OTTAWA — As several countries condemn the United States for removing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. embassy in Ottawa on Sunday to voice sharply differing views on the intervention and Venezuela’s future.
Dozens of protesters called on Canada to support Venezuelans’ right to self-determination and urged Washington to step back. Some demonstrators chanted in support of Maduro and criticized U.S. President Donald Trump, accusing the United States of destabilizing the region.
Emmanuel Galleguillos-Cote, one of the protesters, said the military action reflected a long-standing pattern of U.S. involvement in Latin America driven by resource interests.
“The United States thinks these resources belong to them, and they don’t,” he said. “They belong to the people. It’s up to them, and their right to self-determination, to govern themselves without U.S. intervention.”
At the same time, counter-protesters — many of them Venezuelan Canadians — expressed relief and optimism following Maduro’s removal. Diana Rizo, who fled Venezuela and settled in Canada in 2014, said she was perplexed by the public support for Maduro.
“I lived for years without hope of returning to my country,” she said. “Now, for the first time, I see hope.”
Claudia Carrera, a Venezuelan who has lived in Quebec City for 25 years, said many in the diaspora had been waiting for a breakthrough after years of failed attempts to achieve change through strikes, protests and elections.
“The only hope we had was that someone from outside would come to our aid,” she said, adding that she hopes the United States will eventually step aside and allow Venezuelans to govern themselves.
Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke Sunday with Venezuela’s opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado. According to a readout from the Prime Minister’s Office, both leaders emphasized the importance of seizing what they described as an opportunity for “freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity” in Venezuela and condemned Maduro’s “brutally oppressive, criminal, and illegitimate regime.”
On Saturday, Venezuela’s top court ordered Delcy Rodríguez to assume the role of interim president following Maduro’s removal.
Speaking to reporters after the operation, Trump said the United States intends to take advantage of the leadership vacuum to repair Venezuela’s oil infrastructure and sell large volumes of oil internationally. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later appeared to temper those remarks, suggesting Washington would not take on a day-to-day governing role beyond enforcing an existing “oil quarantine.”
International reaction has been mixed. Six countries, including Mexico and Spain, issued a joint statement condemning the U.S. action, warning it sets a dangerous precedent for peace and regional security. The statement called for a peaceful, negotiated resolution led by Venezuelans and expressed concern over any attempt to control or appropriate the country’s natural resources.
Carney responded to Maduro’s ouster on Saturday by noting that one of the first actions of his government after taking office in March was to impose additional sanctions on Maduro’s regime. In a social media post, he reiterated that Canada has not recognized Maduro’s government since the 2018 election, which Ottawa considers illegitimate.
At the same time, Carney emphasized Canada’s long-standing support for a peaceful, Venezuelan-led transition that respects international law.
“We stand by the Venezuelan people’s sovereign right to decide and build their own future in a peaceful and democratic society,” he said.