Caracas, Venezuela — Venezuela’s recent approval of a new amnesty law, which aims to free political prisoners detained during the regime of Nicolás Maduro, has come under scrutiny from critics for excluding some prisoners, including military personnel who rebelled against the government.
Family members of detainees and rights groups have denounced the law, which was approved by the National Assembly on February 19, calling it unfair.
“It is a law that speaks of peace and reconciliation on paper, but in practice it excludes those who have suffered the most political persecution and torture: the military personnel who decided not to betray their conscience and to side with history and the people,” Irene Olazo de Caguaripano, told Latin America Reports.
Her husband, Juan Carlos Caguaripano, was detained in August 2017 after he led a group of 20 men to the Paramacay military base in the state of Valencia, declaring a rebellion against the government and making off with a small cache of weapons.
“The military personnel who are in prison today are not common criminals; they are men who swore to defend the Constitution, military honor and sovereignty,” she said. “Many of them did not act out of ambition for power, but out of conviction, out of conscience, out of refusal to participate in what they considered unjust or unconstitutional.”
Congressman Jorge Arreaza said that the amnesty law had freed some 223 incarcerated people and had benefitted some 4,534 people who had some form of freedom restriction, such as house arrest, since Maduro was captured on January 3.
The parliamentarian explained that they have granted 4,757 full releases out of the 8,110 amnesty applications received by the authorities. These cases must be resolved within a period of no more than 15 days.
On February 27, Arreaza announced that 31 detained military personnel had been granted conditional release, a surprising move given the persistent complaints from NGOs and family members. He explained that these were “alternative measures” as part of efforts to achieve coexistence and peace in the country.
As of February 27, Foro Penal, an NGO that tracks political prisoners in the country, counted 182 military political prisoners and 386 civilians, for a total of 568.
Torture and human rights abuses of prisoners
Venezuela’s government tortured military personnel accused of subversion, according to a 2019 report from Human Rights Watch and Foro Penal. The report found that the country’s General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) and Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) subjected detainees to “severe beatings, asphyxiation, and electric shocks.”
For families like Olazo’s, fears for their loved ones remain despite the amnesty law.
“I have seen the tears of those mothers, how they break down,” she said. “We saw it recently when some relatives of the so-called ‘Gedeones’ were able to see them after months without any sign of life: emaciated, malnourished young men, weighing less than 20 kilos, disoriented, with yellowish skin, with serious health problems,” she added, referring to military members who participated in Silvercorp USA’s Jordan Goudreau’s failed 2020 attempt to overthrow Maduro.
Juan Carlos Caguaripano and his wife Irene Olazo de Caguaripano. Image credit: Irene Olazo de Caguaripano
The question of exiles
Another point of contention for the law surrounds people who’ve fled Venezuela in exile. Nearly 8 million people have fled Venezuela in recent years, some facing criminal charges at home.
Article 11 of the law obliges the courts to dismiss cases and cancel international arrest warrants (such as Interpol alerts) for those being prosecuted for the 13 political events mentioned in the law. However, there is a significant limitation that affects key leaders in exile.
The law excludes from amnesty those who have “promoted or requested foreign intervention or sanctions against the Republic.”
Critics, especially family members of military personnel who have fled the country, want stricter guarantees for exiles.
Experts from the UN said, “Those who were forced to exile due to persecution, should not be required to return until there is clear determination on the applicability of the amnesty to their cases”.
“This law allows those outside the country to submit their application through a lawyer from abroad, but how can a lawyer be assigned when there are no embassies in many countries,” said Olazo. In February, the US announced it would re-establish diplomatic relations with Venezuela.
How will amnesty play a part in reconciliation in Venezuela post-Maduro?
After years of intense political confrontation, the country could be entering a new phase with the possibility of reconciliation between Chavismo supporters and the opposition.
However, despite years of attempts to reach agreements between the two sides, no real change has yet materialized.
For this to happen, a main focus will be on dismantling the repressive apparatus that has persecuted and imprisoned Venezuelans who opposed the Chavista government.
Amnesty serves as an important signal for reconciliation, as it allows the Rodríguez government to say that it is complying with international demands and allows the opposition to recover some of its imprisoned leaders.
However, Olazo argues that the selectiveness of the amnesty law demonstrates that there is no real interest on the part of the government to achieve full reconciliation.
“There cannot be a history with selective memory,” she said. “True reconciliation cannot have double standards. Either it is for everyone, or it is not reconciliation.”
Olazo added, “They want us to forgive crimes against humanity, corruption, violent repression and torture committed against the Venezuelan people. But who is going to forgive us for thinking differently?”
Featured image: Families of political prisoners in Venezuela protest for their release.
Image credit: Julio Blanca
