CARACAS, Venezuela. — Major changes have been announced for roadways in Venezuela.

“We are going to eliminate police checkpoints in the cities,” Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said in Spanish.

“What we hope is that it is carried out,” said Diego Casanova with the Committee for Political Prisoners in Spanish.

Casanova says he hopes the change is implemented, but he is skeptical.

His brother, Jose Gregorio Perez, was arrested at a checkpoint in 2024 and was only freed in January of last year. Casanova has continued to lead protests calling for the release of all political prisoners.

Casanova said removing the roadblocks would “prevent further police abuses,” adding that these checkpoints have been used as points for extortion and places of repression.

Javier Tarazona with Fundaredes monitors human rights in Venezuela. He spent nearly five years in jail and said he welcomes the announcement, but wants to see how it plays out.

Tarazona said he wants to see it as “the starting point for a process of reconciliation.”

He is now calling for a new amnesty law to free those still jailed and considered political prisoners.

An original amnesty law was passed in January, shortly after the U.S. captured Nicolas Maduro, but human rights groups maintain that around 400 political prisoners remain. The Venezuelan government denies that it holds any political prisoners.

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