CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A special commission of Venezuela’s National Assembly announced Tuesday that over 3,200 people have been fully released since the amnesty law took effect four days ago. This group includes both former detainees and those previously under house arrest or other restrictive measures.
Lawmaker Jorge Arreaza, who leads the commission overseeing the amnesty law, said in a news conference that authorities have already received 4,203 applications for the program.
He said that after evaluating these requests, 3,052 people previously under house arrest or other restrictive measures have been granted full freedom. Additionally, another 179 individuals who were in prison have also been released.
In the days after the Jan. 3 capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro, Rodríguez’s government announced it would release a significant number of prisoners. However, relatives and human rights watchdogs have criticized the slow pace of releases and the restrictive conditions under which many have been placed after leaving prison.
The amnesty excludes individuals convicted of homicide, drug trafficking, military rebellion or serious human rights violations.
Venezuela-based prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal on Tuesday said it has verified only 91 “political releases” since the amnesty law took effect on Feb. 20. It added it has requested a review of 232 cases currently excluded from the amnesty, and that nearly 600 people remain in detention.
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Morelba Delgado, center, speaks with a relative by cellphone after being released at Zona 7 Bolivarian National Police detention in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Authorities have charged a New Hampshire resident in connection with a shooting that occurred at the state's border with Canada, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Blu Zeke Daly, 26, who also goes by Cullan Zeke Daly, of Manchester, was charged with one count of attempted murder of a federal officer and one count of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, prosecutors said. Daly was shot near the border early Sunday by a U.S. Border Patrol agent who was returning fire from Daly, investigators said Monday.
Daly is at a hospital receiving medical treatment under guard, prosecutors said. The Border Patrol agent, whom authorities have not named, was unharmed, authorities said earlier this week.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has said shots were fired around 1 a.m. Sunday in Pittsburg, a town of about 800 people at the border with Canada. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire said Tuesday that a border patrol agent encountered Daly driving alone near the border late Saturday and followed Daly for a distance. Daly then arrived at the Pittsburg Port of Entry, which was closed at the time.
"The Border Patrol agent activated his emergency lights and exited his vehicle, at which point Daly started to turn. Daly then fired a handgun at the Border Patrol agent. The agent returned fire with his own service weapon and shot Daly," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.
It was unclear Tuesday night if Daly had an attorney. Prosecutors said the case is still under investigation and the FBI is taking the lead.
Pittsburg is a rural community that is home to the state's sole border crossing with the Canadian province of Quebec. It's is about 150 miles (241 kilometers) north of the state capital of Concord. The town borders Maine and Vermont as well as Canada.
Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.
FILE - An FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the field office in Portland, Ore., Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
