Archive · 7 Aug 2026
Venezuelan government and opposition delegation begin U.S.-backed talks
In Venezuela, two groups that often disagree started talking to each other on Thursday afternoon.
One group is the government that is running the country.
The other group is the opposition, which wants change.
They met in Caracas, a big city in Venezuela.
The meeting was supposed to happen almost a week earlier, but it was delayed.
The United States helped support these talks.
The two sides want to make Venezuela's political system fairer so that elections can be held later.
Dinorah Figuera, the opposition's leader at the talks, said they are starting a path toward democracy.
One very popular opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, was not at the meeting, but she said she would not stop progress.
The first round of talks will last until August 12, when both sides will decide whether to continue.
U.S.-backed negotiations between Venezuela's interim government and a faction of the opposition began Thursday afternoon, August 6, after nearly a week of delays.
Jorge Rodriguez, head of the National Assembly and brother of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, leads the government delegation.
Dinorah Figuera heads the opposition delegation, representing the opposition-dominated assembly cohort elected in 2015 that the U.S. still recognizes as Venezuela's last democratically elected legislature.
The talks aim to remake Venezuela's political system ahead of eventual elections; the first round runs through August 12, when the parties will decide whether to continue.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, the country's most popular opposition figure, is not participating but says she will not stand in the way of progress.
- Who
- Jorge Rodriguez (government delegation) and Dinorah Figuera (opposition delegation); Maria Corina Machado is not participating
- What
- U.S.-backed negotiations to remake Venezuela's political system ahead of eventual elections
- When
- Thursday afternoon, August 6
- Where
- Caracas, Venezuela
- Why
- To chart the path toward democracy and the re-institutionalization of Venezuela
Critics of Machado's Absence
Backers of the Negotiations
Maria Corina Machado's role in the talks
Critics of Machado's Absence
Some Venezuela observers are chagrined that Maria Corina Machado, the country's most popular opposition figure, is not participating in the negotiations.
Backers of the Negotiations
Machado has said she will not stand in the way of progress at the negotiations, which the delegations launched as a path toward democracy.
- Negotiation start
- Thursday afternoon, August 6, after nearly a week of delays
- Location
- Caracas, Venezuela
- Government delegation leader
- Jorge Rodriguez
- Opposition delegation leader
- Dinorah Figuera
- Talks goal
- Remake Venezuela's political system ahead of eventual elections
- First round
- Runs through August 12, when parties decide whether to continue
- Backed by
- United States (State Department)
- Notable non-participant
- Maria Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize winner