Venezuela to debate historic amnesty bill for political prisoners

The legislation, which covers charges used to lock up dissidents under Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez, aims to turn the page on nearly three decades of state repression.

It was spearheaded by interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who replaced Maduro after he was captured by US forces in Caracas last month and flown to New York to face trial.

Rodriguez took Maduro's place with the consent of US President Donald Trump, provided she does Washington's bidding on access to Venezuelan oil and expanding democratic freedoms.

She has already started releasing political prisoners ahead of the pending amnesty. More than 400 people have been released so far, according to rights group Foro Penal, but many more are still behind bars.

Rodriguez also ordered the closure of the notorious Helicoide prison in Caracas, which has been denounced as a torture center by the opposition and activists.

Lawmakers voted last week in favor of the amnesty bill in the first of two debates.

The second debate on Thursday coincides with Youth Day in Venezuela, which is traditionally marked by protests.

Students from the Central University of Venezuela, one of the country's largest schools and home to criticism of Chavismo, called for a rally on campus.

Venezuela's ruling party also announced a march in the capital Caracas.
'We deserve peace'
Venezuela's attorney general said Wednesday that the amnesty -- which is meant to clear the rap sheets of hundreds of people jailed for challenging the Maduro regime -- must apply to both opposition and government figures.

He urged the United States to release Maduro and his wife, both in detention in New York.

"We deserve peace, and everything should be debated through dialogue," Attorney General Tarek William Saab told AFP in an interview.

Delcy Rodriguez's brother Jorge Rodriguez, who presides over the National Assembly, said last week that the law's approval would trigger the release of all political prisoners.

"Once this law is approved, they will all be released the very same day," he told prisoners' families outside the notorious Zona 7 detention center in Caracas.
'We are all afraid'
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa was one of the detainees granted early release.

But he was re-arrested less than 12 hours later and put under house arrest.

Authorities accused him of violating his parole after calling for elections during a visit to Helicoide prison, where he joined a demonstration with the families of political prisoners.

Guanipa is a close ally of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was in hiding for over a year before she fled the country to travel to Oslo to receive the award.

"We are all afraid, but we have to keep fighting so we can speak and live in peace," Guanipa's son told reporters outside his home in Maracaibo.