MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Venezuela's government and opposition agree to renew the Supreme Court and claim the London gold

National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez and Dinorah Figuera, who heads the delegated committee of the assembly elected in 2015

The government of acting president Delcy Rodríguez and a section of Venezuela's opposition closed the first round of negotiations in Caracas on Wednesday with two agreements: restarting from scratch the renewal of the Supreme Court of Justice, and acting jointly to recover Venezuelan gold reserves held at the Bank of England.

National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez and Dinorah Figuera, who heads the delegated committee of the assembly elected in 2015, signed the document and read out a joint communiqué in sections at a hotel in the capital, after more than six hours of deliberations. No questions from the press were taken.

The judicial agreement annuls the process the National Assembly had begun in May, following a reform that raised the court from 20 to 32 members. Instead, the parties agreed to amend the Supreme Court's organic law again, renew and expand the judicial nominations committee, activate a new nomination process and set up a council to review candidates' credentials. In 2024 the court upheld Nicolás Maduro's 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, some 31 tonnes of gold withheld since the United Kingdom stopped recognizing Maduro's government and the subject of litigation in London courts. Weeks ago, Delcy Rodríguez sent a letter to King Charles III requesting their release. The funds would go to assisting those affected by the June 24 double earthquake, which left more than 6,300 dead according to the official toll. The text provides for transparency, traceability and audit mechanisms over their use.

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 calling for progress on both points. Eighty-four 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 set up, one on the earthquake emergency and another on strengthening democracy. Implementation begins this month and the delegations will meet again in mid-September.

This is the eighteenth attempt at negotiation in two decades, and the first held in Caracas after previous rounds in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Doha, Oslo and Barbados. The process has the backing of the United States. María Corina Machado, in exile in Panama, remains outside the table and has said she will not obstruct it.