Prime Minister Mark Carney’s inspirational speech at the DAVOS World Economic Forum on January 20, 2026 has been acclaimed by the international community, widely recognized as not just one of the best speeches ever given by a Canadian Prime Minister, but the best.
While I too applaud the Prime Minister for his very well thought out, articulate, and moving speech, it must be asked why he has been so reluctant time and time again to condemn Washington’s bullying breaches of international law.
On January 3, 2026, Donald Trump’s forces invaded Venezuela and kidnapped leader Nicolás Maduro, then flying him and his wife to the United States to face drug smuggling charges. This action echoed the December 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama under President George H. W. Bush which led to the arrest of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to face similar drug smuggling charges. Both invasions were characterized as illegal under international law.
However, Trump’s actions have been much more deplorable. For example, in the four months prior to the kidnapping of Maduro, with no legal justification, he directed the U.S. military to bomb a number of small civilian boats operating in Venezuelan waters, killing at least 95 individuals.
It has quickly become very clear that these flagrant breaches of international law had nothing to do with democracy, human rights, or regime change. They were only intended to give the U.S. control of Venezuela’s massive oil reserves.
Mark Carney failed to condemn the illegal kidnapping of Maduro, stating only that Canada welcomed the opportunity for freedom and stressing that the Venezuelan people must decide their own future.
Now, not content with just bullying Venezuela, Trump and his colleagues continue to illegally threaten Caribbean stability.
The next target may be Cuba, which since the 1959 Cuban revolution has been the victim of the most cruel and inhumane economic blockade ever imposed by one nation on another.
Trump has already ended Venezuela’s crucial provision of oil supplies and financial support for the island. On January 27th, he proclaimed that “Cuba will be falling pretty soon.”
If ever there was a case of big power bullying, this would be it. Yet sadly, despite Canada’s historic relationship with Cuba, Mark Carney has yet to utter a word to condemn the threat to this tiny nation.
It is not yet clear whether or not Prime Minister Carney will finally hold the bully in the room to account. For the sake of international law in general, and for the suffering people of Cuba in particular, I hope Canada’s future actions will live up to Carney’s DAVOS declarations. I fear the speech may be just empty words.
Only time will tell.
Daily atmospheric CO2 [Courtesy of CO2.Earth]
Latest daily total (February 1, 2026): 427.76ppm
One year ago (February 1, 2025): 426.00ppm
Subscribe to Tim Louis
Keep up to date Tim's latest posts.