Juno News - January 07, 2026


A ＂militant＂ Canadian Antifa cell calls for anti-American violence


Episode Stats

Length

11 minutes

Words per Minute

159.7544

Word Count

1,908

Sentence Count

104


Summary

A self-described, militant Antifa cell based in Canada is openly calling for sabotage, attacks, and anti-American riots in response to the arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, raising renewed questions about why Canada continues to resist designating violent Antifa networks as terrorist organizations. Prime Minister Mark Carney denounces U.S. claims to Greenland, but emphasizes the importance of protecting NATO s northern flank in the Arctic.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 A militant Montreal-based Antifa cell openly called for sabotage, attacks, and anti-American
00:00:10.600 riots after the U.S. captured Venezuela's socialist dictator, Nicolas Maduro.
00:00:15.500 Prime Minister Mark Carney denounces U.S. claims to Greenland, but emphasized the importance
00:00:20.700 of protecting NATO's northern flank in the Arctic, a key concern for the U.S.
00:00:25.100 Canadian authorities warn that the narco-terrorist organization Tranday Aragua is officially
00:00:30.480 operating in Canada.
00:00:31.820 Hello Canada, it's Wednesday, January 7th, and this is the True North Daily Brief.
00:00:35.980 I'm Isaac Lamoureux.
00:00:37.140 I'm Alex Sultan.
00:00:38.300 We've got you covered with all the news you need to know.
00:00:40.820 Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere
00:00:45.180 else.
00:00:49.080 A self-described, quote, militant Antifa cell based in Canada is openly calling for sabotage,
00:00:55.080 attacks, and anti-American riots in response to the arrest of Venezuelan socialist dictator
00:01:00.000 Nicolas Maduro, raising renewed questions about why Canada continues to resist designating
00:01:04.880 violent Antifa networks as terrorist organizations as the U.S. government has.
00:01:09.320 The Call to Violence appeared this week in an anonymous post attributed to L'Organisation
00:01:13.860 Révolutionnaire Anarchiste, a Montreal-based anarchist group aligned with the broader Antifa movement.
00:01:20.500 The Call to Violence was distributed to other websites that serve as organizing hubs for
00:01:24.920 Antifa cells within Canada.
00:01:26.880 The post urges followers to carry out, quote, direct action, including, quote, sabotage and
00:01:32.620 attacks, and to target American businesses operating Montreal in retaliation for a U.S.-led
00:01:37.920 operation that captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
00:01:42.380 Antifa has had a persistent presence in Montreal for decades, often involving street violence and
00:01:47.880 property destruction. The post reads, quote, there are two answers that are needed right now.
00:01:53.700 The first is direct action, the sabotage and attacks that put a wrench in the wheels of
00:01:57.700 authoritarian machinery, done ideally in such a way so as to be coordinated or contagious,
00:02:03.040 resignating, and reproduced by others. The group calls on supporters to make the U.S.
00:02:08.040 ruling class regret this, pointing to American fast food chains, tech companies, warehouses,
00:02:13.100 and weapons manufacturers as potential targets. It praises recent anti-American riots in Mexico
00:02:19.600 and the U.S. and vandalism of weapons factories in Europe, urging activists in Canada to replicate
00:02:24.920 similar actions locally. The post frames violence as a moral imperative, encouraging adherents not to,
00:02:30.980 quote, underestimate yourself, and to organize actions that would strike blows against what it
00:02:35.200 describes as authority and imperialism.
00:02:37.440 So, Alex, we've seen the U.S. kind of take the lead in regard to designating groups as terrorists.
00:02:43.780 Why hasn't Canada taken that same kind of lead when it comes to Antifa affiliation?
00:02:49.720 That's a really good question, Isaac, and I think that the answer is largely when it comes to anything
00:02:54.880 political rooted in politics. When it comes to the political beliefs of a lot of Antifa people or Antifa
00:03:03.760 identifying people, I think that there's a lot of overlap there with the rhetoric of the Liberal Party,
00:03:09.360 which is the governing party of Canada, and that is the party that won the last election.
00:03:14.900 It would behoove the current government of Canada to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization
00:03:22.280 when their elbows up philosophy is in lockstep with the very government of Canada that they elected.
00:03:28.040 And so Canada is like stuck between a rock and a hard place to some extent at this point.
00:03:32.300 They cannot identify Antifa as a terrorist organization without alienating their base
00:03:38.340 and also discrediting the entire election campaign that they just ran on in the last Canadian federal election.
00:03:46.500 Prime Minister Mark Carney denounced calls by the U.S. administration to claim sovereignty over Greenland,
00:03:51.540 telling reporters in Paris on Tuesday that the island's fate rests solely with Denmark.
00:03:56.240 Carney's comments followed questions about remarks by Denmark's prime minister,
00:04:00.240 warning that any attempt by U.S. President Donald Trump to seize Greenland by military force would undermine NATO.
