Canada’s foreign minister responds to U.S. capture of Nicolas Maduro

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says the government does not recognize “any legitimacy of the Maduro regime” and called on “all parties” to respect international law.

Her statement, posted on X, came hours after the United States extracted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from Caracas. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would face charges after an indictment in New York.

U.S. President Donald Trump posted an image of Maduro on Truth Social showing the president of Venezuela blindfolded and earmuffed in a grey sweatsuit holding a water bottle. Trump captioned the image “on board the USS Iwo Jima” -- a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship.

Anand urged adhesion to international law.

“In keeping with our long-standing commitment to upholding the rule of law and democracy, Canada calls on all parties to respect international law and we stand by the people of Venezuela and their desire to live in a peaceful and democratic society,” wrote Anand.

Prime Minister Mark Carney also reaffirmed the government’s support for the Venezuelan people following the U.S. military operation that captured President Nicolás Maduro.

In a social media post, Carney said Canada continues to support a “peaceful, negotiated, and Venezuelan-led transition process” that respects the democratic will of the country’s citizens.

“Canada has not recognised the illegitimate regime of Maduro since it stole the 2018 election,” he said, adding his government “welcomes the opportunity for freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity for the Venezuelan people.”

Carney also urged all parties to “respect international law” and reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to multilateral engagement, noting the government is “in close contact with international partners about ongoing developments.”

Trump says U.S. will control Venezuela

U.S. President Donald Trump said in a press briefing Saturday morning that the U.S. would take control of Venezuela until a leadership transition takes place. “We’re going to run it,” said the U.S. president, promising to make Venezuelans “rich, independent and safe.”

Who Trump will appoint to lead the South American country is not clear and will be revealed soon. Part of their mandate, the president said, will be to “rebuild” Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.

Venezuela has the world’s largest reserve of oil, amounting to about 17 per cent of the world’s supply, according to the London-based Energy Institute.

“We’re going to make sure that that country is run properly,” he said, adding that “it’s going to make a lot of money” and vowing to “make Venezuela great again.”

The U.S. will maintain a presence in the country as it pertains to oil, said Trump, who promised to take a “tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground.” Profits will go to Venezuelans and the U.S. as compensation “for the damages caused to us by that country.”

A ‘massive’ red line

Trump’s emphasis on oil should raise alarms for resource-rich countries around the world, according to CTV News U.S. political analyst Eric Ham.

“Trump has had his eye on a number of nations that are either oil- or mineral-rich – Canada being one of them. And I think today, countries like Greenland, Canada, Nigeria should all be deeply, deeply worried about what took place.”

“There’s a lot of propaganda. There’s a lot of shape-shifting in terms of the narrative,” Ham added. “But make no mistake about it. What the United States did today crossed a massive, massive red line. There are going to be massive, massive repercussions as a result.”

Ham also pointed to the Trump administration’s cuts to programs it would traditionally rely on for international nation-building. Budget gouges to the U.S. Agency for International Development, more commonly known as USAID, leave the U.S. weaker in its ability to run a more economically fragile Venezuela, he said.

In her statement, published before Trump delivered his Saturday morning news conference, Anand also said the Canadian government is ready to provide consular services through the Canadian embassy in Bogotá, Colombia.

Bogotá is a roughly 24-hour drive from the site of U.S. strikes in Caracas.

Canada and Venezuela

Canada has long been critical of Maduro and his party’s leadership in Venezuela.

Ottawa has accused the president of “ruling by decree” after declaring a local state of emergency in 2016. Canada has imposed sanctions against dozens of individuals Ottawa says are linked to the Maduro regime and “its actions against the security, stability and integrity of democratic institutions in Venezuela.”

Upon a subsequent election – that Canada views as “illegitimate and anti-democratic – in 2019, Ottawa rejected Maduro’s claim to presidency in favour of Juan Guaidó as interim president.

The United Nations called for restraint following America’s intervention. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is concerned international law was not respected, according to a spokesperson.

Regarding Maduro’s overnight capture, Anand did not comment on the action’s legality. Prime Minister Mark Carney has not responded publicly.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre congratulated Trump on what he called an arrest of the Venezuelan leader. He also called Maduro a “narco-terrorist and socialist dictator … who should live out his days in prison.”

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet wrote in French that Maduro’s regime “defies fundamental freedoms” but expressed concern with regard to American “military force at the peril of civilian lives.”

Interim NDP Leader Don Davies condemned the U.S. on X, calling the operation an “attack” that is “totally illegal and a breach of the UN covenants the U.S. has agreed to uphold as a Member State.”

Venezuela has formally asked the UN Security Council to meet in emergency session in New York. Canada is not presently a member of the council.

With files from Reuters.