Venezuela’s head of parliament on Friday promised the speedy release of remaining political prisoners during a meeting with their relatives, saying the government would correct its past “mistakes”.
“By Friday (13 February) at the latest they will all be free,” Jorge Rodríguez, a former member of ousted leader Nicolás Maduro’s inner circle and president of the National Assembly, told families outside the notorious Zona 7 detention centre in Caracas.
“We are going to rectify all the mistakes that have been made,” he said.
It was not clear whether Rodríguez was referring to all remaining political prisoners—rights groups estimate around 680–700 still in detention—or only those being held at Zona 7.
The meeting came a day after National Assembly members gave initial backing to a draft amnesty law that would cover the types of crimes used to detain dissidents under Venezuela’s long socialist rule.
However, the country’s largest opposition coalition denounced “serious omissions” in the amnesty measures on Friday after a shorter and more general draft of the law was released compared with an earlier version.
The text “excludes large groups of civilian and military political prisoners”, “does not establish mechanisms for reparation to victims” and “does not guarantee the safe return of exiles”, the Democratic Unitary Platform coalition said in a statement.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez is pushing the bill as a milestone on the path to reconciliation—a month after the US overthrow of Maduro’s government.
Jorge Rodríguez, her brother, said the legislation would “repair all the mistakes” of Chavismo—the anti‑US, socialist doctrine of late firebrand leader Hugo Chávez and his successor, Maduro.
He said he expected parliament to complete adoption of the bill as early as Tuesday, and that “as soon as the law is adopted, they (prisoners) will also be released the same day ”.
Relatives surrounded the interim leader’s brother, clamouring for the release of their loved ones.
“Help me get my family member out of there, please,” a woman told him.
“We’re going to get them all out,” he replied while hugging another family member.
Nancy Plaza, whose husband is detained in Zona 7, said she told Rodríguez that “there are many mothers suffering” because of the detentions.
“I told him to please do it for my children, for me, for all the political prisoners,” she told AFP.
“We need him to be released. I’m going to believe that he will keep his promise.”
