Venezuela Amnesty law sparks dispute between parliament, president

World Today

Venezuela’s opposition-controlled parliament says it is going ahead with a proposed amnesty law to allow the release of all imprisoned politicians and protesters.

The issue sets up a potential dispute between the country’s parliament and its presidency.

CCTV’s Stephen Gibbs reports from Caracas.

Protests, initially against crime and inflation, spilled onto the streets. After a standoff lasting weeks, the authorities’ patience snapped.

By June, 43 people had been killed, including some government supporters.

Dozens were imprisoned. Among them, the prominent opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez who were accused of deliberately provoking the violence. Plenty in the country believe that the new parliament is their best hope.

It’s been almost two years since the protests which led to those arrests. President Maduro says those in jail will serve their full sentences.
The country’s new parliament says it will challenge him on that.


Policy Analyst Juan Carlos Hidalgo on Venezuela’s ongoing tensions

CCTV America’s Mike Walter spoke to Juan Carlos Hidalgo, a policy analyst on Latin America at the CATO Institute, which is a libertarian think tank.

CCTV America