Venezuela's parliament passed amnesty legislation on February 19 by unanimous vote, potentially freeing hundreds of individuals imprisoned for political opposition to the regime of deposed president Nicolas Maduro. But the measure explicitly excludes those accused of promoting foreign military intervention, a provision that appears designed to bar opposition leader María Corina Machado and other government critics from benefiting.

The law, signed into effect by acting president Delcy Rodríguez hours after parliamentary approval, applies retroactively to offences committed between January 1999 and January 2026, covering those detained during the April 2002 coup attempt, the subsequent oil sector shutdown, and unrest surrounding the contested 2024 elections.

Article 9 explicitly bars from amnesty "persons who are being prosecuted or may be convicted for promoting, instigating, soliciting, invoking, favouring, facilitating, financing or participating in armed actions or the use of force" against Venezuela "by foreign states, corporations or individuals,” a language that directly targets opposition figures whom the ruling party accuses of encouraging the January 3 US military operation that removed Maduro.

"One must know how to ask for forgiveness and one must also know how to receive forgiveness," Rodríguez declared at Miraflores Palace upon signing the legislation, framing the measure as advancing national reconciliation.

The exclusion appears crafted specifically to prevent Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose coalition won more than two-thirds of votes in the disputed 2024 elections, from returning to Venezuela without facing prosecution. Chavista officials have repeatedly accused her of calling for international intervention, claims she denies whilst acknowledging support for US pressure that eventually led to Maduro's toppling.

The provision creates legal grounds for continuing prosecution of the opposition leader whom President Donald Trump has systematically sidelined despite her electoral legitimacy, choosing instead to work with Rodríguez and other Chavista administrators who deliver coveted access to vast oil reserves and cooperation on American demands.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, the interim president's brother, said that "amnesty is a pardon" applicable only to those who committed recognised crimes under Venezuelan law, insisting the legislation "does not condone impunity." He warned of provocations following the law's approval, allegedly perpetrated by "extremist" sectors seeking to "create further division among Venezuelans."

The law covers 13 specific events, including the 2002 coup, the oil strike, demonstrations surrounding the 2013 and 2024 presidential elections, and violent protests in 2014, 2017 and 2019. However, it omits the alleged 2018 assassination attempt against Maduro, for which human rights organisations warn numerous civilians and military personnel remain behind bars without due process.

A special parliamentary commission of 23 members, headed by Jorge Arreaza with deputy Nora Bracho as vice president, will monitor implementation and evaluate cases not explicitly covered. Notably, the commission includes Cilia Flores, Maduro's wife, who remains detained alongside him in New York facing narco-terrorism charges – an inclusion which seeks to demonstrate the interim government's symbolic loyalty to the ousted leader.

The law's passage followed delays and intense lobbying by human rights defenders and prisoners' families demanding broader coverage and faster releases. Article 7, which initially caused the postponement of a previous parliamentary session, was modified to allow exiled individuals to apply for amnesty through legal representatives whilst stipulating they cannot be arrested during the application process.

Deputy Nora Bracho of the opposition Un Nuevo Tiempo party, who serves as vice president of the special commission that drafted the legislation, acknowledged imperfections whilst supporting passage. "The law isn't perfect, but it's a step forward for reconciliation in Venezuela. It will alleviate the suffering of Venezuelans," she said, calling for an end to political persecution.

Jorge Rodríguez admitted during the debate that Venezuela's Law Against Hatred, under which numerous prisoners have been detained, was "likely" subject to reform because "it is true that in some cases it was misapplied." He indicated the Coexistence and Peace Programme appointed by Delcy Rodríguez would evaluate potential changes.

The amnesty excludes those convicted of serious human rights violations, crimes against humanity, war crimes, intentional homicide, drug trafficking and crimes against public property – categories that could apply to regime officials as much as opposition activists, though selective application appears likely given the interim government's composition.

The legislation emerged under US pressure as Rodríguez scrambles to meet Washington's demands for prisoner releases and to consolidate control over Venezuela's fractured political landscape.

Human Rights Watch has warned that without dismantling Venezuela's repressive state machinery and pursuing sweeping institutional changes including electoral reform and judicial independence, any transition would constitute a "sham" serving Venezuelan and American government interests rather than restoring citizens' rights.

Human rights organisation Foro Penal reports roughly 450 releases since Maduro's removal, with over 600 individuals still imprisoned.

"If the amnesty is not as broad as we would have liked it to be, that does not mean that the fight for the freedom of all the imprisoned and pursued is over," Foro Penal Vice President Gonzalo Himiob wrote on X.

"Total liberty will come when the apparatus and culture of political repression are dismantled."