Venezuela is gearing up for the launch of U.S.-backed political transition talks on Aug. 1, but the absence of Nobel Peace Prize-winning opposition figure Maria Corina Machado has left her base skeptical.
Leftists are meanwhile distrustful of a process, announced earlier this month, that only includes Washington-approved representatives.
Both political camps have been protesting ahead of the negotiations, which according to the U.S. State Department, will focus on rebuilding democratic institutions, strengthening the electorate and guaranteeing political participation.
Even before last month's devastating earthquakes that killed over 5,500 people, Venezuela was in a state of flux after U.S. forces deposed president Nicolas Maduro in January.
Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, who formerly served as Maduro's vice president, has been governing under Washington's watchful eye since then.
Venezuela's last ballot in 2024 culminated in then-incumbent Maduro's disputed electoral victory, with the opposition claiming that its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia had won.
Gonzalez Urrutia's exiled political ally Machado has promised to return to Venezuela but was not invited to the upcoming talks.
The Panama-based Nobel laureate has said that she does not oppose the negotiations going ahead, stating that she would not attend.
Her decision to gift her Nobel prize to US President Donald Trump has not appeared to advance her return home, with some commentators believing that Washington has vetoed the move.
The Trump administration denies the allegation.
The U.S. president, who views Venezuela as an American dominion, has repeatedly expressed satisfaction with Rodriguez.
