More than 200 Venezuelan political prisoners launch hunger strike over amnesty law exclusions

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - People show signs during a vigil to demand the freedom of political prisoners outside the El Helicoide building, headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), in Caracas. — AFP pic

CARACAS, Feb 23 — More than 200 Venezuelan political prisoners were on hunger strike yesterday to demand their release under a new amnesty law that excludes many of them.

The amnesty was approved by Venezuela’s congress on Thursday as part of a wave of reforms encouraged by the United States after it ousted and captured former president Nicolas Maduro on January 3.

The hunger strike began Friday night at the Rodeo I prison on the outskirts of Caracas. Inmates complained they would not benefit from the law because it excludes cases involving the military, which are the most common ones at that facility.

“Approximately 214 people in total, including Venezuelans and foreigners, are on hunger strike,” said Yalitza Garcia, mother-in-law of a prisoner named Nahuel Agustin Gallo.

Gallo, an Argentine police officer, is accused of terrorism, another category that is excluded.

“They decided Friday to go on hunger strike because of the scope of the amnesty law, which excludes many of them,” said Shakira Ibarreto, daughter of a policeman arrested in 2024.

Yesterday, a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited the Rodeo I prison.

“This is the first time they have allowed us to approach that prison,” Filippo Gatti, the ICRC’s health coordinator for Venezuela, told family members. “It’s a first step, and I think we’re on the right track.”

Not all the inmates at the prison were joining the hunger strike, the relatives said.

Amnesty law criticized 

The amnesty law was engineered by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez under pressure from Washington after US commandos attacked Venezuela on January 3, snatched Maduro and his wife and took them to the United States for trial on drug trafficking charges.

Opposition figures have criticized the new legislation, which appears to include carve-outs for some offenses previously used by authorities to target Maduro’s political opponents.

It explicitly does not apply to those prosecuted for “promoting” or “facilitating... armed or forceful actions” against Venezuela’s sovereignty by foreign actors.

Rodriguez has leveled such accusations against opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado, who hopes to return to Venezuela at some point from the United States.

The law also excludes members of the security forces convicted of activities related to what the government considered terrorism.

But the amnesty extends to 11,000 political prisoners who, over nearly three decades, were paroled or placed under house arrest.

More than 1,500 political prisoners in Venezuela have already applied for amnesty under the bill, the head of the country’s legislature said Saturday.

Hundreds of others had already been released by Rodriguez’s government before the amnesty bill was approved.

Yesterday, a group of five people were released from Rodeo I, carrying release papers in their hands. They were greeted with applause.

The NGO Foro Penal, dedicated to the defense of political prisoners, reported 23 releases on Sunday.

Maduro ruled Venezuela between March 2013 and January 2026, silencing opposition and activists under his harsh leftist rule.

Maduro and his wife are in US custody awaiting trial. Maduro, 63, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges and declared that he is a prisoner of war. — AFP