Conservatives slam CBC for calling Maduro “man of the people”

Conservative MPs criticized the state broadcaster on Sunday after CBC/Radio-Canada ran a headline describing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as “l’homme du peuple à la poigne de fer."

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Conservative MPs criticized the state broadcaster on Sunday after CBC/Radio-Canada ran a headline describing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as “l’homme du peuple à la poigne de fer,” which translates from French to English as “the man of the people with an iron grip,” prompting backlash the same day from politicians and members of the Venezuelan-Canadian community.

The French-language headline appeared on Radio-Canada Info and was shared on the network’s official X account. Conservative MPs accused the publicly funded broadcaster of ignoring the record of an authoritarian leader.

Conservative MP Sandra Cobena, who represents a Greater Toronto Area riding, said the wording was an insult to Venezuelans who have suffered under Maduro’s rule.

“Calling Nicolás Maduro a ‘man of the people’ is an insult to the millions of Venezuelans who have suffered under his rule,” Cobena said on Sunday. “When a publicly funded broadcaster like CBC Radio sanitizes the image of an authoritarian strongman, it abandons its duty to truth and accountability.”

Cobena rejected any portrayal of Maduro as a populist figure, citing Venezuela’s economic collapse, mass migration, and documented human rights abuses.

“Maduro is not a populist hero. He is the inheritor and enforcer of one of the most destructive regimes in modern Latin American history,” she said.

Conservative MP Rachael Thomas also weighed in on Sunday, calling the headline misleading.

“According to the government-funded CBC, Nicolas Maduro is a ‘man of the people,’” Thomas said. “The man who oppressed Venezuelans for over a decade and jailed political opponents is not a ‘man of the people.”

“Let’s be clear…Maduro is a brutal and oppressive dictator,” Thomas added. “If the CBC needs proof of that, they need only look at the millions of Venezuelans celebrating Maduro’s capture.”

As first reported by CityNews, Venezuelan-Canadians gathered Sunday at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, singing their national anthem and waving flags as they celebrated the large-scale U.S. strike on Saturday that led to the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

“We want Canadians to understand that we, Venezuelan Canadians, we agree with this,” said Astrid Billarroel, who attended the gathering. “It’s very difficult because when you see a war in a different country, we do not agree with this, but we’ve been fighting for 26 years now in Venezuela.”

Maduro and his wife remained in a detention centre in New York on Sunday and are expected to make their first appearance Monday afternoon at a Manhattan federal court to face narco-terrorism-related charges.

Those celebrating at Nathan Phillips Square on Sunday said the move represented long-awaited hope for change.

“We need to get rid of this structure,” said Luis Florez. “We’re just calling for Venezuela to be free and for the people holding Venezuela hostage to respect the decision of the people of Venezuela and let the legitimate government take control of the country.”

“This is a transition,” said Veronica Hernandez. “Maduro is just one of more than 10 gangsters that are there.”

“This is not just about left or right or if we like Donald Trump or not,” said Daniela Yanez. “This is about the reality, the basic needs of Venezuelans.”

According to Global Affairs Canada, nearly eight million Venezuelans have fled or left the country since 2015.

Later Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke by phone with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado.

In a statement, Carney and Machado condemned Maduro’s “brutally oppressive, criminal, and illegitimate regime” and discussed the importance of pursuing a peaceful, Venezuelan-led transition that respects the democratic will of the Venezuelan people. Carney affirmed Canada’s support for a negotiated transition and agreed to remain in contact with Machado and international partners.