Venezuela's parliament on Thursday started weighing an amnesty law whose long-awaited draft text showed it would not cover "serious violations" of human rights committed under 27 years of socialist rule.
The bill is an initiative of interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who stepped into the shoes of Nicolas Maduro after he was deposed in a US military operation a month ago.
Rodriguez, who has been working with US President Donald Trump on access to Venezuelan oil, has been under pressure to free political prisoners.
It was not immediately clear if the "Amnesty Law for Democratic Coexistence" was designed to benefit political prisoners, state agents or both.
"It is recognized that it is important not to impose vengeance, retaliation or hatred, but to open a path toward reconciliation," said the text, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.
"Excluded from its benefits" are offenses such as "serious violations of human rights, crimes against humanity, war crimes, intentional homicide, corruption, and drug trafficking," it added.
Experts fear the text is sufficiently vague to allow discretion in a judicial system widely considered to be loyal to the ruling "Chavista" movement named after Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is investigating crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Venezuela during Maduro's government.
