US welcomes conclusion of latest Venezuela democratic transition talks

The US on Thursday hailed the conclusion of the latest round of talks between Venezuela’s interim government and opposition representatives toward a democratic transition.

The US-sponsored talks on transitioning from the hardline socialist rule of ousted ex-president Nicolas Maduro began in August.

Washington is under pressure to organise democratic elections following its January ouster of Maduro.

It nudged interim president Delcy Rodriguez, a former Maduro loyalist who was his vice-president, to negotiate with an opposition delegation led by Dinorah Figuera.

Figuera led a political bloc that won a majority in the 2015 National Assembly, the last legislature elected in a vote widely recognised by the international community.

The third round of talks “delivered tangible results including agreement to work to review and revise several repressive laws to increase political and social freedom and guarantee the participation of all political actors,” the US state department said in a statement.

It also hailed progress on “rebuilding an independent Supreme Court”.

Since the talks started, the process has strengthened press freedoms, restored access to more than 70 previously blocked websites, “produced an agreement to recover gold holdings in the Bank of England for earthquake relief, and advanced efforts to reform the repressive Law Against Hatred,” it said.

The statement also said that the Trump administration remains committed to supporting a Venezuelan-led process toward a peaceful democratic transition.

Exiled opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been sidelined from the negotiations, and thousands protested in Caracas and other cities on Thursday demanding her return to the country.