February 3, 2019

We, the students of the UBC Social Justice Centre, who live and learn on the occupied, unceded, traditional, and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) nations, condemn the Canadian government’s decision to interfere in the sovereignty of Venezuela by recognizing the leader of the opposition as President and by supporting a US-led coup against the elected government of Nicolás Maduro. We recognize this move, namely, imposing external national and corporate interests on the people of Venezuela, as an extension of Canadian colonialism abroad through the continuation of its imperialist foreign policies in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Since the beginning of the 21st century alone, Canada has played a shameful and pivotal role in subverting democratically elected governments across Latin America by supporting coups in Haiti (2003), Honduras (2009), Paraguay (2012) and Brazil (2016). The Canadian government’s recent decision to host the widely pro-coup Lima Group to determine the fate of Venezuela on February 4, 2019, is reminiscent of the meeting Canada facilitated in January 2003 called the “Ottawa Initiative.” At this meeting, in the absence of Haitian representatives, Canadian, American, French and Latin American officials and corporate representatives planned a coup against the democratically elected President of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was subsequently ousted weeks later. Furthermore, the Canadian government’s continued diplomatic support for a succession of fraudulent and repressive post-coup governments in Honduras, who have benefited Canadian corporate and economic interests, demonstrates the hypocritical and self-serving nature of Canada’s commitment to ‘democracy’ in Latin America. This history implores us to resist efforts by Canada, and the US, to once again destabilize and overthrow an elected government.

At this time, we call upon you to join us in condemning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, and the Canadian government for undemocratically intervening in the sovereign affairs of Venezuela in violation of international law and we urge the Canadian government to lift the cruel and inhumane sanctions that it has imposed on the people of Venezuela immediately.

UBC’s Social Justice Centre

Please feel free to copy, personalize and send the above letter to the following addresses:

Justin Trudeau – Prime Minister

80 Wellington Street

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A3

Canada

Phone: (613) 992-4211

Email: justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca

Chrystia Freeland – Minister of Foreign Affairs

125 Sussex Drive

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G2

Canada

Phone: (343) 203-1851

Email: chrystia.freeland@ international.gc.ca