Ottawa has been the most recent scale of Juan Guaidó, the leader of the opposition Venezuelan, recognized as interim president for about fifty countries. This Monday, Guaido met with the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne. The Canadians endorsed their support for Guaidó and underlined the need to find more measures to resolve the crisis in Venezuela peacefully; one of them is to include Cuba, main regional ally of Nicolás Maduro, in the negotiations. The Venezuelan politician’s tour has sought to revive international pressure against Chavismo. The Government of Canada has imposed various sanctions on the Chavista regime.
Guaidó landed in Ottawa, Canadian capital, on Sunday night and was received by Orlando Viera-Blanco, his official representative in the North American country, and by Mona Fortier, Minister of Prosperity of the Middle Class and Associate Minister of Finance. A few hours earlier, Prime Minister Trudeau had released a statement highlighting Guaidó’s “courage and leadership” to “help restore democracy in Venezuela“.
Francois-Philippe Champagne said that he had talked by telephone with Gustavo Meza Cuadra, the Peruvian Foreign Minister who heads the Lima Group, regarding additional measures to find a solution to the Venezuelan crisis. “We must think about the next step,” Champagne said, commenting that Canada will contact some countries that can help with this task. One of them is Cuba. Guaidó acknowledged that the Cuban regime may be “part of the solution.” However, he stressed that, so far, Havana has only supported the Government of Maduro.
The Canadian Foreign Minister said at a press conference that the conversation with Guaido was focused on the need to “revitalize” efforts to resolve the crisis in the South American country. He noted that Canada wants a peaceful transition, led by the Venezuelan people through free and fair elections, as soon as possible and under international observers. “Make no mistake: the situation there has gone from bad to worse as a direct result of the Maduro regime’s actions. Millions of people have fled the country and millions more live in extreme poverty, ”he said.
“In Venezuela there is no divided country, there is no polarized country; there is a struggle between a dictatorship and a democracy, ”Juan Guaidó told reporters. The Venezuelan politician said it is necessary to maintain the mobilization within his country and increase sanctions from abroad. He also continued to emphasize human rights violations.
Juan Guaidó also participated in a meeting with ambassadors from countries that make up the Lima Group. He had a private appointment with Trudeau. “With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau we talked about the need to consolidate international actions to defend Human Rights in Venezuela and the security of the region. I appreciate Canada’s determined commitment to the Venezuelan cause, ”the interim president of Venezuela wrote on Twitter. At night, Guaido met with Venezuelans settled in the North American country.
Juan Guaidó’s international tour began on January 19. Guaido celebrated his 23rd birthday this year having proclaimed himself interim president of Venezuela. After being in Colombia, he traveled to Europe, where he held different meetings in London, Brussels, Davos, Paris and Madrid. “We are already preparing the return to Venezuela,” said Guaidó. However, he did not specify whether he will make a long-awaited scale before: nothing less than in Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump.
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