A group of Venezuelan-Canadians gathered at Nathan Phillips Square on Sunday, singing their country’s national anthem and waving flags as they celebrated the large-scale U.S. strike on Saturday that ended in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
The pair remained in a detention centre in New York on Sunday, where they are expected to make their first appearance on Monday in Manhattan’s federal court to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges.
“We want Canadians to understand that we Venezuelan Canadians, we agree with this,” said Astrid Billarroel, who was among those gathered on Sunday. “It’s very difficult because when you see a war in a different country, we do not agree with this, but we’ve been fighting for 26 years now in Venezuela.”
Reactions to Maduro’s capture have been mixed. Demonstrators rallied outside the U.S. consulate in Toronto Saturday, with some arguing that President Donald Trump’s move was a violation of international law.
“I’ve been talking to my family all night long, and a lot of people are not happy with what’s happening. Trump has no power to say he’s going to send a commission of people, assigned by him, to rule Venezuela,” said one demonstrator.
On Sunday, those gathered at Nathan Phillips Square say the move by the U.S. is what they’ve been waiting for – a restored hope for a country whose government they say has been riddled with corruption.
“We need to get rid of this structure,” said Luis Florez. “We’re just calling for Venezuela to be free and for the people holding Venezuela hostage to respect the decision of the people of Venezuela and let the legitimate government take control of the country.”
“This is a transition,” added Veronica Hernandez. “Maduro is just one of more than 10 gangsters that are there; we still need a military force to help us, to really go through that transition.”
“This is not just about left or right or if we like Donald Trump or not, this is about the reality, the basic needs of Venezuelans,” said Daniela Yanez. “We need freedom, we need food, we need health, education and the right to work.”
At least one observer argues the strikes against Maduro are just one dimension of what’s really at play.
“I would say that shoring up U.S. interests in the region, expanding U.S. investments in the Venezuelan oil industry, are the underlying motivations for what has happened here,” says Luis van Isschot, an Associate Professor of History at the University of Toronto.
In the aftermath of the military operation, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the U.S. will temporarily run Venezuela and sell “large amounts” of its oil to other nations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a more nuanced take on Sunday, saying the U.S. would continue to enforce an oil quarantine that was already in place on sanctioned tankers before Maduro was removed from power and using that leverage as a means to press policy changes in Venezuela
But van Isschot says that while we await a response from the current acting president of Venezuela and its military, rifts may appear in the country.
“Not just in Venezuelan politics but in Venezuelan society, this could cause a deepening of social unrest in the country, and for the region as a whole, I think many Latin Americans are watching with great trepidation.”
According to Global Affairs Canada, nearly eight million Venezuelans have fled or left Venezuela since 2015, and many celebrating Maduro’s capture in Toronto on Sunday say they anxiously await what’s next for their country.