Venezuela Government and Opposition to Hold US-Backed Talks Paving Way for Elections

The Venezuelan government and a faction of the opposition will begin US-backed dialogue aimed at paving the way for future elections. Notably, one of the country's most prominent opposition figures, Maria Corina Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will not attend as she was not invited.

The talks are scheduled to start Saturday, nearly seven months after US forces detained Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. This event has drawn mixed reactions from both conservative supporters of Machado and the left-wing opposition.

The dialogue also highlights Washington's continued influence over the government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, a former vice president under Maduro. Rodriguez has made significant concessions to the administration of US President Donald Trump, including opening the state-run oil industry to foreign companies.

The opposition delegation in Caracas will be led by Dinorah Figuera, who previously headed an opposition bloc in the Congress elected in 2015. According to Reuters, Figuera was selected by the US because she comes from the legislature that Washington considers the last democratically elected body in the country.

Leading the government side is Jorge Rodriguez, Delcy Rodriguez's brother and President of Congress, who has previously headed talks with the opposition.

In June, Figuera returned from exile in Spain. She is expected to push for reforms of the electoral council and the Supreme Court, long dominated by Maduro loyalists, to ensure free and fair elections. For his part, Jorge Rodriguez said he will use the talks to push for further US sanctions relief.

Meanwhile, Machado, who lived in hiding in Venezuela before appearing in Oslo, Norway, in December to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, said last week she would not obstruct any “real progress” in the talks. She said she would measure success based on whether democratic institutions are restored, political prisoners are freed, and elections are scheduled.

Machado's popularity surged ahead of Venezuela's 2024 presidential election, but she was barred from running by the Supreme Court, a move she denounced as government repression. Her ally, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, ultimately ran as the leading opposition candidate. Both opposition leaders and independent election observers rejected Maduro's claimed victory in that vote.

However, the Trump administration has kept its distance from Machado, who awarded the Nobel to the US president. US officials have questioned whether Machado has enough support to lead the country. Meanwhile, Trump has dismissed reports that his administration advised Machado not to return home.

Earlier this week, about 300 Machado supporters gathered in Caracas, calling for elections in the country. “The people hope that... we achieve free and democratic elections,” said Williams Davila, 74, a former political prisoner and former lawmaker, told AFP. “They cannot exclude Maria Corina Machado because she is an important leader for all of us.”

In a post on X, socialist party lawmaker Francisco Arias criticized holding talks “only approved by those who run the US government.” “It should be a negotiation that is then presented to the country, to the Venezuelan people,” Arias said.

Saturday's dialogue will be the second time Figuera and Jorge Rodriguez meet publicly since Maduro's detention. The pair had their first meeting just days before two powerful earthquakes of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude struck Venezuela on June 24.