Canada announced this Monday (25) that the Venezuelan ambassador was no longer “welcome”, in response to the expulsion of the Canadian charge d’affaires in Caracas.
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Venezuela’s ambassador had already been dismissed from his post by the government of President Nicolas Maduro in protest against Canadian sanctions against Venezuelan officials implicated in corruption and human rights violations.
“I announce that the ambassador of Venezuela (…) is no longer welcome in Canada. I also declare the charge d’affaires of Venezuela persona non grata,” declared Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland .
Reprisals
For Freeland, Saturday’s expulsion of Canadian charge d’affaires Craig Kowalik is “typical of the Maduro regime, which has undermined all efforts to restore democracy and help the Venezuelan people.”
“Canadians will not stand idly by while the government of Venezuela deprives its people of their basic democratic and human rights and denies them access to basic humanitarian assistance,” he said.
The Canadian government raised the tone with the Maduro regime to encourage dialogue with the opposition and adopted a series of sanctions against Caracas.
On Friday (22), Ottawa decided to ban the presence on its territory of 52 officials from Venezuela, Russia and South Sudan, for corruption or human rights violations.
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