Venezuela government, opposition wrap up round of post-Maduro talks

” NO NAIVETE”

The opposition was meanwhile represented by Dinorah Figuera, leader of the political bloc that won a majority in the 2015 National Assembly, the last legislature elected in a vote widely recognised by the international community.

Notably absent from the table is exiled opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, who has said she will not stand in the way of the process.

Many Venezuelans are hopeful that the transition talks will lead to democratic elections.

Over the last six days of talks, Figuera met separately with representatives of political prisoners, retirees and media workers and promised to advocate for their demands.

“We are in this process to achieve a democratic and free Venezuela,” the politician wrote on X on Tuesday.

Dozens of opposition supporters gathered outside the hotel in Caracas where the talks were being held.

A source from the opposition delegation, who requested anonymity, compared the interim government to Nicaragua’s oppressive administration, which the United States considers a dictatorship.

“There is no naivete on the part of the opposition delegation,” the source said, adding that it “must take advantage of this window of opportunity”.

Elections will only be announced after the reforms give way to a new Electoral Council, the source believes, adding that laws regulating terrorism and dissent need reforms due to their past use to persecute political prisoners.

The source told AFP the delegation viewed Machado as “the leader of the Venezuelan opposition … she is the voice that Venezuelans identify as their own”.

Some commentators believe that US President Donald Trump has vetoed Machado’s return to Venezuela, which Washington denies.

The US leader has repeatedly voiced satisfaction with Rodriguez’s administration.