Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez declared in Venezuela’s parliament on Friday evening that the Nicolas Maduro, who is in a US prison, has approved of an amnesty to all political prisoners arrested since 2019. Separately, the El Helicoide prison complex run by the nation’s secret service will also be closed down.
Although the news of the closure of El Helicoide is a step forward towards democratisation, this may prevent justice and accountability given that the complex has been the site of repeated human rights violations by the Chavista regime.
Up to 160 political prisoners have already been freed so far in what the US State Secretary Marco Rubio describes as a gradual transition to democracy. The US State Secretary said in a Senate hearing that the Venezuela Opposition needs to have free access to the country’s media and to the ballot box before free and fair elections take place.
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