Protesters held dueling demonstrations in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, as the country’s National Assembly is considering a bill to pardon political prisoners.

Thursday’s demonstrations marked Venezuela’s National Youth Day and were the first major demonstrations against the government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez.

She has led this country since the U.S. kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.

Her government called on its supporters to take to the streets for counter-protests, with both rallies drawing thousands.

The National Assembly is debating a landmark bill that would grant amnesty to political prisoners detained under Maduro’s rule.

The final vote on the bill has been delayed despite previous government statements that it would be passed this week.

Rodriguez oversaw the release of hundreds of prisoners political It was seen as one of several concessions to U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration since taking office.

Other moves include halting Venezuelan oil supplies to Cuba and passing legislation to open the country’s state-controlled oil industry to more foreign companies.

Amnesty for political prisoners has long been a core demand of the opposition and human rights groups.

Critics, however, have raised concerns about how the legislation would be implemented if passed and who would be eligible for release. The bill has not yet been read to the public.

Rodriguez announced the amnesty legislation last month, saying it aimed to “heal the wounds left by political confrontations fueled by violence and extremism.”

She said that would cover what she called “the entire period of political violence from 1999 to the present.”

The amnesty bill covers treason, terrorism and hate-mongering crimes that have been used to jail dissidents for the past two decades.

The bill would not apply to people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, corruption or human rights violations, according to media reports on the legislation.

Alex Neff, a member of the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission to Venezuela, said earlier this week that the bill “provides an opportunity to deliver justice and alleviate the suffering of the many people illegally detained for political reasons in Venezuela.”

However, Neff said transparency was crucial and civil society groups “must be at the center of this process”.

Human rights groups have questioned the Rodriguez administration’s efforts to release political prisoners.

Venezuela-based human rights group Foro Penal has confirmed that at least 431 people have been released, a number lower than the government’s figures.

According to the Criminal Forum, more than 600 political prisoners remain incarcerated.

Critics also point to the case of opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa, who was recently released but is back under house arrest.

review of elections

Still, the amnesty bill was hailed as a breakthrough for a country that until recently denied having political prisoners.

The bill also plans to lift measures that bar several opposition leaders from running for office, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado.

Maduro’s government has been accused of using state violence to suppress the opposition, including enforced disappearances and torture.

It has also faced accusations of election rigging, most recently in 2024, when Maduro contested a controversial third term as president.

Machado had been elected as the opposition coalition’s nominee for the 2024 elections, but she was barred from running months before the vote, as were her successors. Corina Uris.

Edmundo Gonzalez eventually emerged as the opposition candidate. The opposition insists Gonzalez is the legitimate winner of the election, a position backed by independent experts.

On Monday, the president’s brother Jorge Rodriguez, leader of the National Assembly, ruled out holding new presidential elections in the near future, telling US outlet Newsmax that “stability” must be achieved first.

The Trump administration has also dismissed pressure on Venezuela to hold new elections, despite Machado’s assertion that the opposition has a “mandate” to govern.

Trump denies Big Oil’s role

Also on Thursday, Trump took to his Truth Society account to deny that U.S. oil magnate Harry Sargent III had the authority to make decisions on behalf of his Venezuelan government.

“He has no authority to act on behalf of the United States of America in any way, shape, or form, nor does anyone else without State Department approval. No one has the authority to represent our country without State Department approval,” Trump wrote.

The post appeared to be in response to media reports that Sargent had been advising the U.S. government on how to gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, a top priority of Trump’s.

Sargent has long-standing ties to Venezuela’s oil industry, is a Republican donor and also plays golf with Trump.

Trump added in the post that his administration was “getting along very well” with Rodriguez’s administration.

“The relationship between Venezuela and the United States is, to put it mildly, extraordinary!” Trump said in the post.

“But we only speak for ourselves and don’t want any confusion or misinformation.”

Trump’s Energy Secretary Chris Wright met with Rodriguez in Caracas on Wednesday, where he touted cooperation on oil production.

This trip marks first A member of Trump’s cabinet visited the country.