Foreign Affairs Committee on March 10th, 2026

[Wendy Drukier]

I would not characterize Canada's position as a tacit acceptance of the U.S.'s working with the regime. We have been working with the Venezuelan opposition, including María Corina Machado, for some time and have engaged in dialogue with her. The Prime Minister spoke with her following the events of January 3 this year as well. We are also looking at the situation right now. Venezuelans did pronounce themselves in July 2024. That was more than a year and a half ago. The situation, of course, has changed, and we support any measures that would lead to a democratic transition led by Venezuelans.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Delcy Rodríguez remains sanctioned by Canada under the special economic measures regulations for her role in human rights abuses and corruption. How can the Government of Canada interpret her recent actions, such as prison closures and amnesty law and oil sector reforms, as anything more than cosmetic changes designed to preserve the same corrupt chavista network that looted Venezuela for decades?

[Wendy Drukier]

That's an interesting characterization. I'm certainly not in a position to read the motivations of Delcy Rodríguez in terms of the measures that have been taken.

As I mentioned in the opening statement, we have seen modest progress. We will have to see how things evolve over time. I think time will tell whether these changes may lead to more changes and more opening up of the country. We are very cautiously optimistic about the situation in Venezuela, but we certainly don't believe that we've turned the corner just yet.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Is Canada actively considering lifting any sanctions on her or other regime figures, or will sanctions remain until verifiable, irreversible anti-corruption reforms and free elections are achieved?

[Wendy Drukier]

The Canadian government reviews the sanctions regime and does undertake new consideration of sanctions—whether to impose new sanctions or take other measures on an ongoing basis. We have not made any changes to the sanctions regime since January 3 and are monitoring the situation.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Looking ahead, what specific measurable actions will Canada take to ensure that the Venezuelan transition results in real democracy rather than a rebranded version of the same corrupt regime? Will Canada lead efforts at the Organization of American States to impose strict anti-corruption conditionality on any future assistance, actively support María Corina Machado's role and maintain sanctions until free and fair elections are held under international observation?

[Wendy Drukier]

Those are a lot of points in one question. I will try to unpack some of them.

We certainly will maintain pressure. We are working on this with our partners and with the international community to continue to bring attention to the situation in Venezuela.

Canada has not set up strict conditions such that once you meet A, B and C, we will lift sanctions or we will move to recognition. We are following the situation as it evolves, and we will take those decisions as they are warranted. I wouldn't want to speculate as to what the next steps might be.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

The U.S. government is now marketing Venezuelan oil and controlling proceeds through U.S.-managed accounts. What is Canada's detailed understanding of this arrangement, and does the department share the view that routing revenues through transparent U.S. control mechanisms is the only way to prevent the same corrupt chavismo insiders from once again stealing billions from the Venezuelan people?

[Wendy Drukier]

From what the Canadian government understands of the arrangement for the proceeds of the sales of Venezuelan oil, the Venezuelan government needs to submit very detailed plans for spending those funds before they are transferred from the U.S.

I'm not a financial expert. I don't know whether there would be other viable mechanisms or this would be the only mechanism. I would not be able to provide comments on that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

We'll next go to Rob Oliphant.

You have five minutes.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the witnesses for being here.

I want to pull the lens away from Venezuela for a moment and look at the Venezuelan neighbourhood, the immediate reactions to the January operation and whether there's been an evolution. I know there's been some discussion about the ways and means of the removal of Maduro from office, which may be different from the results of moving him away from the office.

I'd like to focus on Brazil, Colombia and perhaps Guyana as neighbours. What were their initial reactions? Has there been any evolution in those responses? Is Canada in discussion and collaboration with the neighbours as they're responding?

That could be for either you or Mr. Savage. Both of you would probably be aware of these issues.

[Wendy Drukier]

Obviously, there have been a lot of reactions to what happened this January. We are discussing this with those neighbours and other countries in the region on a regular basis.

