Venezuela has received more than 1,550 requests under amnesty law

By Leila Miller

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Venezuela has received more than 1,550 requests under its new amnesty law, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said on state-run television on Saturday. 

Rodriguez said hundreds of prisoners are currently being released under the law, which was passed by the ruling party-controlled legislature on Thursday. Human rights organizations say the law falls short of offering relief for hundreds of political prisoners in the country.

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who took power last month after the U.S. ouster of President Nicolas Maduro, has bowed to Trump administration demands on oil sales and released hundreds of people classified by human rights groups as political prisoners. Venezuela has denied holding political prisoners and says those jailed have committed crimes.

Opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close ally of Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, had a house arrest order against him lifted, his brother, lawmaker Tomas Guanipa, told Reuters late on Thursday.

(Reporting by Leila Miller; Editing by Paul Simao)

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