Venezuela National Assembly Unanimously Approves Amnesty Law

Venezuela's National Assembly on Thursday unanimously approved a long-awaited amnesty law that could free hundreds of political prisoners jailed for being government detractors. 

But the law excludes those who have been prosecuted or convicted of promoting military action against the country -- which could include opposition leaders like Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who has been accused by the ruling



party.

The bill was then signed by interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who pushed for the legislation under pressure from Washington, after she rose to power following Maduro's capture during a US military raid on January 3. 

"One must know how to ask for forgiveness and one must also know how to receive forgiveness," Rodriguez said at the Miraflores presidential palace in the capital Caracas, after signing the bill into law.