Canada Calls on ‘All Parties to Respect International Law’ After Maduro’s Capture by US

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada welcomes the “opportunity for freedom” in Venezuela after the United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, but said all parties need to “respect international law.”

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by U.S. military forces in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 3, following U.S. strikes in that country. The couple were flown to New York to face indictment for several drug trafficking charges, according to U.S. officials.

Carney said shortly after he became prime minister in March, his government imposed additional sanctions on Maduro’s “brutally oppressive and criminal regime.”

“Canada has not recognised the illegitimate regime of Maduro since it stole the 2018 election. The Canadian government therefore welcomes the opportunity for freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity for the Venezuelan people,” Carney said in a statement on Jan. 3.

Carney added that his government supports a peaceful, “Venezuelan-led” transition process. The Trump administration has said that the United States will run Venezuela until a peaceful transition of power is completed.

“Canada calls on all parties to respect international law. We stand by the Venezuelan people’s sovereign right to decide and build their own future in a peaceful and democratic society,” Carney said.

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, as seen in a photo shared by President Donald Trump on Jan. 3, 2026, aboard the USS Iwo Jima, on Jan. 3, 2026. The White House

“Canada attaches great importance to resolution of crises through multilateral engagement and is in close contact with international partners about ongoing developments.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said that Canada stands by the people of Venezuela and “their desire to live in a peaceful and democratic society.”

She accused Maduro’s regime of repressing the Venezuelan people, “including the persecution of dissenters and particularly political leaders opposed to the regime.”

The Trump administration has said the operation in Venezuela and Maduro’s capture was needed due to drug trafficking concerns, and that the Untied States wants “peace, liberty, and justice” for the people of Venezuela.

“You’re going to have peace, justice, you’re going to have some of the riches that you should have had for a long period of time. It was stolen from you,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in an address to the people of Venezuela on Jan. 3, adding that large U.S. oil companies can now go back to Venezuela.

It’s currently not clear who will eventually take over the leadership of Venezuela. Opposition figure Maria Corina Machado was banned from running for president after a decision by the Maduro-controlled Supreme Court in January 2024. Edmundo González, who replaced Machado, has been recognized by many Western countries as the country’s rightful president-elect following the disputed 2024 election.

Reactions in Canada

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre congratulated Trump on the capture of Maduro, saying the Venezuelan leader should spend the rest of his life in prison. “Down with socialism. long live freedom,” Poilievre said.

NDP interim leader Don Davis criticized the United States, saying the move was “totally illegal” and lacked authorization of the UN Security Council.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves Blanchet said that while his party recognized that Maduro’s regime “defies fundamental freedoms, integrity, and democracy,” the United States should work through the UN to deal with threats from Venezuela.

Venezuelan Elections

Maduro took over leadership of Venezuela following the 2013 death of Hugo Chávez, who rose to power in 1999. Maduro was declared winner in the Venezuela’s 2018 presidential election after opposition parties were banned from participating.

He was also declared the winner of the recent 2024 elections hours after polls closed, but the opposition says it has evidence he lost by more than a 2-to-1 margin.

Sanctions

Canada has imposed sanctions on Venezuelan officials over the past several years, including five senior officials in December 2024, months after the election where Maduro was declared the winner.

Then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly said the five individuals had “engaged in activities that directly or indirectly undermine democracy in Venezuela.”

Ottawa said that electoral data collected by citizen witnesses and independent international observers “provides credible evidence” that Maduro did not win the election.

People celebrate to the news of the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in Doral, Florida, near Miami, on Jan. 3, 2026. Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images

The federal government also said that Venezuelan authorities had repressed demonstrations against the government that resulted in at least 28 deaths, 43 “forced disappearances,” and 2,000 detentions.

Joly said that Canada “remains deeply concerned by the Maduro regime’s destabilizing and anti-democratic activities” and the threat they pose to the region, calling for a “peaceful, negotiated and Venezuelan-led solution” to resolve the crisis.

Canada previously sanctioned 40 individuals linked to the Maduro regime in September 2017, another 14 individuals in May 2018, and 43 people in April 2019.

In 2017, similar questions of election irregularities were raised by then-Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, who said there were concerns over the validity of that year’s Venezuelan election results.

Canada imposed additional sanctions on the Maduro regime earlier this year.

Embassy Closed

Canada announced it was suspending its embassy’s operations in Venezuela in June 2019, after questions were raised about the legitimacy of elections held in the country. 

At the time, Freeland said the country was sliding “deeper into dictatorship.”

Freeland accused Maduro’s government of limiting foreign embassies’ ability to function in Venezuela, particularly those looking to see democracy restored to the country.

She said that Canadian diplomats were no longer able to obtain diplomatic accreditation under the Maduro regime, and said Canada was temporarily suspending operations at its Venezuelan embassy.

After the Jan. 3 events, Ottawa said that it’s ready to assist any Canadians in need through consular officials and the Canadian embassy in Bogotá, Columbia.

Global Affairs Canada has advised Canadians to avoid all travel to Venezuela, saying the current situation is tense and “could escalate quickly.”

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.