Venezuela will open negotiations on Saturday between the interim government led by Delcy Rodríguez and part of the Washington-backed opposition, launching a process that could pave the way for a political transition.

María Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning opposition leader, will not participate in the talks.

The dialogue begins seven months after President Nicolás Maduro was detained by the U.S. military. Since then, his former vice president, Rodríguez, has governed the country amid strong influence from U.S. President Donald Trump, who encouraged the negotiations.

Observers hope the process will lead to a political transition and establish a timetable for elections.

Political tensions intensified this week as demonstrations took place across several Caracas neighborhoods. Opposition supporters demanded elections, while supporters of the Chavista movement rejected U.S. involvement in the country.

Former lawmaker and political prisoner Williams Dávila said Venezuelans hoped the process would ultimately lead to free and democratic elections.

Machado Excluded

The opposition maintains that its candidate, Edmundo González, who was backed by Machado, won the 2024 presidential election and accuses Maduro of falsifying the result.

Machado has repeatedly promised to return from exile but was not invited to participate in the dialogue. Speaking from Panama, she said she would not join the negotiations but would not oppose the process.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, the interim president’s brother, will represent the government. The opposition will be represented by Dinorah Figuera, who spent years in exile and leads the opposition bloc that won a majority in the National Assembly in 2015.

Neither side has disclosed the location, timetable or working mechanism for the negotiations.

Rodríguez and Figuera held their first public meeting shortly before two earthquakes struck Venezuela on June 24, killing more than 5,500 people.

The proposed agenda includes rebuilding democratic institutions, strengthening the electoral authority and establishing guarantees for political participation.

Pressure and Internal Divisions

Political analyst Pedro Benítez described the dialogue as a process imposed by Washington to secure agreements allowing Venezuela to rebuild its state institutions. He argued that the country’s current authorities lack legitimacy because of the disputed election.

Rodríguez’s government also faces dissatisfaction within its Chavista support base. Socialist lawmaker Francisco Arias called for any negotiated agreement to be presented to the Venezuelan public rather than designed solely to satisfy Washington.

Opinions among Chavista supporters remain divided. Some accuse the government of making concessions to the United States, while others argue that Rodríguez is operating under direct American pressure with limited political options.