engaged

Mérida, July 21, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Trump administration has vowed to play an active role in upcoming negotiations between the Venezuelan government and a US-backed opposition faction.

The government-aligned National Assembly and a group of opposition lawmakers from the 2015–2020 legislature recently announced a joint working agenda scheduled to begin August 1, with explicit support from the US State Department.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the initiative during a press briefing on July 19, calling it “a very powerful offer.” 

“We’ll see where it goes, but we think that that agreement was broadly met in Venezuela as very good news, and obviously something we’re going to be very engaged in,” he told reporters.

Rubio emphasized that the upcoming talks are “a forum to begin the transition process, which is what the people of Venezuela need”. In the same way, the State Department, via a July 16 official statement, had pledged to back efforts “toward a peaceful and democratic electoral transition.”

Since the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Rubio and other Trump officials have insisted on a “three-phase plan” that ends with a political transition.

The latest dialogue initiative emerged following a June 18 meeting between National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez and Dinorah Figuera, who leads an opposition-majority legislature whose term ran from 2015-2020.

The defunct parliament retained US recognition as the Caribbean nation’s legitimate authority after the conclusion of its term in 2021, and has retained control over Venezuelan state assets frozen abroad.

According to statements from both sides, the working agenda prioritizes strengthening democratic institutions, reforming the electoral system, and restoring guarantees for political participation.

Figuera welcomed Rubio’s latest comments and argued that “active participation” from the Trump administration will be “essential to generate concrete progress.”

“We will invite all democratic sectors to participate and bring proposals toward a peaceful and democratic electoral transition,” she wrote on X. For their part, government officials, including Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, have not offered further comment on the talks since last week’s announcement.

In recent days, Figuera addressed criticism of her role in the negotiations, rejecting accusations that she was acting outside the opposition’s institutional framework.

The former lawmaker has faced scrutiny from other opposition sectors, particularly following her June 18 return to Caracas with US backing. Her meetings with Rodríguez and subsequent travel to Washington occurred weeks after far-right leader María Corina Machado had announced at a Panama gathering her intention to head negotiations with the government over future electoral processes.

On July 16, Machado met with high-ranking opposition figures from the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) coalition to assess the new dialogue initiative. The meeting was reported as a venue to “gather information” regarding the announced negotiations and “define a public position.” However, neither Machado nor the PUD have taken a stance on the upcoming talks.

Rubio’s influence over Venezuela was highlighted in a recent New York Times article that detailed the Trump administration’s involvement in the country’s day-to-day affairs. The report highlighted that US officials have sought to engage with institutional actors they consider manageable, including the 2015 National Assembly faction, as part of a strategy to reduce volatility in bilateral relations.

However, according to the Times, the approach has generated tensions within the opposition camp given the recent protagonism assumed by far-right Machado.

Caracas and Washington fast-tracked a diplomatic rapprochement following the January 3 attacks, with embassies reopening in both capitals. The Trump administration has seized control of Venezuelan oil export revenues and exerted influence over recent pro-business energy and mining reforms.

The US has also undertaken a significant military deployment in the country following the June 24 double earthquake, with US forces running logistical operations out of the Simón Bolívar International Airport and La Guaira port.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

Roger Hawes and Janey Smith are engaged, three years after they found fame, and love, on the first series of Davina McCall’s hit ITV dating series My Mum Your Dad

Roger Hawes and Janey Smith are engaged. The TV stars found fame when the signed up to appear on My Mum Your Dad, which follows Davina McCall as she oversees two single parents try to find love, have been one of the programme’s biggest success stories and appeared all the way back in the very first series when it aired in 2023.

On Friday, the couple took to Instagram to share the news that they are to wed after Roger popped the question just ahead of the weekend.

Alongside a snap of Janey showing off her ring, Roger wrote: “dreams do come true … x” and then another photo, this time of Roger’s dog, appeared and a message engraved on the pooch’s collar read: “Will you marry my daddy?”

Roger became a widower when he lost his first wife and it was their daughter Jess who sent off his application off for the show, which was axed in early 2025, in the first place. Meanwhile, Janey went on the show with her son Will, and the happy news comes just weeks after Janey was rushed to hospital.

At the time, she explained in an Instagram post: “They did a CT scan straight away and found my appendix had blown and needed surgery asap. I was in hospital for a week as the infection had filled my stomach.”

After their romance blossomed, the pair made a joint appearance on Loose Women together in 2024, where Roger explained: “It didn’t show on the show itself but she just came in and I obviously liked what I saw straight away.”

“We just hit it off; she just said randomly, ‘What am I like?’ and I said, ‘I know what you’re like!’ And everybody else was just looking at us and we were just off in our own little world!”

At the time, Janey also admitted just how emotional it had been to see her love story play out on screen. She said: “When you see it, it’s like ‘oh no, don’t set me off.’ It was a very emotional time. There was anxiety, it was a big thing. It does take you back. It’s an outer body experience really.”

She also recounted the pivotal advice from her father as she explained: “We like Roger, don’t push him away,” which led her to tackle her personal issues head-on during a live TV appearance.

She added: “They said, ‘So why are you here?’ and I could feel it coming, I wasn’t going to say anything but I thought, ‘I’ve got to be honest here,’ I know I’ve pushed people away in the past. There’s some traits in me and adopted people that you carry and never address it.”

Reflecting on her candid moment, she expressed pride: “I felt for the first time in my life, ‘Well done Janey, you’ve just gone and said it on live TV.’ You don’t even tell people you meet but thank goodness I did.”

Janey previously admitted that she never worried Roger would leave her even though her son was concerned he might not be ready for another relationship after losing his wife.

She said: “It’s funny, I didn’t worry about that with him. With Roger what you see is what you get. He’s definitely a one-woman man and just not out to hurt me at all. I remember my son [William] being a bit worried that Roger wasn’t quite ready to date yet, but I think because Roger had gone through his own form of grief, we helped each other.

“The only worry I had early on was similar to my son’s – I didn’t want to be an experiment for someone to dip their toe back in.

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VERITY Bowditch has just announced that she’s gotten engaged to her boyfriend, Cameron Jack.

The Made In Chelsea star, 30, took to Instagram to share a series snaps with her followers to celebrate the major milestone.

Verity made the first post to her Instagram story, flashing her round engagement ring to the camera as she laughed.

Cameron had his arms wrapped around her while kissing her cheek, and the date of June 27 was written underneath the picture.

The second snap showed the happy couple kissing in a field, accompanied by the words: “Get to spend the rest of my life with the love of my life!”

Verity continued to gush while flashing the ring in the streets, describing the proposal as “the most perfect, romantic and thoughtful proposal that ever could have been created.”

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A final snap showed a typed up letter addressed to Verity from Cameron that provided some insight into the proposal. It read: “Good morning my darling!

“Today is a very special day. A day I have been planning for over a year.

“A scavenger hunt has been laid out across London for you. Each clue you solve will lead you to another important location. Solve them all and meet me at the finish line.

“Expect the unexpected, and look out for some of my helpers along the way! Because in the words of The Beatles: ‘I get by with a little help from my friends.’

“Ps. I know you may be eager to skip straight to the end, but I have designed what I hope will be the best day of your life.

“So please, take your time and enjoy every minute of it, I’m not going anywhere! I love you xxx”

Verity also made a post to her Instagram grid that saw her scooped up in Cameron’s arms while going in for a smooch.

The star captioned the picture with: “I’m going to marry the love of my life.”

Verity and Cameron have kept their relationship very private, so it’s unknown when they first started dating.

However, they were first linked in public during 2024 when Cameron praised Verity online, saying how proud he was of her.