Guaido appeals to Ottawa and pals

OTTAWA — Venezuela’s Western-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido made an appeal to Canada and its Western Hemisphere partners to end the “usurpation” of democracy in his country.

Guaido issued the call in a surprise appearance via video link to the gathering of Lima Group members and several other partners, including the United States and European partners in Ottawa.

“Unfortunately we are still under a dictatorship in Venezuela at the moment. That is why it is time to increase pressure,” Guaido said through a translator.

Canada and the Lima Group have backed Guaido, the opposition leader who’s the head of Venezuela’s legislature, as the legitimate replacement for socialist leader Nicolas Maduro. Their meeting comes amid massive protests in Venezuela aimed at pressing Maduro to vacate the presidency.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland branded the Maduro government as a dictatorship that has shown a disregard for the rule of law and human rights.

The two made the comments at the opening of Monday’s emergency meeting.

Trudeau announced $53 million worth of humanitarian assistance for the “most-pressing needs” of Venezuelans. Canada has already contributed $2.2 million for the humanitarian crisis that’s forced three million Venezuelans from their homes, sending ripples across the region, particularly in neighbouring Brazil and Colombia, which are now faced with a refugee crisis.