CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s National Assembly on Thursday is set to resume debating a measure outlining the eligibility and exclusions for hundreds of people to be granted amnesty and be released after months or years of being in custody for political reasons.
The bill could benefit opposition members, activists, human rights defenders, journalists and many others who were targeted by the ruling party over the past 27 years. The debate was suspended last week after lawmakers were unable to agree on some issues, including whether people who left the country to avoid detention can be granted amnesty, and laid bare the resistance from some ruling-party loyalists to see opposition members be granted relief.
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An activist protests outside the United Nations office for the release of what demonstrators consider to be political prisoners in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Barbara Bracho, left, mother of Gilberto Bracho, is embraced by Zoraida Gonzalez, mother of Miguel Estrada, both of whom consider their sons to be political prisoners, protest for their releases outside the United Nations office in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
People who consider their detained family members to be political prisoners call for their releases outside the United Nations office in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
People who consider their detained family members to be political prisoners protest for their releases outside the United Nations office in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez proposed the bill weeks after the U.S. military captured then-President Nicolás Maduro in a stunning raid Jan. 3 in the country’s capital, Caracas, and took him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
The amnesty bill debate in itself is the latest stark policy turn for Venezuela, where the government has been quick to comply with orders from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, including last month’s overhaul of the country’s oil industry law.
Venezuelan authorities have long denied the country has any political prisoners, but the proposed bill effectively acknowledges the contrary.
As presented last week, the bill’s purpose is to grant people “a general and full amnesty for crimes or offenses committed” during specific periods since 1999 that were marked by politically-driven conflicts in Venezuela, including “acts of politically motivated violence” in the context of the 2024 presidential election. The aftermath of that election led to protests and the arrest of more than 2,000 people, including minors.
Lawmakers voted in favor of the measure’s purpose, but they paused the debate over disagreements on who it would cover, such as people whom the government has accused of various offenses but have evaded trial by hiding in Venezuela or seeking exile abroad. Ruling party lawmakers, including Maduro’s son, insisted during last week’s debate that those individuals should appear before the justice system first to qualify for amnesty as Venezuela’s law does not allow people to be tried in absentia.
“When one sins, I don’t absolve myself at home; I must go to church, I will go to confession (and say), ’Father, I confess that I have sinned,” Nicolás Maduro Guerra said, comparing the church with Venezuela’s justice system. “Therefore, the ritual of saying, ‘I came to the rule of law, and I acknowledge that we are under the law, under strong institutions that have endured and upheld the republic’ … is important.”
His statement, however, ignores that many of the accused, including people currently in prison, often face trumped up charges, are denied attorneys and lack access to any evidence against them. It also overlooks that cases are overseen by rubber-stamping, ruling-party faithful judges.
General amnesty has long been a central demand of Venezuela’s opposition and human rights organizations, but they have viewed the proposal with cautious optimism and raised several concerns about eligibility and implementation.
Venezuela-based prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal estimates more than 600 people are in custody for political reasons.
In the days after Maduro’s capture, Rodríguez’s government announced it would release a significant number of prisoners. But relatives and human rights watchdogs have criticized the slow pace of releases. Foro Penal has tallied 448.
Families hoping for the release of their loved ones have spent days outside detention facilities. A few began a hunger strike on Saturday.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
An activist protests outside the United Nations office for the release of what demonstrators consider to be political prisoners in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Barbara Bracho, left, mother of Gilberto Bracho, is embraced by Zoraida Gonzalez, mother of Miguel Estrada, both of whom consider their sons to be political prisoners, protest for their releases outside the United Nations office in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
People who consider their detained family members to be political prisoners call for their releases outside the United Nations office in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
People who consider their detained family members to be political prisoners protest for their releases outside the United Nations office in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran held annual military drills with Russia on Thursday as a second American aircraft carrier drew closer to the Middle East, with both the United States and Iran signaling they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran's nuclear program fizzle out.
President Donald Trump has said he hopes to reach a deal with Iran, but the talks have been deadlocked for years, and Iran has refused to discuss wider U.S. and Israeli demands that it scale back its missile program and sever ties to armed groups. Indirect talks held in recent weeks made little visible progress, and one or both sides could be buying time for final war preparations.
Iran’s theocracy is more vulnerable than ever, following 12 days of Israeli and U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites and military last year, as well as mass protests in January that were violently suppressed. But it is still capable of striking Israel and U.S. bases in the region, and has warned that any attack would trigger a regional war.
Iran earlier this week launched a drill that involved live-fire in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow opening of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world's traded oil passes.
The movements of additional American warships and airplanes, with the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier near the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea, don't guarantee a U.S. strike on Iran — but it bolsters Trump's ability to carry out one should he choose to do so.
