A supporter reacts as she sees the Venezuela’s re-elected President Nicolas Maduro outside the National Electoral Council (CNE) in Caracas, Venezuela May 22, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Frédérique Ndatirwa
Canada was among several countries that issued a joint statement rejecting the Sunday re-election of Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro.
In the statement released on Wednesday, the G7 leaders which include: Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States, along with the European Union, declared their solidarity with the people of Venezuela in denouncing the electoral process they say failed “to meet accepted international standards.”
The countries said that last Sunday’s election “solidifies” the Maduro regime while “the people of Venezuela continue to suffer human rights abuses and serious deprivation.”
Venezuela’s re-elected President Nicolas Maduro gestures as he leaves after receiving a certificate confirming him as the winner of Sunday’s election at the National Electoral Council (CNE), in Caracas, Venezuela May 22, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello
It is estimated that the oil rich country has seen about 500,000 of its people migrate within the last two years.
“The daily problems are so severe, Venezuelans do not want to go back to the streets [to protest] – they are thinking about surviving,” Caracas-based journalist, Stefano Pozzebon told Humber News in an interview on Wednesday.
For Pozzebon, seeing the international community rally behind Venezuelans is a great start, but he thinks it is too early to determine the effect it will have on Maduro who has been in power since 2013.
“We have not seen any diplomatic consequences from the G7 and EU proposal. If the economic interests of Venezuela are not seriously touched, nothing will change.”
The United States imposed sanctions on the country as soon as the results of the vote were released and Canada has also decided to downgrade its diplomatic relations with the country, by not replacing the current ambassador in Caracas.
The G7 and EU statement demanded that Maduro should, “restore constitutional democracy in Venezuela, schedule free and fair elections that can truly reflect the democratic will of the people, immediately release all political prisoners, restore the authority of the National Assembly and provide for full, safe and unhindered access by humanitarian actors.”