The Venezuelan government and a segment of the opposition are to kick off United States-backed talks aimed at paving the way for eventual elections.
Noticeably absent from the negotiations will be one of the country’s most prominent opposition figures, Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who has not been invited to attend.
The proceedings, which are scheduled to begin on Saturday, come nearly seven months after the US military’s abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The talks have riled both conservative supporters of Machado and opposition leftists alike.
The talks also underscore Washington’s continued influence over the government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president who has already overseen several key concessions to the administration of US President Donald Trump, including opening the state-owned oil industry to foreign companies.
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