I believe the Brazilian statement was very clear in condemning the actions of the United States. Guyana, from what we understand, is relieved that attention has been drawn away from the contested Essequibo region, which Venezuela has been trying to claim as its own but which is currently under Guyanese control.

Colombia, of course, has certain considerations to take into account, in particular in security around the border area between Venezuela and Colombia. Colombian illegal armed groups—the FARC dissidents and the ELN—operate on both sides of the border. The main concern, in a practical sense, has been to make sure that violence doesn't spread or that it isn't displaced into Colombia.

It would be fair to say that every country is following developments. I think statements were made initially after what happened on January 3, but most countries, like Canada, are looking forward in order to see what the next steps might be and would want to support Venezuelans in a peaceful democratic transition.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Moving from the south, east and west side to the north and the small island states, I understand that a number of them have been purchasing oil from Venezuela over the last number of years and may not have oil now—or they may. I'm not sure.

What would the state of the energy reserves be in these very small island states that would be quite dependent on Venezuelan oil? Are the Americans helping them with oil, or is it still restricted?

[Wendy Drukier]

It's an important question.

We're not aware of any need for help for these small island states. The supply of Venezuelan oil over the years had actually declined as production within Venezuela has declined. Aside from the very different situation in Cuba, most of these states can purchase oil on the open markets. They don't absolutely need to be receiving it from Venezuela, although they were receiving it at subsidized rates for some time.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Do I have more time?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

You have one minute.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

I want to go back to political prisoners. You mentioned that back inside Venezuela, there's been a release of some 600 political prisoners. I have no idea what percentage that is. The Maduro regime was ruthless, vindictive and creative in finding ways to incarcerate anyone who was critical of the regime.

Do we have a sense of what percentage that might be, even though we probably don't have numbers? Are we making any representation towards their freedom?

[Wendy Drukier]

Canada continues to push for the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners in Venezuela. Estimates prior to the beginning of January were that there were perhaps around 800 to 900 political prisoners in Venezuela. That number has evolved as the weeks have drawn on, partially because it's believed that some family members have declared their family members as being political prisoners, whereas prior to that, they may have been afraid to characterize it that way.

It's very difficult for us to put a number on how many political prisoners are still in prisons. It would probably be fair to say that more than half have been released.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

We'll go next to MP Brunelle-Duceppe.

You have two and a half minutes.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Drukier, do you have an idea of the situation of drug traffickers in the country? We can all agree that they were working hand in hand with President Maduro. Are they still in the country? Are they still doing damage there? Are they still using the free passage they used to have?

[Wendy Drukier]

We don't have a lot of data on that. As you can understand, it's not easy to measure illegal activity, but we haven't seen a lot of action against drug traffickers in Venezuela since January 3. We can only assume that they are still active.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Is public pressure being felt on the streets right now? Are there still people who support the former Maduro regime, or has it greatly dissipated and is the majority of the population encouraged by the change that has been made?

[Wendy Drukier]

Actually, the streets of Venezuela are pretty quiet. There aren't a lot of protests on one side or the other. It's speculative, but we're talking with contacts on the ground, because the legal situation is still very uncertain. After what happened on January 3, people who protested in favour of getting rid of President Maduro were arrested. There were also measures to criminalize any demonstrations in support of the United States's actions. Since there has been a lot of political repression, most people are staying home, hoping that the situation will improve.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

You seem to be much more in tune with the way neighbouring countries are responding than the ambassador, since you answered the questions I asked the ambassador twice and that he was unable to answer.

You are aware of the way these countries are responding, but are you aware of the measures they have taken in terms of humanitarian aid on the ground in Venezuela?

[Wendy Drukier]

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of information on that. We don't think there have been many, precisely because there have been no requests for international assistance and there have not been many changes on the ground. If there had been an increase in violence or a decrease in food security, perhaps more neighbouring countries would have taken direct measures to help Venezuela.