US-Backed Government-Opposition Transition Talks Begin in Caracas Without Machado

Venezuela's transitional government and an opposition delegation held their first in-person session in Caracas on August 6, delayed nearly a week from the originally announced July 31/August 1 start — the first major negotiation attempt since the 2023 Barbados accord and the first formal transition talks since Maduro's January 3 capture. The government delegation is led by National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, brother of Acting President Delcy Rodríguez. The 10-member opposition delegation is led by Dinorah Figuera — president of the Comisión Delegada representing the 2015 National Assembly, the last legislature internationally recognized as democratically elected — and includes members of Primero Justicia and Voluntad Popular. Figuera said her goals are renovating the National Electoral Council (CNE) and reforming the Supreme Tribunal's electoral and constitutional chambers to enable free elections, targeting a transition proposal by December 2026. Nobel laureate María Corina Machado and Edmundo González, who were not invited, said they would not participate in the talks' 'design, development and operation' but would not obstruct 'real progress,' judging success on whether political prisoners are freed, democratic institutions restored, and elections scheduled. Henrique Capriles, now participating in the chavismo-aligned National Assembly, warned that any negotiation excluding Machado 'will be condemned to fail.'