On Jan. 30, Delcy Rodríguez announced a proposed amnesty law that could free hundreds of dissidents, journalists, and human rights defenders who have been unlawfully imprisoned and tortured by the Venezuelan dictatorship since 1999. The announcement came nearly a month after the regime initially announced that it would release “a significant number” of prisoners of conscience.

Since Jan. 8, 344 prisoners of conscience have been released out of the more than 900 who were unjustly held behind bars. This weekend, Jose Javier Tarazona, the head of the Venezuelan human rights NGO @FundaREDES_, was released after more than four and a half years of unlawful imprisonment for reporting on the regime’s human rights violations.

Democracies must reiterate their calls to respect the will of the Venezuelan people, and must pressure the regime to allow a peaceful democratic transition of power and to fully comply with international human rights standards.