Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodríguez has announced plans to introduce legislation granting amnesty to political prisoners detained since 1999, in yet another major policy shift following the recent ousting of Nicolás Maduro by US forces.

Rodríguez unveiled the proposal during the opening ceremony of the judicial year at Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice on January 30, stating the measure would cover individuals imprisoned throughout the period spanning both the Hugo Chávez and Maduro administrations.

The interim president said she had instructed the Judicial Revolution Commission and the Programme for Coexistence and Peace to submit the legislation to the National Assembly within hours, calling for swift legislative approval.

"This law will serve to heal the wounds left by political confrontation, fuelled by violence and extremism. It will allow us to put justice back on track in our country," Rodríguez said during the ceremony, which was broadcast on state television.

The proposed amnesty would exclude individuals prosecuted or convicted for murder, narcotics trafficking, and human rights violations, according to Rodríguez.

According to the non-governmental organisation Foro Penal, Venezuela currently holds 711 political prisoners, though successive governments have denied detaining individuals for political reasons.

Foro Penal responded to the announcement with measured optimism whilst urging the law encompass all political prisoners and persecuted individuals in Venezuela.

"We hope that this step will contribute to justice, freedom, peace and national reconciliation," the organisation stated, according to Efecto Cocuyo.

The group, led by Alfredo Romero and Gonzalo Himiob, outlined six essential requirements for the legislation, including active participation of civil society and victims in drafting and implementation, clear constitutional compliance excluding human rights violators, and guarantees against recurrence of violations.

Foro Penal called for international human rights bodies to assist in formulating and monitoring the law's application, whilst emphasising that prisoner releases should continue during the legislative process.

The announcement follows years of advocacy by civil society groups for comprehensive amnesty legislation. Most recently, the Surgentes organisation and the Mothers for Truth Committee submitted a 12-article draft law addressing post-electoral political persecution.

Venezuela's last amnesty law was enacted in December 2007, when then-president Hugo Chávez pardoned individuals involved in a 2002 coup attempt. A 2016 amnesty law passed by the opposition-controlled parliament was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and never implemented.

Rodríguez, who became acting president following Maduro's capture in a US military operation on January 3, has moved rapidly to implement reforms under US pressure. In recent weeks, her administration has opened Venezuela's oil sector to private investment and agreed to release prisoners designated as political detainees by human rights organisations.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, played down the amnesty proposal as responding to American pressure rather than representing a genuine policy change.

"This is not a voluntary gesture by the regime, but a response to pressure from the United States government," Machado wrote on social media.

Opposition lawmaker Tomás Guanipa, whose two brothers remain imprisoned, expressed cautious optimism that the measure could end "an era of repression".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described relations with Rodríguez's administration as "productive" despite warning she could face Maduro's fate if she fails to meet American demands. Rubio told the Senate foreign relations committee last week that the US was seeing its first opportunity in over a decade to change conditions in Venezuela, though he cautioned against expecting rapid democratic transformation.

Following a call last month, President Donald Trump himself has lauded Rodriguez as a “terrific person” with whom “we are making tremendous progress as we help Venezuela stabilise and recover.” Meanwhile, the post-Chavista government is walking a political tightrope at home, balancing US pressure with the need to avoid appearing to have capitulated to what Venezuelan socialists have long slammed as imperialism.

The amnesty announcement coincided with Rodríguez's revelation of plans to close the notorious El Helicoide prison in Caracas, which human rights organisations have documented as a site where intelligence services tortured political prisoners under Maduro. The facility, originally constructed as a shopping centre, will be converted into a sports, cultural and commercial centre, she said.

The United States has responded to recent Venezuelan policy changes by lifting sanctions on the country's oil industry and removing restrictions on commercial flights. Washington is also preparing to restore its diplomatic presence in Caracas, with charge d'affaires Laura Dogu expected to arrive this week.