People take part in a vigil to demand the freedom of political prisoners outside the El Helicoide building, headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), Caracas, Venezuela, February 21, 2026. PEDRO MATTEY / AFP
More than 200 Venezuelan political prisoners were on hunger strike Sunday, February 22, to demand their release under a new amnesty law that excludes many of them. The amnesty was approved by Venezuela's congress on Thursday as part of a wave of reforms encouraged by the United States after it ousted and captured former President Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
The hunger strike began Friday night at the Rodeo I prison on the outskirts of Caracas. Inmates complained they would not benefit from the law because it excludes cases involving the military, which are the most common ones at that facility.
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