Overview
- Foro Penal reported 23 additional releases on February 23 under the new amnesty, including members of the opposition party Vente Venezuela such as Juan Freites.
- Authorities say courts have granted freedom to 379 people overall, with 80 released in Caracas on February 21 following the law’s promulgation.
- More than 200 prisoners launched a hunger strike over exclusions to the measure, with protests centered at the Rodeo I prison near Caracas.
- The statute excludes those accused of serious crimes such as intentional homicide or actions deemed to undermine state sovereignty, and rights groups stress the process is not automatic.
- Officials cite the potential for roughly 11,000 people under alternative measures to obtain full liberty, while the Red Cross gained prison access and the government pressed its case at the UN as plans to transform the Helicoide facility were announced.