Canada can help save Venezuela’s democracy

Canada has been a strong supporter of our cause. Together with other leaders in the region, the Canadian government has helped move the Organization of American States toward invoking its Inter-American Democratic Charter in the case of Venezuela. Even as the Maduro regime seeks a way out by initiating its withdrawal from the OAS, Canada has not allowed it to escape its responsibilities. I am in Ottawa this week to publicly thank the Canadian government and its citizens for their support. I am also here to ask Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call for the release of political prisoners and to spearhead an international effort to open a humanitarian channel to Venezuela. Given the regime’s openness to humanitarian aid from the UN, I call on Canada to mobilize its significant resources to work with the UN to conduct an independent needs assessment in Venezuela and then develop a plan for aid distribution that focuses on those in most need. More…