By Luis Manuel Aguana
The mere fact of leaving the application of the recently approved Amnesty Law to the discretion of a corrupt and venal judicial system, complicit in the unjust detention of over a thousand people in Venezuela, demonstrates the farce and mockery of what remains of Nicolás Maduro Moros's regime, not only for Venezuelans but also for the US-backed administration that is beginning to exert control over our country.
These same judges, whose names are known, who imprisoned hundreds of Venezuelans on the orders of a tyranny, will be the ones to decide whether or not this law applies to their release. What a disgraceful amnesty! Journalist Maibort Petit emphasizes this clearly when she states that the project “does not propose structural reforms to the judicial system or the state security apparatus, nor does it establish robust mechanisms for truth, reparation, or guarantees of non-repetition. In practice, it could free victims without dismantling the conditions that allowed their persecution” (see in Spanish the full Bill: Amnesty in Venezuela: Reconciliation or Political Strategy, in https://www.venezuelapolitica.info/proyecto-de-ley-completo-amnistia-en-venezuela-reconciliacion-o-estrategia-politica/).
But the underlying issue could be far more serious. Many of those prisoners could have ceased to be prisoners because they became victims of the tyranny's disappearances (they died in unjust detention, and no one, except their captors, knows it, while their families wait for them outside the prisons); and those responsible for these disappearances will, by virtue of this new law, become part of the state apparatus that is supposedly going to release them. Of course, these people will never be released, because any excuse that falls short of amnesty will be invented to "not set them free," or they will simply be excused by claiming that the person was never in a prison facility of the regime.
The political situation in Venezuela cannot be resolved by bringing those responsible for the crimes to justice, and especially the situation of political prisoners, without a complete purge of the tyranny, not a half-hearted one like what is happening now. An illegitimate National Assembly, with supposed “opposition” members previously co-opted by the regime, will never be able to legislate to resolve the crisis, because for that to happen, the complete dismantling of the tyranny led by Nicolás Maduro Moros is required. And that, according to the US plan, would occur in the final phase of their plan—the political transition—the timing of which is still unclear.
So, this approved Amnesty Law, as well as any other that comes out of that illegitimate legislative body, is temporary and only “valid” until the full recovery of our sovereignty as a state. And I put the word in quotation marks because no one should abide by laws that violate human rights. And what should happen when that recovery occurs and we cease to be a state under US tutelage is a Truth Commission to thoroughly investigate what happened in Venezuela during this horrific period of our history, from 1999 until the moment Maduro was taken away.
This is not the first time there have been attempts at amnesty in Venezuela. On February 2, 2019, I published an article titled “For a True Amnesty.” In it, I emphasized the true reason for an amnesty. It's not that Venezuelans unjustly deprived of their freedom and tortured by a tyranny in power should now be "forgiven" by their tormentors, and worse still, on their terms! That's not how it works! It's the other way around! Those found guilty of this tragedy of unprecedented magnitude in Venezuela should have their cases reviewed, and a decision made on whether or not to apply such a measure:
"Wouldn't it be better that, once the Nicolás Maduro regime has fallen, and all those responsible for this horrific tragedy have been captured or apprehended, they be duly tried and sentenced, and then, case by case, a specially appointed ad hoc tribunal, like the Nuremberg Tribunal, decide who is and is not entitled to amnesty, based on their cooperation with the justice system? That's what citizens should be asking themselves!" (see in Spanish "For a True Amnesty," in https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/2019/02/por-una-verdadera-amnistia.html).
But Venezuelans don't seem to grasp that, as of January 3, 2026, we are now under a US-tutelage state, with our sovereignty and public powers suspended, and they are, for some reason, allowing this blatant injustice against the political prisoners of the tyranny. The bosses here are no longer the Rodríguezes, Cabellos, Padrinos, etc. They are the US! And if we Venezuelans have any grievance to raise, it is against the guardian of what remains of Nicolás Maduro Moros's regime.
And if this new Amnesty Law is somehow part of the plan to liberate the country, as announced by the US president and his secretary of state, it is important that Venezuelans openly pressure for that plan to be implemented, but without causing the greatest possible harm to Venezuelans, because what remains of the regime, like the illegitimate National Assembly, will always try to defend itself at the cost of their suffering. Therefore, we must denounce this new Amnesty Law with all our might and do everything possible to ensure that the final phase is reached as soon as possible, with a Truth Commission established within the framework of a political transition toward a legitimate democracy.
But what can we, as citizens, do in the meantime to protect ourselves from public powers, such as the current National Assembly, which have long been illegitimate and are now under the tutelage of a foreign power? Furthermore, is it even possible for legitimate public powers to exist in states under tutelage, let alone illegitimate ones? And if the legitimacy of public powers depends on sovereign autonomy, can there be full legitimacy without full sovereignty? In this context, there is no place for a National Assembly.
We conclude, therefore, that any product of the already illegitimate National Assembly is even more illegitimate, given that the Venezuelan state is under the tutelage of another state. Until this condition ceases, any law produced by that National Assembly cannot be validly applied in the country.
We respectfully suggest that Venezuela's guardian, the United States and its representatives in the country, refrain from using the National Assembly of the former Nicolás Maduro Moros regime as a means to execute the plan and orders of President Donald Trump. The full release of political prisoners could have been perfectly carried out by the executive branch, under the tutelage of the acting president, through a direct order; and from now on, the regime's National Assembly should be closed because Venezuelan sovereignty is suspended until further notice. This will prevent what remains of the regime from continuing to evade a justice that will eventually catch up with them…
Caracas, February 20, 2026
Blog: TIC’s & Derechos Humanos, https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/
Email:
luismanuel.aguana@gmail.com
Twitter:@laguana
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