OTTAWA — On January 3, 2026, US special forces captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in a military operation that seized him and his wife and transported them to the United States. In the operation, 32 members of Cuba’s elite “Black Wasps” counter-insurgency unit were killed protecting him; Havana subsequently declared two days of national mourning (14ymedio 2026; Prensa Latina 2026). The Cuban regime’s response lays bare a reality that Canada has long preferred to ignore: Cuba is not simply a poor Caribbean nation struggling under US sanctions. It is an active participant in an authoritarian network that spans continents, exports repression, and works systematically to undermine democratic governance across the Western Hemisphere.
