STORY: Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez on Friday (January 30) announced a proposed "amnesty law" for hundreds of prisoners in the country, and said the infamous Helicoide detention center in the capital Caracas, which rights groups have long denounced as the site of prisoner abuse, will be converted into a center for sport and social services.

"May it be a law that serves to heal the wounds left by political confrontation, violence, and extremism. May it serve to restore justice in our country and restore peaceful coexistence among Venezuelans,” Rodriguez said at an event at the Supreme Court of Justice.

The proposed law could affect hundreds of detainees who remain behind bars in the South American country, as well as former prisoners who have already been conditionally released . The new law will cover cases running from 1999 until today, but will exclude those who may have participated in killings, serious abuses of human rights and drug trafficking, Rodriguez said .

Rodriguez said that the Helicoide prison, a long-standing symbol of alleged government repression, will instead be converted into a center for sports and social services. In 2022, a United Nations report claimed that Venezuela's state security agencies subjected detainees at the infamous prison, originally designed as a mall, to torture. The government rejected the U.N.'s findings.

Relatives of prisoners at the Helicoide have held vigils and camped overnight outside the prison in recent weeks, demanding their relatives be freed.

Families and rights advocates have long demanded that charges and convictions against detainees who are considered political prisoners be wiped. Opposition politicians, dissident members of the security services, journalists and rights activists are often subject to charges like terrorism and treason, which their families say are unjust and arbitrary.

Rights group Foro Penal says it has verified 303 liberations of political prisoners since the government announced a new series of releases on January 8.

The recent releases were announced after the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his arraignment in a New York court on narcoterrorism charges, which he denies.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: CARACAS, VENEZUELA (JANUARY 30, 2026) (VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT TV - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF ACTING VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT, DELCY RODRIGUEZ AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE AT THE START OF THE JUDICIAL YEAR

2. RODRIGUEZ ENTERING THE SUPREME COURT AND GREETING THE MAGISTRATES

3. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ACTING VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT, DELCY RODRIGUEZ, SAYING:

[SOUNDBITE STARTS OVER ATTENDEES LISTENING AND CONTINUES OVER VARIOUS SHOTS OF ATTENDEES AND RODRIGUEZ]

"I want to announce that we have decided to push forward a general amnesty law that will cover the entire political period of political violence from 1999 to the present, and I have tasked the commission for the judicial revolution and the program for democratic coexistence and peace to present the law to the National Assembly as urgent in the coming hours. I ask once again for the maximum cooperation of Venezuela's legislative body. May it be a law that serves to heal the wounds left by political confrontation, violence, and extremism. May it serve to restore justice in our country and restore peaceful coexistence among Venezuelans

4. VARIOUS OF ATTENDEES AT THE EVENT APPLAUDING

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ACTING VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT, DELCY RODRIGUEZ, SAYING:

[SOUNDBITE CONTINUES OVER SHOT OF PHOTOGRAPH OF NICOLAS MADURO AND CILIA FLORES AND THEN OF ATTENDEES APPLAUDING

"Within the framework of relaunching the Guardians of the Homeland mission, which includes socioeconomic support programs for our police officers, we have decided that the Helicoide facilities, which today serve as a detention center, will be converted into a social, sports, cultural and commercial center for police families and for the communities surrounding this facility."

6. VENEZUELAN ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT JORGE RODRIGUEZ AND OFFICIALS APPLAUDING