Canada imposed new sanctions after Venezuelan President Maduro was sworn in despite global condemnation

Canada introduced new sanctions against 14 Venezuelan officials as President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term on Friday, extending his increasingly repressive rule until 2031.

And that despite protests and credible evidence that his opponent won the election.

Venezuela’s legislative palace, where he was sworn in and gave a fiery speech, was under heavy guard by police, military and intelligence officials. Crowds of people, many sporting pro-Maduro t-shirts, gathered in the neighboring streets and in the nearby square.

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 victory for Venezuela.” He accused outside powers of “attacking” Venezuela, especially the US 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 gives me,” he said. “I was not appointed president by the United States government, nor by the pro-imperialist governments of Latin America.”

The opposition collected vote lists from more than 80 percent of electronic voting machines after the July 28 election, published the results online and said they showed opposition candidate Edmundo González won twice as many votes as Maduro. The US-based Carter Center, which observed the election at the invitation of the government, declared the election announced by the opposition as legitimate.

Other election experts allowed by the government to witness the vote said the voting records released online by the opposition appeared to show all the original security features.

Canada, the USA and the EU announce sanctions

On Friday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced new sanctions against Venezuelan officials. Their target is 14 current and former senior officials of the Venezuelan government, “who participated in activities that directly or indirectly supported human rights violations in Venezuela.” according to a press release.

This includes the repression of post-election protests.

“Maduro’s shameless actions show 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 who want to express their rights,” Joly said in news.

“Canada has stood and will continue to stand with the people of Venezuela and their desire to live in a peaceful and democratic society.”

Canada has now imposed sanctions against a total of 131 people from Venezuela.

The European Union also imposed sanctions on 15 of Venezuela’s top officials who played a role in the country’s 2024 elections, including the president and vice president of Venezuela’s Supreme Court, the electoral agency and others. The 27-nation union said the officials threatened the nation’s democracy.

The US Treasury also imposed a new round of sanctions on Venezuelan officials, including the president of Venezuela’s state oil company, Maduro’s transport minister and the state-owned airline, among others.

Protests in the streets

On Thursday, as hundreds of anti-Maduro protesters took to the streets of the capital Caracas, aides to opposition leader María Corina Machado said security forces briefly detained her and forced her to record a video.

The popular former lawmaker, who was barred from running for office by the government, emerged from months in hiding to join a rally demanding that González be sworn in instead of Maduro.

Machado addressed the gathering and then left on a motorcycle with her security escort. Machada’s press team later announced on social media that security forces had “forcefully intercepted” her convoy. Her colleagues confirmed to the Associated Press that the opposition hardliner was detained.

Leaders in America and Europe condemned the government for suppressing opposition voices and demanded her release. Newly elected US President Donald Trump expressed his support for Machado and González.

“These freedom fighters must not be harmed and MUST remain SAFE and ALIVE!” Trump said on the Truth Social.

Maduro’s supporters have denied that Machado has been arrested, saying government opponents are spreading fake news to provoke an international crisis.

Global condemnation of the results

In the run-up to Maduro’s inauguration, Bruha added to a series of accusations of electoral fraud and brutal repression to silence dissent. Election authorities loyal to the ruling party declared Maduro the winner hours after the polls closed on July 28, but unlike previous presidential elections, they did not provide detailed vote counts.

Global condemnation of the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask the country’s high court — also a staunch ally of his United Socialist Party of Venezuela — to review the election results. The court reaffirmed Maduro’s victory without providing thorough evidence and urged the electoral council to release the vote count.

But neither the council nor the ruling party provided any evidence that Maduro had won, even though their polling station representatives were also entitled to lists from each voting machine.

The dispute over the results sparked international outrage and protests across the country. The government responded with full force, arresting more than 2,000 protesters and encouraging Venezuelans to report anyone they suspect of being an opponent of the ruling party. During the unrest, more than 20 people were killed, and many protesters reported being tortured in custody.

Outside the inauguration ceremony on Friday, Maduro’s supporters were overjoyed. One of them was Maricarmen Ruiz (18), who could not hold back her tears.

“I have no words to express my emotions, I’m happy,” she said, expressing relief that González was not “imposed” in place of the president.

González’s brother kidnapped

It is not clear how many heads of state attended Maduro’s swearing-in, which was hosted by the National Assembly controlled by the ruling party. Cameras showed Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Miguel Diaz-Canel of Cuba, as Maduro greeted delegates from what he said were more than 120 countries.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a close ally of Maduro, said he would skip the event, citing the detention earlier this week of another longtime member of the Venezuelan opposition and human rights defender.

Maduro’s last inauguration, in 2019, was attended by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and then Bolivian President Evo Morales. The 2018 election was seen by many as a sham after his government banned major opposition parties from participating.

And it remains unclear whether González, who went into exile in Spain in September, will fulfill his promise to return to Venezuela by Friday.

Government officials repeatedly threatened González with arrest if he set foot on Venezuelan soil. González said Tuesday that his son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, was kidnapped in Caracas. González’s daughter, Mariana González de Tudares, suggested in a statement that the government was behind her husband’s disappearance.

“At what point did the relationship with Edmundo González Urrutia become a crime?” she said.