The decision of the Venezuelan regime to end the application of the Amnesty Law sparked a strong controversy, with criticisms pointing out that the measure is arbitrary and even unconstitutional, in a context of growing concern about the situation of rights and judicial guarantees in the country.
The law, approved in February 2026, had been presented as a mechanism to release people detained for political reasons and to move towards a phase of detente. However, just two months later, the authorities announced the closure of their application, arguing that the process had already met
its objective.Since the dictatorship of Delcy Rodríguez, they maintain that thousands of people benefited from the measure, including hundreds of political prisoners. However, independent organizations warn that there are still between 400 and 600 people in detention, many of them excluded from the reach of the law or without effective access to benefits
.
The criticisms focus on the lack of transparency and the discretionary nature of the process. According to different sectors, the application of the amnesty did not follow clear criteria, which generated inequalities and left pending cases unresolved. In addition, it is questioned whether the closure of the law occurred without completing the release processes or establishing guarantees of non-repetition
