Venezuela government and opposition open third dialogue round

Venezuela's governing movement and an opposition sector opened a third round of US backed dialogue in Caracas on Wednesday, centred on the political and civil guarantees needed for a future election, with Supreme Court and electoral council renewal also on the agenda.

Why it matters: The talks are the transition track Washington is backing after the January capture of Nicolas Maduro, but no election date is on the table and the best known opposition figures are absent, so the round tests whether institutional reform can move faster than the demand for a vote.

Data as of Wednesday, October 14, 2026, Toronto time, via El Nacional, in Spanish; the article was opened and read in full in the original and cites EFE sources for the closed door sessions. Single outlet report in this scan, so evidence grade is capped at C. The State Department statement quoted in the article, urging progress on political freedoms and electoral reform ahead of the round, is Washington's framing of the process.

The third round of dialogue between representatives of Venezuela’s governing chavismo and a sector of the opposition began on Wednesday in Caracas, behind closed doors in a capital hotel, with the political and civil guarantees for a future election at the centre of the agenda, El Nacional reported, citing EFE sources who said the talks would run for several days with no closing date set. Washington has also flagged renewal of the Supreme Court magistrates and changes to the National Electoral Council as part of the institutional reform agenda, and the State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had urged continued progress on political freedoms and electoral reform as the basis for free, fair and credible elections.

The opposition delegation is led by Dinorah Figuera, who met Rubio in Washington last Friday; Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia are not taking part. The first two rounds, in August and September, each ran about a week and covered reforms and political opening measures, and critics of the process argue Washington weighs access to Venezuelan oil resources more heavily than a democratic transition, a charge the article reports without a US response.

Venezuela government and opposition open third dialogue round

Sources