After Maduro's Ouster: First Agreement Between Venezuela's Government and Opposition

The interim government in Venezuela and opposition representatives concluded the first round of talks aimed at national reconciliation, seven months after the United States ousted President Nicolás Maduro.

A joint statement issued by both sides on Wednesday reported that the government and opposition agreed on two issues following days of discussions: judicial reform and efforts to recover frozen funds to aid recovery from the devastating earthquakes that struck the country, according to AFP.

Both sides committed to "beginning a process leading to judicial reform," including "reforms to the constitutional framework" of Venezuela’s highest court, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, which validated Maduro’s 2024 re-election despite allegations of fraud and lack of public announcement of official results.

However, the document did not mention the National Electoral Council, another body the opposition hopes to restructure after it also endorsed Maduro’s disputed victory.

President-designate Delcy Rodríguez was represented in the talks by her brother Jorge Rodríguez, who also serves as President of the National Assembly.

Delcy Rodríguez held the position of Vice President under Maduro but has been leading the country since his ousting with Washington’s approval, earning praise from U.S. President Donald Trump for complying with his administration’s demands.

In a post via Telegram, Rodríguez praised the dialogue process and called on "all political forces" to join it, "always placing the well-being, peace, stability, and development of Venezuela first."

No Naivety in Dialogue

On the opposition side, the delegation is led by Denira Viggiano, a relatively unknown figure in Venezuela. A former lawmaker living in exile, she previously chaired the opposition parliamentary bloc that won a majority of seats in the National Assembly in 2015, following elections rejected by Maduro.

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, currently in exile in Panama, did not attend the talks but confirmed she would not obstruct the process.

Many Venezuelans hope the transitional talks will lead to democratic elections.

Dozens of opposition supporters gathered outside a hotel in Caracas where the final session of the dialogue round, which began on August 6, was held.

The demonstrators demanded greater transparency in the negotiations. Union representative Carlos Salazar (54) said: "In other countries, when discussing issues affecting 35 million people"—an inflated estimate of the country’s population"—"meetings are public and people have the right to debate, but that is not the case here."

He added: "What happens behind closed doors and in silence raises suspicion."

Over the past six days, Viggiano held meetings with representatives of political prisoners, retirees, and media workers, vowing to bring their demands to the negotiation table.

She wrote on platform X on Tuesday: "We are participating in this process for a democratic and free Venezuela."

A source within the opposition delegation, who requested anonymity, said the delegation is not approaching the transitional government naively, emphasizing the need to seize the current "window of opportunity."

He added: "We must eliminate the structural conditions that make repression possible," while also affirming the desire to repeal laws criminalizing incitement to hatred and terrorism, which formed the basis for detaining many political prisoners.

He noted that elections will likely not be announced until reforms create space for a new electoral council, stressing that the opposition delegation still views Machado as "the Venezuelan opposition leader and the voice representing Venezuelans."

Some commentators believe U.S. President Donald Trump, who repeatedly expressed satisfaction with Rodríguez’s leadership, has blocked Machado’s return to Venezuela—a claim denied by Washington.

A source close to the opposition confirmed that although the United States is absent from the negotiation table, it remains deeply involved in discussions, with multiple requests made for it to act as a "mediator" to resolve points of contention.

30 Tons of Frozen Gold

In light of the two devastating earthquakes that hit on June 24, killing more than 6,300 people, the two sides also agreed to coordinate efforts to release "Venezuela’s international reserve assets held by the Bank of England."

The joint statement also called for establishing "mechanisms for transparency, tracking, and auditing" to ensure funds are used appropriately.

Rodríguez announced in early August that she had written to King Charles III to reclaim approximately 30 tons of gold for rebuilding the country after the earthquakes, which caused damages amounting to at least $6.7 billion according to the UN, and nearly $20 billion according to the World Bank.

During Maduro’s tenure, Venezuela repeatedly requested London to return the gold without success, while Washington tightened its grip through economic sanctions.