Yesterday Venezuelans voted for Nicolás Maduro to continue as president. The election highlights one of Justin Trudeau’s most embarrassing foreign policy failures and a lesson on media and government propaganda.
According to Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, Maduro received 51% of the vote. His main challenger, Edmundo Gonzalez, garnered 44% while 59% of eligible voters cast ballots.
Without presenting any evidence, the opposition cried foul. But they’ve done so after basically every election loss over the past 20 years (though not their wins).
The vote is the first presidential poll since a brazen Canadian-backed campaign to oust Maduro. In a bid to elicit “regime change,” Ottawa worked to isolate Caracas, imposed illegal sanctions, took the Maduro government to the International Criminal Court, financed an often-unsavoury opposition and decided that a marginal right-wing opposition politician was the country’s legitimate president.
On January 23, 2019, Juan Guaidó declared himself president of Venezuela in a Caracas park. The same day then foreign minister Chrystia Freeland formally recognized the little-known opposition politician. In subsequent days Canadian diplomats boasted to reporters that they played an important role in uniting large swaths of the Venezuelan opposition behind the plan to ratchet up tensions by proclaiming the new head of the opposition-dominated National Assembly president. They also told the Globe and Mail and Associated Press that Canada played an important role in building international diplomatic support for claiming the relatively marginal politician was president.
Amidst the exuberance the Liberals quickly organized a meeting of the Lima Group of states opposed to the Venezuelan government. At the February 4, 2019, meeting in Ottawa Trudeau declared, “the international community must immediately unite behind the interim president.” The post Lima Group “Ottawa Declaration” called on Venezuela’s armed forces “to demonstrate their loyalty to the interim president” by removing the elected president.
(Despite the opposition boycotting the May 2018 poll, Maduro received a higher proportion of the overall vote than leaders in the US, Canada and elsewhere. For instance, in 2019, Trudeau’s Liberals received 33% of the vote with 66% of eligible voters casting their ballots, which amounted to 22% of the adult population. Maduro received 67% of votes cast with 41% of eligible voters participating, which equaled 27% of the population.)
About a year before the poll Canada founded the anti-Maduro Lima Group coalition with Peru. A year later Canada and five like-minded South American nations asked the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor — the first time a member state was brought before the ICC by other members — to investigate the Maduro government. During this period Ottawa also severed diplomatic relations with Caracas and imposed four rounds of sanctions on Venezuelan officials. While ostensibly targeted at individuals, Canadian sanctions deterred companies from doing business in Venezuela. They also helped legitimate more devastating US actions. A recent front page Washington Post article detailed the impact of US sanctions played in Venezuela’s economic collapse.
Trudeau and Freeland were at the forefront of the anti-Maduro campaign. In the weeks after Guaidó declared himself president, Canada’s prime minister called the leaders of France, Spain, Paraguay, Ireland, Italy and others to convince them to join Canada’s campaign against the Venezuelan government. When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Ottawa in April 2019 Canada’s post meeting release noted, “during the visit, Prime Minister Abe announced Japan’s endorsement of the Ottawa Declaration on Venezuela.”
At the end of that month Guaidó, opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez and others sought to stoke a military uprising in Caracas. Hours into the early morning effort Freeland tweeted, “watching events today in Venezuela very closely. The safety and security of Juan Guaidó and Leopoldo López must be guaranteed. Venezuelans who peacefully support Interim President Guaidó must do so without fear of intimidation or violence.” She followed that up with a statement to the press noting, “Venezuelans are in the streets today demonstrating their desire for a return to democracy” and a video calling on Venezuelans to rise up. She later promoted a Lima Group statement labeling the attempted putsch an effort “to restore democracy” and demanded the military “cease being instruments of the illegitimate regime for the oppression of the Venezuelan people.”
While this failed insurrection marked the end of any realistic chance Guaidó had at becoming president, Trudeau openly supported him for months longer. In January 2020 Guaidó was fêted in Ottawa, meeting the PM, international development minister and foreign minister. A picture of Trudeau and Guaidó taking a selfie together was released by the Prime Minister’s Office and Trudeau declared, “I commend Interim President Guaidó for the courage and leadership he has shown in his efforts to return democracy to Venezuela, and I offer Canada’s continued support.”
Since then Guaidó has moved to the US and the Lima group has become dormant. But the Trudeau government hasn’t formally reversed its position or restarted diplomatic relations or withdrawn sanctions.
On the third anniversary of Guaidó’s presidential self-declaration an open letter was released demanding Trudeau stop recognizing Guaidó, end sanctions and reset relations with Venezuela. It was signed by 2 MPs, 4 former MPs and 50 prominent individuals. The government should heed its call.
Very little to none of the above important context will appear in the mainstream media over what looks to be yet another ongoing US-led attempt to destabilize the Venezuelan government.
The bottom line? Neither the Canadian government nor media should be considered arbiters of truth regarding events in Venezuela. They have repeatedly proven themselves self-interested liars and agents of US hegemony.