Having used violence and coercion to remain in power despite being defeated in an election, Nicolas Maduro was not the lawful leader of Venezuela.
It is too early to tell what impact the U.S. removal of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro from power will have. Key decisions, such as whether the Maduro regime will remain largely intact sans Maduro, or whether there will be a full push for a democratic transition, are still up in the air.
With that said, given the emotionally-charged atmosphere that now prevails online, some are seeking to make the case that the removal of Maduro legitimizes the removal of democratically elected leaders, with some commentators even comparing Maduro to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te as examples of leaders who could face ouster by powerful potential adversaries.
While concerns regarding unilateral actions are understandable, it is important to note that – unlike Carney, Zelenskyy, and Lai – Maduro is not the legitimate leader of a nation. Carney, Zelenskyy, and Lai were all elected in free and fair campaigns and lead functional democratic states. They derive their legitimacy from the votes of the people and from rising through a legitimate electoral system.
By contrast, Maduro remained in power despite losing the 2024 Venezuelan Presidential Election. After Maria Corina Machado (winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize), the popular opposition leader who was set to run for President, was barred from running, Edmundo Gonzalez ran in her place as the opposition candidate. Despite overwhelming evidence that Gonzalez defeated Maduro by a significant margin (evidence from the detailed tabulation of voting machine receipts (Actas) showed Gonzalez winning 67% of the vote to Maduro’s 30%), the government-controlled National Electoral Council said Maduro was the winner with 51.9% to Gonzalez’s 43.18%. Notably, the Venezuelan government did not provide evidence to back up its claims. Following the theft of the election, Maduro’s regime exiled, jailed, and killed members of the opposition.
This clear abrogation of democracy by Maduro is why many nations – including Canada – recognized Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of the 2024 election, and viewed Maduro as illegitimate. In fact, Canada has not recognized the Maduro government as legitimate since 2018, something noted by Prime Minister Mark Carney in his statement on the U.S. ouster of Maduro:
“One of the first actions taken by Canada’s new government in March 2025 was to impose additional sanctions on Nicolás Maduro’s brutally oppressive and criminal regime — unequivocally condemning his grave breaches of international peace and security, gross and systematic human rights violations, and corruption. 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.”
There will be an ongoing debate over whether the U.S. did the right thing, and concerns regarding future U.S. action are logical given the Trump Administration’s past rhetoric towards Canada, Greenland, and Panama. Those are concerns I share. However, I also believe it is important to emphasize that Maduro was not the legitimate leader of Venezuela. Thus, while his ouster could be seen as setting a dangerous precedent – though past U.S. action in Panama (President George HW Bush and Libya (President Barack Obama) was similar) – letting dictators use violence, fear, and lies to remain in power despite clear election defeats is also a dangerous precedent.
The people of Venezuela – who have endured immense suffering and have shown tremendous bravery in their fight for freedom against an oppressive government – are one step closer to regaining their democracy and the human rights everyone deserves. And that is a positive development. Whatever else may happen, and whatever real concerns we may have about what the future holds, we can let ourselves feel some happiness when fellow human beings anywhere in the world regain a sense of hope after so many years of pain.
Spencer Fernando
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