The Daily Journal.- Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, announced on Friday that at least 500 prisoner releases would be carried out “in the next few hours” in the country. The statement was made during a meeting presenting the progress report on the implementation of the Law on Amnesty for Democratic Coexistence, attended by National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez; Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello; Attorney General Larry Devoe; Ombudsperson Eglée González Lobato; Supreme Court President Caryslia Rodríguez; and Deputy Jorge Arreaza.
When assessing the scope of complementary mechanisms being applied simultaneously to the amnesty for those whose cases required special review, the president reported that 395 releases had taken place during the past week, adding: “I know we will surpass 500 releases in the next few hours.”
Rodríguez also recalled that prior to the approval of the law in February of this year, 885 releases had already been carried out.
According to the official report presented by National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, “12,000 people requested protection under the Amnesty Law, and nearly 9,000 were granted protection under it.”
“Unfulfilled Promises”
Non-governmental organizations have questioned the official figures. “We end another week marked by frustration over unfulfilled promises,” stated the NGO Justice, Encounter and Forgiveness (JEP) in a social media post.
The organization reported that of the announcement “regarding the alleged release of at least 300 political prisoners,” only 43 cases had been verified, “a number painfully far from what was promised.”
The NGO said it submitted detailed information to the Ombudsperson’s Office, including “records of women, seriously ill individuals, and elderly people imprisoned for political reasons,” and urged the office’s head to “intervene urgently and firmly before the Venezuelan justice system so that these individuals, and all political prisoners, are released immediately.”
