VENEZUELA · POLITICS
Key Facts
- The country Venezuela is an oil-rich South American country run by acting president Delcy Rodríguez since the US capture of Nicolás Maduro in January.
- What happened On Wednesday 21 October the government and the opposition agreed to review four laws as their third round of talks closed in Caracas.
- The four laws They cover political parties and protests, the comptroller’s office, the Simón Bolívar sanctions law and the terrorism law.
- The harshest penalty The Simón Bolívar law sets 25 to 30 years in prison for anyone who promotes foreign sanctions.
- Prediction markets Polymarket gives 8.5% to a Venezuelan presidential election being scheduled by 31 December (22 October 2026, 1:53 p.m. ET).
- Power Index Venezuela ranks 13th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 27.0 points (October 2026 edition).
The Venezuela law review agreed on Wednesday 21 October covers four laws that opposition leaders say were used to ban, jail and silence them. The government of acting president Delcy Rodríguez and the opposition’s 2015 National Assembly announced it as their third round of US-backed talks closed in Caracas.
For Americans the stakes are direct, since one law makes lobbying for US sanctions a crime and Washington backs the talks. Another defines terrorism, a charge brought against many Venezuelans after the disputed 2024 presidential vote.
What the Venezuela Law Review Covers
The two delegations agreed on Wednesday 21 October to begin a deep review of four laws, according to their joint statement. The Venezuela law review will cover parties and protests, the comptroller law, the Simón Bolívar law and the organised-crime and terrorism law.
The third round ran from 14 to 21 October and produced six agreements, DiarioVea reported. The delegations held six work sessions, two plenaries and 15 meetings of technical tables.
Jorge Rodríguez signed for the government; he heads the National Assembly and is the brother of Delcy Rodríguez. Dinorah Figuera signed for the 2015 National Assembly, the last Assembly the opposition won, which now acts as its negotiating team.
The Law That Punishes Calls for US Sanctions
The Simón Bolívar law, passed unanimously in November 2024, sets 25 to 30 years in prison for anyone who promotes foreign sanctions. It also carries fines of up to US$1,055,680 and 60 years of disqualification from public office, El Tiempo reported.
Media outlets that spread such messages face the same fine and can be taken off the air, and accused people can be tried in absentia. The law treats international sanctions as crimes against humanity and answered a bill in the US House of Representatives.
The US Treasury has since lifted its sanctions on Jorge Rodríguez himself, the government’s chief negotiator. The Simón Bolívar law was written to punish people who ask for measures of that kind.
Terrorism Charges After the 2024 Vote
The Venezuela law review also takes on the terrorism law, in particular how it defines and classifies the crime of terrorism. Colprensa, the Colombian news agency, reported in La Opinión that many Venezuelans were charged with terrorism after the 2024 presidential election.
Former attorney general Tarek William Saab called many of them terrorists, and lawyer Joel García described a systematic and widespread pattern against dissent. Maduro was proclaimed the winner of that vote by an electoral body run by government loyalists, which never published detailed results.
Who Can Run: The Comptroller and Parties Laws
The comptroller law matters because that office can bar people from public life, and the Venezuela law review will look at how those disqualifications work. María Corina Machado, the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, has been barred since 2023 and was blocked from running for president in 2024.
The opposition wants that ban lifted so she can return from exile and take part in a vote. Machado has said Washington left her out of these talks, Europa Press reported.
The law on parties, public meetings and demonstrations is meant to protect pluralism and party independence, DiarioVea reported. The Supreme Court still keeps several opposition factions under its control, according to the Colprensa report.
What the Talks Also Settled
The statement also creates a joint delegation of three members from each side. It will press the United Kingdom for Venezuelan gold, as set out in a report on the Venezuela gold panel.
The Assembly was due to name a 12-member judicial nominations committee on Thursday 22 October, Bitácora Económica reported. That committee will publish the timetable for choosing new Supreme Court justices, after a preliminary panel interviewed 127 candidates from civil society.
The sides also began talks on a new ombudsman for political guarantees and citizen participation. It could be created by a new law or come straight out of the dialogue table, Europa Press reported.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket traders give 8.5% odds that Venezuela schedules a presidential election by 31 December, with about US$152,000 traded (22 October 2026, 1:53 p.m. ET). On Kalshi, a US exchange regulated by the CFTC, a vote before 1 June 2027 trades at 17% and before 1 January 2027 at 1%.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What It Means for US Readers
Washington backs the talks, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has praised the release of more than 1,200 political prisoners. Changes to the sanctions and terrorism laws in the Venezuela law review would show whether such steps last.
Investors and lenders weighing Venezuela’s reconstruction will read any change to these laws as a signal on elections and sanctions relief. The statement gives no deadline or procedure for the Venezuela law review, Europa Press reported.
What Is Not Known
The statement does not say when any law will change, who will draft the changes or how the definition of terrorism would be altered. That leaves the Venezuela law review open.
No election date has been set, and Figuera said the electoral council, not the talks, fixes it. She has proposed a presidential vote in 2027, according to Colprensa.
What Comes Next
The next round of talks is planned for 11 to 15 November, with the backing of the Trump administration. Jorge Rodríguez said Venezuela manages the income from its own oil sales and blamed reports to the contrary on the US midterm campaign.
Americans vote in those elections on 3 November, and the opposition called protests for an election date on Thursday 22 October. The Venezuela law review will show whether the talks can turn promises into legal text.
More: Venezuela news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Venezuela agree to review?
Venezuela’s government and the opposition’s 2015 National Assembly agreed on 21 October to a Venezuela law review. It covers parties and protests, the comptroller’s office, the Simón Bolívar law and the terrorism law.
What is the Simón Bolívar law?
It is a 2024 law that sets 25 to 30 years in prison for anyone who promotes foreign sanctions against Venezuela. It also carries fines of up to US$1,055,680 and 60 years of disqualification from public office.
Who is negotiating for Venezuela?
Jorge Rodríguez, head of the National Assembly and brother of acting president Delcy Rodríguez, leads the government side. Dinorah Figuera leads the delegation of the opposition’s 2015 National Assembly.
Does the deal set an election date?
No, the statement names no date for a presidential election. Figuera has proposed a vote in 2027 and says the electoral council decides the date.
When do the talks resume?
The next round is planned for 11 to 15 November. The Trump administration backs the process.
Sources: La Opinión (Colprensa), Gobierno y oposición de Venezuela pactan revisar leyes y gestionar el oro en Inglaterra, 22 October 2026; DiarioVea, joint statement of the third dialogue cycle, 21 October 2026; Bitácora Económica, delegations in the national dialogue, 21 October 2026; AVN, Gobierno Nacional y AN 2015 culminan tercer ciclo de diálogo, 21 October 2026; Europa Press via Diario Siglo XXI, Gobierno y oposición cierran el tercer ciclo de diálogos, 22 October 2026; El Tiempo, Maduro promulga la ley que castiga con hasta 30 años de cárcel a quienes promuevan sanciones, 30 November 2024; El Tiempo, Diálogos entre el chavismo y la oposición comenzaron su tercer ciclo, 14 October 2026; Primicias (EFE), Dinorah Figuera y el diálogo con el chavismo, 14 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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