CARACAS, Feb 22, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - More than 1,500 political prisoners in Venezuela have applied for amnesty under a new law, the head of the country's legislature said Saturday, two days after the measure -- enacted under pressure from Washington -- came into effect.

"A total of 1,557 cases are being addressed immediately, and hundreds of people deprived of their freedom are already being released under the amnesty law," National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez told a press conference.

Amnesty is not automatic under the law: petitioners must ask the court handling their cases.

On Friday, the lawmaker overseeing the amnesty process, Jorge Arreaza, announced that prosecutors had asked courts to free 379 prisoners.

So far, 80 prisoners have been freed, Rodriguez told AFP on Saturday.

All of those released had been detained in the capital Caracas, he said, without offering further details.

Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez -- the sister of the top lawmaker -- pushed for the legislation after she rose to power following the capture of leftist leader Nicolas Maduro during a US military raid on January 3.

The legislature unanimously adopted the landmark amnesty law on Thursday.

Opposition figures have criticized the new legislation, which appears to include carveouts for some offenses previously used by authorities to target Maduro's political opponents.

It explicitly does not apply to those prosecuted for "promoting" or "facilitating... armed or forceful actions" against Venezuela's sovereignty by foreign actors.

Delcy Rodriguez has leveled such accusations against opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado, who hopes to return to Venezuela at some point from the United States.

The law also excludes members of the security forces convicted of "terrorism"-related activities.

Outside a national police facility in Caracas known as Zone 7, relatives -- some of them on site for weeks -- patiently waited.

"Let's hope it's true," Genesis Rojas told AFP.

A group of relatives who have been camped out for days chanted: "We want to go home!"

Hundreds have already been granted conditional release by Rodriguez's government since the deadly US raid that resulted in Maduro's capture.

Maduro and his wife are in US custody awaiting trial on criminal charges.