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Unifor joins the national and international labour movement and its allies in strongly condemning the recent actions taken by the U.S. Trump Administration against Venezuela.
This is a flagrant violation of a country's sovereignty and international law.
The threat and use of violence cannot continue to be used as a tool of economic and political coercion under the guise of supporting peace, freedom and stability.
Whether through military force or unjust tariffs, President Trump continues to utilize illegitimate means to consolidate power and further enrich U.S. corporate interests.
Trump used the trade war to test the limits of global resistance and measure how far he could go in exerting economic pressure on other nations. When the international response proved weak and fragmented, it sent a dangerous signal that economic bullying works.
He has now moved into a more aggressive phase, one that goes beyond tariffs and into direct challenges to economic independence and national sovereignty.
Trump’s escalated threats and actions are designed to undermine the ability of nations that share the Western hemisphere to control their own economies, protect their jobs and industries, and make decisions in the interests of their people rather than under threat or retaliation from the United States.
Canada must take every available action to defend workers in industries under attack, including energy sector jobs at risk. At the same time, we must make strategic investments to strengthen domestic infrastructure, protect good jobs, and build new opportunities that reduce our economic dependence on the United States.
What has occurred in Venezuela is now being threatened in Cuba, Colombia and Mexico, with renewed annexation threats against Greenland in addition to those already made about Canada last year.
Leaders must stand firm and denounce Trump's dangerous rhetoric and claims of ownership and dominance over an entire hemisphere. History has shown how such interventionist policies often lead only to further violence, repression and division, putting more innocent lives and communities at risk. Such unilateral actions will only further embolden governments and authoritarian regimes in using military action and aggression to carry out their own political and economic agenda.
The ongoing breach and undermining of international laws risks further endangering human and workers' rights everywhere, and weakening the democratic institutions, global treaties and conventions we rely on to ensure rights are upheld and people are protected.
Unifor will continue to promote dialogue, peace and the right of all peoples to self-determination.
