“Not something the regime wanted to do voluntarily”
Venezuela closes notorious torture prison
January 31, 2026 – 6:14 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
After years of criticism, Venezuela announces the closure of the notorious Helicoid torture prison. However, the Nobel Prize winner sees the planned amnesty law primarily as a reaction to US pressure.
Venezuela is planning an amnesty law for hundreds of prisoners and wants to close the notorious Helicoid prison in the capital Caracas. Interim President Delcy Rodriguez announced this on Friday (local time). The law should serve to heal the wounds left by political confrontation and restore peaceful coexistence, said Rodriguez. It is said to cover cases from 1999 to the present. However, people who were involved in homicides, serious human rights violations or drug trafficking are excluded. According to human rights organizations, violence and torture are said to have occurred repeatedly in the prison.
The latest releases were announced after the United States captured President Nicolás Maduro on January 3 and brought him to New York to face trial. The new amnesty law is “not something the regime wanted to do voluntarily” but rather the result of “real pressure” from the US government, said opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado.
Family members and human rights activists have long called for charges and convictions against detainees considered political prisoners to be dropped. Human rights group Foro Penal welcomed the announcement “with optimism but with caution” in a statement. According to Foro Penal, 303 political prisoners have been released since January 8, but 711 remain in custody. Government officials, who deny holding political prisoners, spoke of more than 600 being released, but without giving an exact time frame.
The US Embassy in Venezuela said on Friday evening that all US citizens held in the country had been released. The Helicoid Prison, a symbol of state oppression, is to be transformed into a center for sports and social services.
