Rights groups critical as Venezuela prisoner release scheme 'coming to an end'

Human rights groups in Venezuela have criticised interim President Delcy Rodríguez for saying a scheme to release political prisoners was "coming to an end", having been in place for just nine weeks.Nearly 500 political prisoners have been released under the amnesty law brought in by the country's National Assembly, prisoner rights group Foro Penal says, but many more are thought to still be in jail.The group said Rodríguez lacked the power to end the releases, while watchdog Provea called the move "arbitrary and unconstitutional".Despite being a lieutenant of former President Nicolás Maduro, Rodríguez has enjoyed the support of Donald Trump since US forces seized Maduro in January.The US president surprised many by backing Rodríguez over opposition leader María Corina Machado, and the release of political prisoners - including Machado's colleagues - was a key concession to the US by the interim administration.The president of the National Assembly Jorge Rodríguez - Delcy's brother - who initially announced the law, had said 1,557 political prisoners had applied for amnesty, noting the legislation would eventually cover 11,000 people.Foro Penal said that, as of 20 April, 473 people it classifies as political prisoners had been released, while more than 500 are thought to remain incarcerated.In a meeting of justice officials in the capital, Caracas, on Friday, Delcy Rodríguez said 8,616 people had been freed under the amnesty law, which she credited as being "very successful in terms of its scope and the number of beneficiaries".