Venezuela's post-Maduro transition now has a date. Negotiations between the government and the opposition are due to begin on 1 August under Washington's supervision, with the stated aim of establishing a path toward new elections, El País reports, two years after the disputed 2024 presidential vote. That timetable lands alongside Donald Trump's statement on Friday that Venezuela is not yet ready to hold elections, a remark made nearly seven months after the capture of Nicolás Maduro which, as Folha de S.Paulo frames it, cools expectations of a swift return to democratic normality. The talks are therefore opening with an agreed starting point but no indicated election date or voting process in the available reporting. The table will be set without the opposition's central figure. María Corina Machado, the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said on Sunday she will not take part in the US-backed talks with the de facto government of Delcy Rodríguez, according to the South China Morning Post, with the negotiations scheduled to proceed despite her refusal. Her reasons, and the scope and participants of the process, are not specified in the available reporting. Running in parallel, Caracas announced on Friday its definitive withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, the tribunal that since 2017 has been investigating possible crimes against humanity in the country, per Folha de S.Paulo, closing from Venezuela's side a nearly decade-long chapter of external scrutiny; how the withdrawal affects the existing investigation remains unaddressed.
The International Criminal Court has kept Venezuela under investigation since 2017 over possible crimes against humanity committed in the country, according to Folha de S.Paulo. That scrutiny made the ICC one of the principal external checks on the Venezuelan government, which has now announced it is leaving the court for good. The political backdrop shifted roughly seven months ago with the capture of Nicolás Maduro, an event that raised expectations of a transition and eventual elections. Those expectations are now being tempered from Washington, with Trump saying the country is not yet ready to vote. The topic tracks how Venezuela's legal exposure and its electoral timetable evolve from here.
Negotiations between Chavismo and the opposition are due to start on 1 August under Washington's supervision, with the aim of establishing a path toward new elections, El País reports. The talks come two years after the disputed 2024 presidential vote.
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado said on Sunday she will not take part in US-backed talks with the de facto government of Delcy Rodríguez, the South China Morning Post reports. The negotiations had been scheduled to go ahead despite her refusal.
Venezuela announced on Friday its definitive withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, which has investigated possible crimes against humanity in the country since 2017, Folha de S.Paulo reports. The same day, Trump said Venezuela is not yet ready for elections, nearly seven months after the capture of Nicolás Maduro, dampening expectations of a return to democratic normality.