U.S.-Venezuela political transition

In late July 2026, President Donald Trump reiterated that Venezuela is not yet ready for elections, noting “many advances” in the transition and praising interim president Delcy Rodríguez while highlighting U.S. oil interests. The United States continues to back a dialogue slated to begin on 1 August between the Chavista‑controlled parliament and opposition groups. On 26 July, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the negotiation table will include Assembly leader Jorge Rodríguez, brother of Delcy Rodríguez, and an opposition faction led by Dinorah Figuerá. Opposition leader María Corina Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, declared she will not take part in the talks and emphasized her intent to return to run for president, calling for new elections, the release of political prisoners, and the return of exiles. Machado and her running‑mate Edmundo González Urrutia have signed a document urging prompt elections, recalling their loss of privileged interlocutor status after the U.S. operation on 3 January that displaced Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. maintains its support for a democratic transition while monitoring the situation until conditions allow elections.