Foreign Policy

Despite Trump's Promises and Rodríguez's Amnesty Law, Hundreds of Venezuelan Dissidents Are Still Behind Bars

Courts are blocking amnesty applications for Venezuelan dissidents with no explanation and no appeal deadline.

César Báez | 4.17.2026 7:30 AM

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(Illustration: Midjourney)

Hours after American forces seized Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and flew him to New York to face narco-terrorism charges, President Donald Trump stepped before the cameras with a message for the Venezuelan people: "You're gonna have peace, and you're gonna have safety. You're gonna have justice."

The mechanism for delivering that justice arrived in February, when Maduro's successor, Delcy Rodríguez, signed an amnesty law designed to free almost 1,000 political prisoners who were incarcerated at the time. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the passing of this law was "very positive," but warned it was not enough. A few months later, nothing has really changed for Venezuelans.

The same judicial apparatus that imprisoned more than 2,000 people for protesting Maduro's fraudulent 2024 reelection is now deciding who gets to be freed. To obtain amnesty, detainees must petition the same courts that prosecuted them and hope to get a response within 15 days. The regime says more than 4,000 amnesty applications........

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