US-backed Venezuela talks to begin without opposition leader Machado
US-backed negotiations between Venezuela’s interim government and a faction of the opposition will begin on Saturday, with the country’s most prominent opposition leader absent.The talks, aimed at remaking the country’s political system ahead of eventual elections, highlight Washington’s unprecedented influence over Venezuelan politics since US President Donald Trump’s administration removed Nicolas Maduro in a January raid and installed acting President Delcy Rodriguez.They will be led on the government side by Rodriguez’s brother Jorge, the head of the National Assembly and a longtime negotiator at previous talks with the US and the opposition.The opposition delegation – which the US backs over efforts to overhaul the country’s electoral council and top court to ensure free and fair elections – will be led by Dinorah Figuera.Three sources familiar with the matter said the US asked Figuera to lead because she is the head of an opposition-dominated national assembly cohort elected in 2015 that is still recognized by the US as the country’s last democratically elected legislature.Not participating in the talks, to the chagrin of some Venezuela observers, is Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, the country’s most popular opposition figure.Machado left Venezuela late last year to receive her Nobel after living mostly in hiding since a contested 2024 presidential election.
But she has vowed to return to Venezuela to help with the response to June’s devastating twin earthquakes, frustrating US officials who believe it is not the right time.Trump has denied media reports that his administration told Machado not to return.Machado has repeatedly been publicly sidelined by Washington since Maduro’s removal, with US officials saying she does not have enough support to lead the country.Before a mid-June visit by Figuera to Caracas, Machado was not even aware that talks were set to begin, three sources said.
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