The government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a self-proclaimed radical leftist, has sent a warship to visit Havana, Cuba, prompting widespread outrage among the country’s conservatives. The move is seen as “morally and strategically unjustifiable” by detractors, given Cuba’s close ties to Canada’s enemies.
The Castro regime has been accused of committing and continuing to commit human rights atrocities against its people, with a record number of political prisoners in the Americas. Cuba has also been accused of collaborating with Russia in its asymmetric war against Ukraine, diplomatically, militarily, and through propaganda efforts.
The Cuban government celebrated the visit with a welcoming event, which state television described as an “opportunity to celebrate and reinforce the bilateral relationship.” Canada’s ambassador to Havana, Geoff Gartshore, called the visit a “great privilege” for the Canadian government.
However, the move has been criticized by the Conservative Party, with head Pierre Poilievre labeling it “reckless, radical, and dangerous.”
The party’s foreign policy chief, Michael Chong, emphasized that Cuba and Russia are not allies of Canada and that the decision to visit Cuba is “morally and strategically unjustifiable.”
Chong noted that Trudeau has publicly expressed admiration for late dictator and mass murderer Fidel Castro and has previously visited Cuba, where he publicly embraced communist leaders and referred to Cuba as an “ally” of Canada. The Conservative Party has also criticized the Canadian government for continuing to consider Cuba an ally despite its human rights record and its collaboration with Russia.
Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, the coordinator of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, recalled that the Cuban government has posed a threat to Canada in the past, including the directed energy attacks against Canadian diplomats and the sending of Cuban troops to fight under Russian orders in Ukraine. The Castro regime has also been implicated in the mysterious “Havana syndrome,” which has affected several Canadian diplomats.
