Venezuela's acting president announces proposed amnesty law

Venezuela's acting president announced an amnesty law covering hundreds of prisoners, and said the Helicoide detention center, which has been the subject of allegations of torture, in Caracas, will be transformed into a hub for sports and social services.

Speaking during a ceremony marking the start of the new judicial year at the Supreme Tribunal of Justice in Caracas, Delcy Rodriguez said on Friday that the amnesty would cover cases from 1999 to the present, according to media reports.

However, it would exclude those prosecuted for drug trafficking, homicide, corruption, and human rights violations, Rodriguez added.

The move was not a "voluntary" gesture by the Venezuelan government, but a product of pressure from the US, according to Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

A Venezuelan human rights organization, Foro Penal, also expressed reserved optimism regarding the move.

"A general amnesty is welcome as long as its elements and conditions include all of civil society, without discrimination, do not become a cloak of impunity, and contribute to dismantling the repressive apparatus of political persecution," said Alfredo Romero, head of the group, through US social media company X.

The Helicoide prison has long been viewed by rights groups as a symbol of alleged government repression and condemned as a site of prisoner abuse.

In a Jan. 3 military operation in Venezuela, the US captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and brought them to New York, where they pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges.

Trump said his administration would "run" Venezuela and its oil assets during a transitional period.