Canada imposes new sanctions as Venezuelan President Maduro sworn in despite global condemnation
CBC
Canada has imposed new sanctions against 14 Venezuelan officials as President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in Friday to serve a third six-year term, extending his increasingly repressive rule until 2031.
This, despite protests and credible evidence that his opponent won the election.
Venezuela's legislative palace, where he was sworn in and delivered a fiery speech, was heavily guarded by police, military and intelligence officers. Crowds of people, many sporting pro-Maduro T-shirts, gathered in adjacent streets and a nearby plaza.
Maduro accused the opposition of trying to turn his inauguration into a "world war," and said the faction's failure to stop the inauguration was "a great Venezuelan victory." He accused external powers of "attacking" Venezuela, specifically the U.S. government, and promised to guarantee "peace and national sovereignty."
"Today more than ever I feel the weight of commitment, the power that I represent, the power that the constitution grants me," he said. "I have not been made president by the government of the United States, nor by the pro-imperialist governments of Latin America."
The opposition collected tally sheets from more than 80 per cent of electronic voting machines following the July 28 election, posted the tallies online and said they show opposition candidate Edmundo González won twice as many votes as Maduro. The U.S.-based Carter Center, which observed the election on the government's invitation, declared the opposition-published tallies legitimate.
Other election experts that the government allowed to witness the vote said polling records posted online by the opposition appear to exhibit all of the original security features.
On Friday, Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced new sanctions against Venezuelan officials. They target 14 current and former senior officials of the Venezuelan government, "who have engaged in activities that have directly or indirectly supported human rights violations in Venezuela," according to a news release.
These include the repression of protests following the election.
"Maduro's shameless actions demonstrate that democracy and the rule of law cannot be taken for granted. We will not tolerate the erosion of the democratic process or the repression of citizens seeking to express their rights," Joly said in a news release.
"Canada has stood by, and will continue to stand by, the people of Venezuela and their desire to live in a peaceful and democratic society."
Canada has now imposed sanctions against 131 Venezuelan individuals in total.
The European Union also imposed sanctions on 15 top Venezuelan officials who had a role in the country's 2024 election, including the president and vice president of Venezuela's Supreme Court, the electoral agency and others. The 27-nation bloc said those officials have put the nation's democracy at risk.
The U.S. Treasury Department also slapped a new round of sanctions on Venezuelan officials, including the president of Venezuela's state oil company, Maduro's transportation minister and state-owned airline, among others.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.