The NGO Foro Penal, which leads the defense of political prisoners in Venezuela, put the total number of these detainees at 568 this Thursday after the latest releases carried out during a release process that began in January, and the amnesty law approved in the National Assembly a week ago.
In a message on X, the organization detailed that among the more than 500 detainees there are 52 people of foreign nationality and 182 soldiers.
The vice president of the NGO, Gonzalo Himiob, specified in another publication that these are “consolidated figures as of today” and clarified that the count includes some old cases that until weeks ago were under “review” to be considered political prisoners.
The Penal Forum is verifying the number of releases after the approval of the amnesty law. According to Parliament, About 217 people have been released from prison during this period.
Limited amnesty
The law, approved unanimously a week ago, grants amnesty for cases of political prisoners from 1999 to 2026. However, its application is limited to 13 “events” that occurred in specific years, which excludes the rest of the established period, as well as cases related to military operations.
To guarantee compliance, a special commission was created in charge of reviewing cases “not contemplated” in the norm, a function that will also be performed by the Program for Democratic Coexistence and Peace, installed in January by the interim president, Delcy Rodríguez.
The law establishes that the competent courts have a maximum period of 15 days to resolve amnesty requests. The government denies that there are political prisoners in Venezuela and believes that those detained committed crimes.
