OTTAWA — Canada is becoming a member of its closest allies in denouncing Venezuela’s crackdown on democracy — the primary G7 overseas coverage assertion since Canada started chairing the group this yr.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was inaugurated Friday for a 3rd six-year time period, after a July election extensively seen as illegitimate.
Opposition chief Maria Corina Machado appeared at a Thursday rally and was briefly detained by safety forces who coerced her into recording movies, in line with her workers.
In an announcement issued Friday, overseas ministers from the Group of Seven denounced the “lack of democratic legitimacy” in Maduro’s inauguration, calling it a “continued and repressive grasp at power” after the federal government refused to launch polling station tallies.
The assertion calls out “arbitrary arrests and other abuses of civilians, including children, youths and activists” at peaceable protests.
The assertion says the Maduro regime has prompted a humanitarian disaster and an exodus of refugees fleeing starvation and repression, accusations the Venezuelan authorities rejects as propaganda.
This yr, Canada is chairing the G7, a gaggle of rich democracies that features France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the U.S. and the European Union.
Conservative Chief Pierre Poilievre counseled Machado and different activists Thursday, saying different international locations should assist restore democracy in Venezuela.
“Democracy is a sacred right that must be respected,” he wrote on the social media platform X. “The Venezuelan people are calling for the world to stand with them as they exercise their right to protest — free from violence and persecution.”
Final month, Venezuela accused Ottawa of being “a slave to the imperial interests of the United States” after one other spherical of sanctions in opposition to Venezuelan officers.
The nation’s overseas ministry stated Canada is attempting to blackmail Venezuela, “demonstrating the humiliation and international discredit of the Canadian government, which is reduced to acting as a diminished and subordinate pawn to the U.S. government.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Jan. 10, 2025.
Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
Venezuelan opposition chief Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters at a protest in opposition to President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, the day earlier than his inauguration for a 3rd time period. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Ariana Cubillos
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