Venezuela’s acting government and a faction of the opposition closed their first round of negotiations in Caracas on August 13 with two landmark agreements: restarting the renewal of the Supreme Court of Justice from scratch and jointly pursuing the recovery of gold reserves held at the Bank of England.
National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez and Dinorah Figuera, who leads the delegated committee of the assembly elected in 2015, signed the joint communiqué at a hotel in the capital after more than six hours of deliberations. No questions from the press were taken. The process has the backing of the United States and is the eighteenth attempt at negotiation in two decades, the first held in Caracas after previous rounds in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Doha, Oslo, and Barbados.
Supreme Court Overhaul
The judicial agreement annuls the renewal process the National Assembly had begun in May, following a reform that expanded the court from 20 to 32 members. Instead, both parties agreed to amend the Supreme Court’s organic law again, renew and expand the judicial nominations committee, activate a new nomination process, and establish a council to review candidates’ credentials. In 2024, the court had upheld Nicolás Maduro’s contested re-election despite fraud allegations and without disaggregated results being published.
On the economic front, both delegations committed to promoting the recovery of international reserve assets held at the Bank of England – approximately 31 tonnes of gold, worth roughly $1.5 billion, withheld since the United Kingdom stopped recognizing Maduro’s government and the subject of prolonged litigation in London courts. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez had previously sent a letter to King Charles III requesting the gold’s release. The funds would be directed toward assisting victims of the June 24 double earthquake, which left more than 6,300 dead according to the official toll.
What the Deal Leaves Out
The communiqué makes no mention of the National Electoral Council, whose reform the opposition regards as a priority for any eventual election timetable, nor does it address the release of political prisoners. A group of trade unionists gathered outside the hotel demanding progress on both points, while 84 former political prisoners issued a statement backing the process and calling for a new court and an independent electoral authority.
Two technical working groups were established – one focused on the earthquake emergency and another on strengthening democracy. Implementation begins this month, with the delegations scheduled to meet again in mid-September.
The talks proceed without María Corina Machado, the opposition’s most prominent figure, who remains in exile in Panama. Machado has said she will not obstruct the process but has not endorsed it. Her supporters have argued she won the 2024 election and should lead any transition. The negotiations come against the backdrop of devastating seismic events – the June 24 earthquakes in Venezuela and the August 10 quake in Colombia – that have strained the region’s resources and intensified pressure on all parties to reach a political settlement.
Sources: MercoPress; Reuters; bne IntelliNews; World Vision
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