Thank you, Mr. Chair and members, for the invitation to appear before your committee.
My name is Daniel Di Martino. I was born in Venezuela in 1999, the same year that Hugo Chávez came to power. I left Venezuela in 2016 for the United States, where I now work as a fellow at the Manhattan Institute. I am also a Ph.D. candidate in economics at Columbia University.
Venezuela's crisis was caused by an ideological project: the destruction of economic liberty, private property, and democratic institutions brought about by socialism. That project began when Hugo Chávez took office in 1999. He promised dignity for the poor and sovereignty for our nation by redistributing wealth from the rich and the oil industry. To do this, he concentrated power in the executive branch and the federal government. He imposed price controls and nationalized private companies, large and small, from farms to banks to manufacturing. He took over the central bank to expand the money supply and finance his excessive welfare programs. Under Chávez and his hand-picked successor, Maduro, the state expanded by hiring hundreds of thousands of additional public workers, pulling them out of the private economy and making more people dependent on the state, which was the goal.
When their popularity sank, the elections were rigged. Democratic socialism was voted into power but could not be voted out of power. These socialist policies caused hyperinflation, shortages, crime, blackouts and water shortages, things that I experienced myself. Now, nearly nine million Venezuelans have left the country. This is the largest refugee crisis on the planet. It's larger than Syria's or Ukraine's, and it's the largest peacetime refugee crisis in human history. Socialism forced more people to flee than most wars in human history.
Venezuela, though, was not destined to fail but to succeed. It was, for much of the 20th century, a country of immigrants and opportunity, with freedom and the largest oil reserves in the world. My own grandparents went there from Europe in 1956 because Venezuela had freedom and opportunity with upward mobility. That history is one reason the Venezuelan tragedy is so important to us. It was not a desperate and uneducated failed state; it was a functioning society dismantled by socialism.
When the regime destroyed the oil industry, it turned to the sure source of revenue of every criminal: drug trafficking. Now Venezuela is not just a socialist regime but a narco-regime that finances its client structure to keep power through drug trafficking and other illicit activities. After the rigged 2024 presidential election, my friend María Oropeza, who was scheduled to appear at this committee, was unjustly imprisoned for 18 months in a torture centre, only to be released this year thanks to the U.S. arrest of Nicolás Maduro.
This is just one of the many reasons I strongly supported President Donald Trump's January 3 military law enforcement operation that led to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro. This was not just a lawful operation; it was a just one. Maduro was not a head of state presiding over a legitimate order, and the Canadian government didn't recognize him either. He was the head of a narco regime that destroyed Venezuela's democracy and turned it into a source of drugs for Europe, Canada and the United States and into an ally of the enemies of freedom, including China, Russia and Iran. Most Venezuelans, according to all credible polls, supported the U.S. intervention, are hopeful for the future and want the rest of the regime out of power.
Several positive things have happened since Maduro's removal. First, the regime's aura of permanence has been shattered. For years, Venezuelans were told that this could never end. With force, it did. That psychological barrier was broken. Second, political prisoners have begun to be released. Though the process is incomplete, it is ongoing. Third, there is increased media freedom, with private channels, such as Venevision, airing criticism of the regime and praise for the United States. Finally, the economy is improving, thanks to the renewed interest of foreign investors brought about by the deregulation and privatization that the Trump administration is forcing on the remnants of the regime.
I want to finish by saying that there are still risks. The first and most important risk is that the regime survives without Maduro. Their goal is to lengthen the transition enough to outlast the Trump administration in the United States. This is because they know that only this American president is willing to use force against them. That is why I encourage you, as Canada's government, to insist on full political liberalization and on preparations for free general elections, as well as on the release of all political prisoners. You should even try to be observers in those elections.
I want to finish by thanking you and letting you know that Venezuela is a warning to all free nations that socialism can be voted in but not voted out. I pray that once Venezuela becomes a free country again and is a beacon of freedom, countries like Canada and Venezuela can prosper through trade and exchange together.
Thank you so much. I look forward to your questions.