Maria Corina Machado Rejects U.S.-Backed Venezuela Political Talks

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and 2024 presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia announced Sunday they will not participate in U.S.-backed political talks scheduled for August. In a joint statement, they refused to engage in the design and operation of the dialogue, insisting that those promoting the initiative must provide a clear timetable and inform the country of its objectives.

The talks, organized by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and National Assembly member Dinorah Figuera, aim to address institutional recovery and reconstruction following dual earthquakes on June 24. The United States Department of State supported the initiative as a step toward political reconciliation after U.S. forces ousted former president Nicolas Maduro in a January military raid.

While stating they will not block initiatives producing real progress toward a democratic transition, Machado and González Urrutia demanded concrete and verifiable results, including the release of political prisoners. Machado also alleged that the government blocked and diverted citizen-led humanitarian aid following the earthquakes, arguing that the country requires a new government with moral authority to rebuild. Despite her refusal to join the talks, Machado vowed to return to Venezuela and maintained that the mandate of González Urrutia's victory in the disputed 2024 elections remains in force.