Venezuela: an opposition figure goes to the United States to talk about “democratic transition”

A representative of the opposition in Venezuela told AFP on Friday that she was going to the United States to continue talks initiated with the interim government in Caracas aimed at preparing a "democratic transition".

"I'm going to Miami precisely to assess everything that comes next. I have a lot of meetings," Dinorah Figuera told AFP in voice messages sent via WhatsApp.

The former opposition parliamentarian, in exile for eight years, arrived in Caracas on Thursday "at the invitation of the State Department (...) with the aim of setting up a credible National Electoral Council".

She met the President of Parliament, Jorge Rodriguez, appointed to lead the political dialogue by the interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, her sister.

The United States welcomed this meeting in a press release aimed at "discussing a program which will serve as a road map for a political dialogue on a democratic transition". This includes "the reconstruction of Venezuela's democratic institutions, the strengthening of the CNE (National Electoral Council), the re-establishment of lasting guarantees for political participation".

“This is a first step in what will be a thoughtful process aimed at establishing a free and open Venezuelan society,” the State Department press release continued.

Exiled in Spain since 2018, Ms. Figuera took the helm of a symbolic parliamentary commission in 2023.

His meeting with the Venezuelan authorities comes almost six months after the capture of Nicolas Maduro during an American military intervention.

Ms. Figuera also met with the American charge d'affaires, John Barrett, and with officials of the Unitary Platform, a coalition of opposition groups supporting the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Maria Corina Machado.

The latter, considered the leader of the opposition, expressed at the end of May her "determination" to negotiate a democratic transition with Delcy Rodriguez. She has not yet commented on the lightning visit of Dinorah Figuera and the role entrusted to her by the United States.

Dinorah Figuera, for her part, judged that "there were respectable positions and points of convergence" within the Venezuelan opposition bloc, and raised the idea of ​​a possible meeting with the interim head of state during her "next" visit, without specifying a date.

She said she was aiming for the establishment of an electoral authority that was "trustworthy, transparent", referring to a project that must "involve Venezuelans who are in Venezuela and those who are abroad".

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