Canada to downgrade ties with Venezuela
Ottawa distances itself from Maduro regime after controversial vote
OTTAWA— The Canadian government took steps Monday to apply further pressure on Venezuela by announcing it won’t seek to replace its ambassador in Caracas following a presidential election that has attracted widespread international condemnation. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland called Sunday’s elections, which will keep President Nicolas Maduro in power, “illegitimate and anti-democratic.”
Freeland said that in response, Canada would “downgrade” its diplomatic ties with the Venezuela, effective immediately. Among the actions, Ottawa imposed a ban on formal military co-operation with Venezuela and will ensure the Canadian Embassy in Caracas is headed only by a chargé d’affaires rather than an ambassador. The moves by Ottawa come as countries around the world increase their pressure on the already embattled Venezuelan government, which is accused of failing to provide its citizens with a fair, democratic and transparent process. The international community also has strong concerns over Venezuela’s deepening economic and humanitarian crises. “The Maduro regime has shown itself unwilling to make any serious attempt to ensure the elections meet international democratic standards of freedom and fairness,” Freeland said in a statement. “Canada rejects the Venezuelan electoral process — and its results — as not representing the democratic will of Venezuela’s citizens.”
Canada joined a growing list of nations on Monday decrying the presidential election as a farce, with the U.S. announcing financial restrictions aimed at further isolating Maduro’s government. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order restricting the Venezuelan government’s ability to liquidate assets, stopping short of delivering threatened and potentially crippling oil sanctions for the nation atop the world’s largest crude reserves.
The U.S. announcement came after a coalition of 14 nations from throughout the Americas, including Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, pledged to scale back diplomatic relations with Venezuela and urge international organizations not to issue the Venezuelan government any new credit unless it pertains to humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s fragmented opposition vowed to unify and push for a new presidential election in the last trimester of 2018. Leaders said the Venezuelan people had delivered a silent by powerful message by largely abstaining from Sunday’s vote, which drew the lowest participation on record for a presidential contest in decades, at 46 per cent.
“It’s evident we are the resounding majority, those who want a new Venezuela,” said Henrique Capriles, one of Venezuela’s most prominent opposition leaders and who himself had been barred from running in the presidential election.
The pro-government Nation- al Election Council announced Monday that with 98 per cent of polling stations reporting, Maduro had won more than 6.7 million votes — more than 4 million more than his closest competitor, Henri Falcon. Falcon accused the government of buying the votes of poor Venezuelans hurt by widespread food shortages and hyperinflation in what was once Latin America’s wealthiest nation, saying the election “without a doubt lacks legitimacy.”