Canadian foreign minister continues to legitimize fake Venezuelan president Guaido
Written by: Aidan Jonah
On Oct 30, Canadian foreign minister Francois-Philippe Champagne spoke with the US-backed regime change puppet, Juan Guaido, known in much of the mainstream media as Venezuela’s “legitimate president.”
In the words of Global Affairs Canada, Champagne spoke to “express concern over the ongoing suffering of the Venezuelan people and to reaffirm Canada’s unwavering support for Venezuelans and their desire for a peaceful return to democracy.”
This meeting is a continuation of Canada’s regime-change policies towards Venezuela. Canada openly declared its support for Guaido, only days after he falsely declared himself the legitimate president of Venezuela. Despite the failure of this coup attempt, Trudeau and Freeland have refused to back down.
In 2017, Canada spearheaded the creation of the Lima group, a partnership of nations whose goal is to ensure the overthrow of the socialist Venezuelan government and install a neo-liberal puppet leader in its place. It also sanctioned dozens of Venezuelan officials, even those who were simply working to run elections orcarry out diplomatic duties, along with government ministers.
During the 2018 elections, Canada specifically forbade Venezuelan diplomatic missions – the Embassy in Ottawa and the consulates in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver – from opening as voting centers for Venezuelan citizens living in Canada. Canada falsely claimed that these elections were not free and fair, despite the only Canadian election delegation which observed the presidential elections, finding no issues with said election.
Citgo
Previously, the Citgo’s Simon Bolivar Foundation was dedicated to financing social programs such as low-cost heating oil for low-income North American families or specialized bone marrow treatment for Venezuelan patients.
Canada has seized Citgo, a U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela’s State oil company, PDVSA, and utilised the funds from this to finance a regime-change puppet NGO – the Canadian-Venezuelan Engagement Foundation. The board of this foundation is filled by Orlando Viera-Blanco and his family, who are supporters of Guaido. Canada also pushed Venezuelan ambassadors in Canada to work with a pro-Guaido ambassador tied to this NGO rather than the Maduro government.
Canada continues to lead the Lima group, in its role as the lackey of US imperialism, and is likely to play a role in any attempted interference in Venezuela’s upcoming National Assembly elections in December.
When Canada’s foreign minister meets with a US regime change puppet, there is no real surprise. Yet, it still must be condemned forcefully.
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