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EXPERT COMMENT

Two initial meetings sent a worrying signal and Venezuelans are frustrated. The US must apply real pressure for talks to make progress.

This time was supposed to be different. There have been more than a dozen previous failed efforts at negotiations between the Venezuelan government and the democratic opposition. But many hopes were pinned on the planned 1 August meeting and its follow up on 6 August, between the interim government headed by the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez and opposition representatives. 

These would, after all, be the first negotiations held after the 3 January 2026 US operation to remove Nicolas Maduro from power. With the US-installed Rodríguez in Miraflores, the presidential palace, Washington should finally have some real leverage over Venezuela’s government. Surely some progress was possible?

The first meeting wasn’t encouraging. It involved a meeting between the designated negotiator for the interim government, Jorge Rodríguez – brother of Delcy and president of the government dominated National Assembly – and the US’s handpicked opposition leader, Dinorah Figuera. Figuera is the former president of the last democratically elected National Assembly of 2015 and a leader in the opposition party, Primero Justicia. But the two failed even to meet in person. Instead, they talked on the telephone. 

Click here to continue reading the full version of this Expert Comment on the Chatham House website.