https://iclfi.org/pubs/wt/2026-ndp-venezuela
Trump’s vicious military assault on Venezuela and kidnapping of the country’s president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, put all candidates in the NDP leadership to a crucial test. Whatever one’s opinion of the Maduro regime, its overthrow at the hands of the U.S., hailed by Poilievre and welcomed by Carney, is an attack against all workers and peasants of Latin America and the whole Global South.
As Carney now jacks up military spending and axes living standards across the country, opposing U.S.-Canadian imperialism is vital to workers at home. Of all the candidates vying for leadership of the NDP, only Yves Engler has called to defend Venezuela and release Maduro. Engler has spent years exposing Ottawa (and the NDP establishment) for decades of pushing U.S. sponsored regime change in Venezuela. His anti-imperialist stance is why an unelected group of NDP bureaucrats (acting behind closed doors) have banned his leadership campaign.
And what about the response to Washington’s assault on Caracas from the half-dozen or so “vetted” NDP candidates? Few have raised barely a peep in denunciation of U.S. imperialism or its Liberal lackeys in Ottawa. To his credit, Avi Lewis strongly condemned the assault. But his answer—that “Canada cannot be an accessory to this blatant violation of international law”—is a lie. Canada serves no other role on the world stage than “accessory” to the U.S. hegemon. Rather than this dead end, workers need to channel the just anger at Trump towards demonstrations and strikes against U.S. imperialism.
Every hue and cry over violations of “international law” raised by Ottawa always serves as a velvet glove on Washington’s iron fist. Beyond the virtue signalling, Lewis’s condemnation amounts to little more than quibbling over Trump’s methods. Unlike Lewis, war-monger-in-chief Donald Trump has made it clear: Under the jackboot of U.S. imperialism “international law” is whatever Washington wants it to be.
Unlike the rest of the leadership contenders, the Engler campaign calls to defend Venezuela, defend the Palestinian people from the ongoing genocide at the hands of Israel, withdraw from NATO and break with Zionism. Engler’s partner Bianca Mugyenyi, has now come forward to fight for the leadership nomination with the same program, while offering to stand aside if the ban against Engler is lifted.
Every NDP candidate claiming to represent working people against the bosses’ parties must stand with Venezuela and demand Maduro’s immediate freedom. In defense of the rights of all NDP members, they should suspend their campaigns until the ban on Engler is reversed.
- Defend Venezuela! Release Maduro!
- Win the Workers! Ditch the Liberals!
- Let Yves Run!
