Why the Media Silence About Trudeauās Worst Foreign Policy Failure
By Yves Engler – Dec 23, 2021
Imagine if NicolĆ”s Maduroās vice president quit and called for his government to be disbanded. Or if Venezuelaās opposition won a landslide in regional elections or if 90% of member states voted against the governmentās UN credentials. The Canadian media would have splashed this news on front pages, but the shoe was on āour guyāsā foot so theyāve been silent.
The dominant media has all but ignored the collapse of Canadaās unprecedented bid to create an international coalition to support a parallel Venezuelan government. Itās quite a turnaround from when the media publishedĀ puff piecesabout Ottawaās central role in Juan GuaidĆ³ās rise and CTV Newsā Don MartinĀ askedforeign minister Chrystia Freeland whether Maduro was āany step closer to being kicked out of office as a result of this meeting today?ā
A search of major Canadian media found almost no mention of the following developments over the past month:
ā¢Ā Two weeks ago Julio Borges resignedĀ as GuaidĆ³ās āforeign ministerā and called for his parallel government to ādisappear completelyā. That Borges abandoned a sinking ship is embarrassing for the Trudeau government because heās been close to Canadian officials. Borges met foreign minister Chrystia Freeland on multiple occasions and Canadian officials facilitated a meeting for him with Caribbean community officials. Borges is listed in severalĀ press releasesĀ on Global Affairs website. In one of them the Canadian-sponsored Lima Group ārecognizesĀ the work that Julio Borges has been doing to restore democracy in Venezuelaā and said his appointment as GuaidĆ³ās āforeign ministerā āwill result in an increase in international support for the end of the usurpation of the presidency and the beginning of a peaceful transition to democracy in Venezuela.ā Borges is one of three individuals cited in the Canadian Press article āQuiet CanadianĀ diplomacy helped GuaidĆ³ās anti-Maduro movement in Venezuelaā. The January 2019 story details Ottawaās role in rallying international forces and the Venezuelan opposition behind GuaidĆ³ās move to declare himself president in a Caracas park.
ā¢Ā On December 6 the United Nations General Assembly votedĀ to recognize the credentials of the Maduro government as the legitimate representative of Venezuela. While the US and Canada were previously able to marshal nearly 60 UN member states against Maduro, only 16 of 193 countries voted against Caracas this time.
ā¢Ā Another story that warranted coverage was the November 21 regional and municipal elections. Maduroās PSUV party won at least 212 of 335 mayoralties and 19 of 23 governorships. The oppositionās inability to unite behind joint candidates contributed to their poor showing. So did some opposition figures support forGuaidĆ³ and devastating international sanctions against their country. Canada adopted four rounds of sanctions against Venezuela and is a leading promoter of GuaidĆ³.
Borgesā resignation is a special blow to Ottawaās policy and definitely worthy of coverage by any sort of truly independent media. Instead, our corporate-owned newspapers, TV and radio either cheerlead for this countryās foreign policy or criticize it from the right.
The media has largely gone silent on Venezuela since it became clear Canadaās campaign to oust the government was a failure. This includes ignoring the withdrawal of Lima from the Lima Group of countries seeking to overthrow Venezuelaās government. In August a new Peruvian governmentās foreign minister said, āthe LimaĀ Group must be the most disastrous thing we have done in international politics in the history of PerĆŗ.ā
In fact, the Lima Group has lost other members and is now dormant. Where are the columnists analyzing this demise as yet another blow to Trudeauās foreign policy? Ottawa founded Lima Group with Peru in 2017 as a structure outside of the Organization of American States largely because that organizationās members refused to back Washington and Ottawaās bid to interfere in Venezuelan affairs, which they believed defied the OASā charter. The media previously reported glowingly about these Trudeau government policies.
But now that the American bull and the Canadian steer have ravaged the South American china shop yet again, thereās no mention of the destruction caused in Venezuela and elsewhere by the blatant interference in other countriesā internal affairs. Or even of the failure of a major Trudeau/Freeland foreign policy plank.
Itās time the media pressed the Liberals to drop their Juan GuaidĆ³ charade.
Featured image: Juan GuaidĆ³Ā and Justin Trudeau. TWITTER/@JUSTINTRUDEAU
Yves Engler
Yves Engler is Montreal-based writer and political activist. In addition to ten published books, Engler's writings have appeared in the alternative press and in mainstream publications such as The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, and Ecologist.
