Venezuela opposition leader denounces 'selective' amnesty

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado yesterday (14 March) accused the Caracas government of "selective justice" under its amnesty program, saying her own lawyer had yet to be released.

The amnesty law was passed by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez under pressure from Washington after US forces captured former leader Nicolas Maduro in January and took him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

It aims to turn the page on nearly three decades of state repression, and mark an early milestone in the post-Maduro transition.

But Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, said her close ally and lawyer Perkins Rocha has been in custody since August 2024, when scores of people were arrested after Maduro's contested re-election.

Rocha, 63, remains under house arrest and is required to report in to authorities every three hours. His amnesty request has been denied, Machado posted on X.

"To selectively deny amnesty is repression. The regime led by Delcy Rodriguez wants to prolong the terror by breaking the morale of those fighting for democracy and freedom in Venezuela," she wrote.

"Perkins Rocha and all political prisoners must be fully released. Not ex-prisoners, not defendants: FREE!"

NGOs have also criticized the amnesty law as insufficent and being unfairly applied.

The law covers people detained in events such as a failed 2002 coup against ex-leader Hugo Chavez and various cycles of protests between 2004 and 2024, as well as for criticism posted on social media or messaging services.

The government claims that more than 7,000 people have been granted full freedom, including prisoners in jail and those on parole.

The NGO Foro Penal said this month that while 690 political prisoners had been released since Maduro's ouster, around 500 remain behind bars.