Caracas, Venezuela - Venezuela's interim government on Wednesday began a third round of talks with opposition representatives on a political transition, a senior US State Department official said.

The US-sponsored talks on transitioning from the leadership of ousted President Nicolas Maduro began in August.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the latest negotiations would focus on "the political process, on elections, on involvement of different political parties, and other things like that."

He said the current talks are expected to last until the end of next week.

Mexico Mexico's Sheinbaum issues ultimatum for social networks to remove violent content

Washington is under pressure to organize democratic elections following its January abduction 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.

Exiled opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been sidelined from the negotiations.

The State Department official highlighted "concrete progress" in the first two rounds of talks on issues including "reforms towards an independent Supreme Court, website access, and reform of repressive laws."

The third round will continue "building the structural framework and institutions necessary for elections and a democratic transition," he added.

Maduro and his wife were kidnapped by US forces in a raid on Caracas in January and flown to New York to face trial for drug trafficking and firearms charges, which both have rejected.

Donald Trump Trump says he wants to see Pope Leo "get well" after lung surgery

After the raid, President Donald Trump told a press conference that the US would "run" Venezuela and tap its huge oil reserves.

Since then, Venezuela's interim government has opened its mining sector to foreign investment.

Venezuela has also approved an agreement that would grant the US control of around one-fifth of the country's oil reserves in what Trump has called "the biggest oil deal in world history."