Overview
- Lawmakers advanced a broad amnesty covering political offenses dating back to 1999, with exclusions for murder, drug trafficking and serious human-rights violations.
- Hundreds of detainees have been freed since Nicolás Maduro’s arrest, but large numbers remain in custody and official figures diverge from NGO counts.
- The National Assembly also passed legislation to open the oil sector to private investment as the United States announced a partial easing of oil sanctions.
- Parliament leaders credited international mediators, including Spain’s José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Brazil’s Lula da Silva and Qatar, and involved the UN human-rights chief in the process.
- The government says the El Helicoide detention center will be closed and repurposed, while opposition figure María Corina Machado suggested new elections could be feasible within nine to ten months.