El Helicoide detention centre as Venezuela's government begins releasing some detainees, with the freeing of political prisoners marking a move long demanded by human rights groups, international bodies and opposition leaders, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 12, 2026. REUTERS/Gaby Oraa
Jan 30 (Reuters) - Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez on Friday announced a proposed "amnesty law" for hundreds of prisoners in the country, and said the infamous Helicoide detention center in the capital Caracas, which rights groups have long denounced as the site of prisoner abuse, will be converted into a center for sport and social services.
"May it be a law that serves to heal the wounds left by political confrontation, violence, and extremism. May it serve to restore justice in our country and restore peaceful coexistence among Venezuelans,” Rodriguezsaid at an event at the Supreme Court of Justice.
The proposed law could affect hundreds of detainees who remain behind bars in the South American country,as well as former prisoners who have already been conditionally released. The new law will cover cases running from 1999 until today, but will exclude those who may have participated in killings, serious abuses of human rights and drug trafficking,Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said that the Helicoide prison, a long-standing symbol of alleged government repression, will instead be converted into a center for sports and social services. In 2022, a United Nations report claimed that Venezuela's state security agencies subjected detainees at the infamous prison, originally designed as a mall, to torture. The government rejected the U.N.'s findings.
Relatives of prisoners at the Helicoide have held vigils and camped overnight outside the prison in recent weeks, demandingtheir relatives be freed.
Families and rights advocates have long demanded that charges and convictions against detainees who are considered political prisoners be wiped. Opposition politicians, dissident members of the security services, journalists and rights activists are often subject to charges like terrorism and treason, which their families say are unjust and arbitrary.
Rights group Foro Penal says it has verified 303 liberations of political prisoners since the government announced a new series of releases on January 8.
Government officials - who deny holding political prisoners and say those jailed have committed crimes - have given a much higher figure of releases, of more than 600, but have not been clear about the timeline and appear to be including releases from previous years. The government has never provided an official list of how many prisoners will be released nor who they are.
Families of prisoners say releases have progressed too slowly, and Foro Penal says 711 political prisoners remain jailed, an updated count including prisoners whose fearful families had not previously reported their detentions.
"A general amnesty is welcome provided that its terms and conditions include all of civil society, without discrimination, that it does not become a cover for impunity, and that it contributes to dismantling the repressive apparatus of political persecution," Alfredo Romero, the director of Foro Penal, said on X.
Among the long-time advocates of releases and amnesty is Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who has several close allies imprisoned.
The recent releases were announced after the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his arraignment in a New York court on narcoterrorism charges, which he denies.
(Reporting by Reuters)