He has so far held off on striking Iran after setting red lines over the killing of peaceful protesters and mass executions, while reengaging in nuclear talks that were disrupted by the war in June.
The Iranian delegation to indirect talks held on Tuesday said they would present more detailed proposals in the next two weeks to narrow gaps, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump warned on social media that if Iran doesn’t make a deal, the U.S. might have to “eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged his nation's citizens to immediately leave Iran as “within a few, a dozen, or even a few dozen hours, the possibility of evacuation will be out of the question.” He did not elaborate, and the Polish Embassy in Tehran did not appear to be drawing down its staff.
The German military said that it had moved “a mid-two digit number of non-mission critical personnel” out of a base in northern Iraq because of the current situation in the region and in line with its partners’ actions. It said that some troops remain to help keep the multinational camp running in Irbil, where they train Iraqi forces.
“This week, another 50 U.S. combat aircraft — F-35s, F-22s, and F-16s — were ordered to the region, supplementing the hundreds deployed to bases in the Arab Gulf states,” the New York-based Soufan Center think tank wrote. “The deployments reinforce Trump’s threat — restated on a nearly daily basis — to proceed with a major air and missile campaign on the regime if talks fail.”
Tensions are also rising inside Iran, as mourners hold ceremonies honoring slain protesters 40 days after their killing by security forces. Some of the gatherings have included anti-government chants, despite threats from authorities.
Iranian forces and Russian sailors conducted the annual drills in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean aimed at “upgrading operational coordination as well as exchange of military experiences,” Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Footage later released by Iran showed members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's naval special forces board a vessel in the exercise. Those forces are believed to have been used in the past to seize vessels in key international waterways.
Iran also issued a rocket-fire warning to pilots in the region, suggesting it planned to launch anti-ship missiles in the exercise.
Meanwhile, tracking data showed the Ford off the coast of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean midday Wednesday, meaning the carrier could transit through Gibraltar and potentially station in the eastern Mediterranean with its supporting guided-missile destroyers.
Once it arrives in the region, it would be able to help protect Israel and Jordan if war breaks out. The U.S. used similar assets to protect Israel during recent confrontations linked to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Israel is making its own preparations for possible Iranian missile strikes in response to any U.S. action. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu long has pushed for tougher U.S. action against Iran and says any deal should not only end its nuclear program but curb its missile arsenal and force it to cut ties with militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Iran has said the current talks should only focus on its nuclear program, and that it hasn't been enriching uranium since the U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign last summer. Trump said at the time that the strikes had “obliterated” Iran's nuclear sites, but the full extent of the damage is unknown as Tehran has barred international inspectors.
Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, while the U.S. and others suspect it is aimed at eventually developing weapons.
Iranians are meanwhile marking the symbolic 40 days since the killing of protesters in January, with some memorials in Tehran's massive Behesht-e Zahra cemetery including anti-government chants and nationalistic songs, according to witnesses and social media videos.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 at Tehran’s historic Grand Bazaar, initially over the collapse of Iran’s currency, then spread across the country. Tensions exploded on Jan. 8, with demonstrations called for by Iran’s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi.
Iran's government says 3,117 people were killed. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous rounds of unrest in Iran, puts the death toll at over 7,000, with many more feared dead.
The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights warned Thursday that at least 26 people detained over the protests have received death sentences. It fears others may receive similar sentences — which have been a red line for Trump.
Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran; Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw, Poland; Geir Moulson in Berlin; and Michelle L. Price, Darlene Superville and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.
People pray at the graves of Iranian soldiers who were killed during 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaks during a bilateral meeting between Switzerland and Iran, in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP)
In this image provided by Sepahnews of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on Feb. 16, 2026, shows troops standing at attention during the guard's drill in the Persian Gulf on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (Sepahnews via AP)
This image provided Thursday Feb. 19, 2026 by the Iranian military and dated Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2025, shows navy ships conducting operations during a join drill by Iranian and Russian forces in the Indian Ocean. (Masoud Nazari Mehrabi/Iranian Army via AP)
This image provided Thursday Feb. 19, 2026 by the Iranian military and dand dated Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2025, shows navy ships conducting operations during a join drill by Iranian and Russian forces in the Indian Ocean.(Masoud Nazari Mehrabi/Iranian Army via AP)
This image provided Thursday Feb. 19, 2026 by the Iranian military and dated Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2025, shows navy ships conducting operations during a join drill by Iranian and Russian forces in the Indian Ocean.(Masoud Nazari Mehrabi/Iranian Army via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a joint news conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
FILE - In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, the USS Gerald R. Ford embarked on the first of its sea trials to test various state-of-the-art systems on its own power for the first time, April 8, 2017, from Newport News, Va. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ridge Leoni/U.S. Navy via AP, File)
