Friends no more

January 7, 2026

By Bill Kilpatrick

Sitting with my mother over the Christmas holidays chatting about current events, she paused, as we were talking about President Donald Trump’s erratic behaviour, and tears began welling in her eyes and she said what most Canadian’s are thinking right now. She said, “I never thought that the state that we would have to fear attack from was our neighbour.”

Yet, here we are.

She made this comment on Dec. 23, 11 days before Trump attacked Venezuela and kidnapped their president along with his wife, in what can only be called a vulgar display of power that violates all international law. Pulitzer Prise winning author, Chris Hedges, said that this attack solidifies America’s standing as a “rouge state.” Former MP Charlie Angus called Trump and his regime “klepto-gangsters,” and Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman referred to Trump’s behaviour as acting more like “a mob boss [who is] trying to expand his territory, believing that if he knocks off a rival boss he can bully the guy’s former capos into giving him a cut of their take.”

Trump seemed to reinforce Krugman’s assessment when he commented that the current sitting president of Venezuela, former vice -president Delcy Rodríguez, would “pay a big price” if she “does not do what is right.” Which, according to Trump, is allowing the United States to do whatever they want, especially when it comes to the region’s oil reserves. On top of this, Trump and members of his administration are making more threats against Cuba, Greenland, and Columbia. In the words of Trump “American dominance in the western hemisphere will never be questioned again.” Well, there goes the international rules-based system that our grandfather’s generation fought for during the Second World War.

What does this mean for Canada? Venezuela can be viewed a warning to any and all other countries in the western hemisphere to fall in line with whatever Trump wants or face similar consequences. The fear is already spreading. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s statement about the United States’ aggressive act of war against another sovereign state stopped short of condemning the act or criticizing Trump in any way, while happily criticizing the “…brutally oppressive and criminal regime” of Nicolás Maduro.

Leader of the opposition Pierre Poilieve happily reinforced Trump’s farcical excuse for the unjustified act of war stating in terms that sounded more like a cheerleader than a national leader stating: “Congratulations to President Trump on successfully arresting narco-terrorist and socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, who should live out his days in prison.” He then suggested that Edmondo González and Maria Corina Machado should be installed in Maduro’s place. He ended his congratulatory accolades with “Down with socialism. Long Live freedom.”

I was appalled at both responses from our leaders. Carney for essentially bending the knee to the man-child president for fear of offending him and Poilievre for getting on his knees. Despite Carney not calling a spade a spade he at least acknowledged the rules based international system. Poilievre on the other hand cheered on a war crime complete with international kidnapping. Not exactly sure that is the type of freedom the world needs Mr. Poilievre. If Trump ever decides to make a regime change in Canada you can be dam sure whose side Poilievre would be on.

Maduro and Trump are both criminals, but if we are to have any stability in this world sovereign states need to be left alone to decide how they want to be governed and by whom. Just like the United States should be free to elect who they want or throw out who they want, Venezuela should be free to decide their own government and the future of their country. You don’t get to walk into a neighbour’s house, throw him and his family out and commandeer their house and all their belongings for your own, simply because you disagree with their life choices.

Overthrowing regimes in South America is nothing new for the United States. In fact, the original 9/11 was a CIA sponsored coup to overthrow the democratically elected Chilean president, the socialist Salvador Allende in September of 1973. The U.S. then installed the dictator General Augusto Pinochet who ruled with an iron fist torturing his opponents until he was deposed in 1990. While the United States loves to use the excuse that Maduro was a dictator, it wouldn’t have mattered if he was elected or not, because he was a nationalist, who believed in nationalizing the nations resources, thus removing control and profits from the United States. And that’s what this attack against Venezuela boils down to, power, control, and greed.

On Jan. 4 Trump openly threatened the president of Columbia Gustavo Petro claiming that the country is “very sick” and “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the U.S.,” adding, “He’s not going to be doing it very long.” Then on the same day he openly threatened Cuba stating “You just wait for Cuba. Cuba is a communist dictatorship that’s killed priests and nuns. They preyed on their people. Their days are numbered.”

Threats, sabre rattling, intimidation, illegal attacks, kidnapping, citing the Monroe Doctrine, these are the hallmarks of desperation. Trump knows his days are numbered based on his falling poll numbers and he needs to stay in power so he and many of his cronies do not go to jail. What better way to stay in power than to start multiple wars. It’s the American way.

Canadians, like many other countries, including the United States, made terrible sacrifices to fight rogue fascist states during the Second World War and now we face one again. The sooner we and our allies in Europe and around the world recognize this clear and present danger and stand together to oppose it the better. The longer Trump is allowed a free hand the worse it will get.

In the dying days of the Third Reich Adolf Hitler was said to have stated definitely, “We will not capitulate – no, never! We may be destroyed, but if we are, we shall drag a world with us — a world in flames.” We cannot let that happen again. We owe it to our children and our children’s children to stand up in defiance and say enough. It was Venezuela today, but it could have just as easily been Canada, and it may be if nothing is done to stop Trump.