correct the government's "mistakes." "By Friday (February 13) at the latest they will all be free," Jorge Rodriguez, a former member of ousted leader Nicolas Maduro's inner circle, told prisoners' families outside the notorious Zona 7 detention center in Caracas. "We are going to rectify all the mistakes that have been made." It was not clear whether he was referring to all remaining political prisoners -- estimated to number around 700 by rights groups -- or only those being held at Zona 7.

The meeting came a day after National Assembly members gave their initial backing to a draft amnesty covering the types of crimes used to lock up dissidents during 27 years of socialist rule. But Venezuela's largest opposition coalition denounced "serious omissions" in the amnesty measures Friday, after a shorter and more general draft of the law was released compared to the previous version circulated the day before. The text "excludes large groups of civilian and military political prisoners," "does not establish mechanisms for reparation to victims" and "does not guarantee the safe return of exiles," the Democratic Unitary Platform coalition said in a statement. Acting president Delcy Rodriguez is pushing the bill as a milestone on the path to reconciliation, a month after the US overthrow of Maduro. (Bssnews)