarchs, tremble! Long live liberty,” it read.