00:04:05.820 The future of Greenland is a decision for Greenland and for Denmark exclusively.
00:04:12.380 It's their decision.
00:04:14.160 Secondly, from a NATO context, the way I would frame it is that the western flank of NATO,
00:04:22.860 which would include Greenland, the Arctic, is given the evolving threat environment,
00:04:29.620 is an area that we as NATO, Canada obviously, importantly, given our geography, need to invest more in.
00:04:36.540 This is a point that we've been making in recent years and since I became prime minister that we've really stressed.
00:04:43.780 And with our buildup that's just beginning of our military capabilities,
00:04:48.680 we are making heavy investments in the Arctic.
00:04:52.100 We'll be working with our Nordic partners.
00:04:54.040 We'll be working through NATO.
00:04:55.660 This is one of the issues I'll be discussing with the Secretary General as part of an ongoing discussion with him around this to further advance it.
00:05:03.900 In a written statement posted earlier on X, Carney said,
00:05:06.940 The statement added that Canada and Denmark will continue working together to support peace in Ukraine and across Europe.
00:05:27.260 Carney denied seeing comments from Stephen Miller, a senior advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump,
00:05:32.440 who declined to rule out the use of military force in a hypothetical annexation of Greenland.
00:05:37.820 So, Isaac, this is a really interesting story to me because I feel like most of the western world agrees with the toppling of the Maduro regime.
00:05:48.140 It's a terrible socialist repressive regime.
00:05:52.020 I feel like it's a quantum leap to go from Venezuela to Greenland.
00:05:55.540 So, what were some of the other notable comments Carney made about his first media appearance in weeks on this particular subject?
00:06:03.700 Yeah, Alex, during that same appearance in Paris, Carney used the opportunity to touch on several other major foreign policy issues beyond Greenland or Venezuela,
00:06:12.820 which helped frame how his government is positioning Canada internationally.
00:06:16.500 Of course, one of the most notable comments was on Venezuela.
00:06:19.880 Carney openly welcomed the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro,
00:06:24.080 which leaders across the world have been seemingly agreeing on,
00:06:28.320 and Carney called it the fall of what he described as an illegitimate, corrupt, and repressive regime.
00:06:33.080 He framed that development as a positive opening for a democratic transition led by Venezuelans themselves,
00:06:38.880 and said Canada would support a peaceful process.
00:06:41.440 He also connected political change in Venezuela to broader regional stability,
00:06:45.800 arguing that a functioning, non-corrupt government could restore economic activity, including oil production,
00:06:50.460 which he said would benefit both Venezuelans and the wider Western Hemisphere.
00:06:54.840 However, on the conservative side of things, we've, of course, seen disagreement on that front.
00:06:58.900 Of course, Conservative leader Pierre Palliev and Alberta Premier Daniel Smith alike both today have issued risks
00:07:05.460 about what Venezuelan oil flooding the market could do to Canada's economy,
00:07:11.200 especially when we're hyper-reliant on trading with the U.S.
00:07:14.120 If the U.S. were to get another partner in Venezuela, how concerning that would be.
00:07:19.200 But going back to Carney, he explicitly linked political reform to energy markets and geopolitical stability,
00:07:26.380 rather than treating Venezuela solely as a human rights issue.
00:07:30.800 And these comments, of course, as we covered at True North,
00:07:33.260 triggered criticism from left-wing activists and commentators in Canada on the left,
00:07:37.480 who accused the U.S.-led effort that removed Maduro of violating international law.
00:07:41.760 Carney also repeatedly emphasized NATO's role during his remarks.
00:07:46.100 While speaking about Greenland and the Arctic, he framed the issue as part of a broader shift in NATO's security priorities,
00:07:52.220 especially along the alliance's western and northern flanks.
00:07:55.520 He said Canada has already begun ramping up military investments in the Arctic
00:07:58.980 and stressed closer coordination with Nordic partners through NATO as threat evolves.
00:08:03.840 But Carney still was careful to underscore Canada's relationship with the United States.
00:08:08.580 And while rejecting any suggestion that force could be used against Greenland,
00:08:12.960 he emphasized that the U.S. remains Canada's closest ally,
00:08:16.320 and that disagreements should be managed within NATO's framework of collective defense, sovereignty, and self-determination.
00:08:21.780 So Carney situated all of these comments, Greenland, Venezuela, Arctic security,
00:08:26.000 within the broader context of his trip to Paris,
00:08:28.040 where he was meeting with international leaders to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
00:08:31.560 And he reiterated Canada's commitment to working with European partners on Ukraine
00:08:35.780 and maintaining unity among allies as the conflict enters its fourth year.
00:08:42.760 The violent Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua,
00:08:46.160 has officially established a presence in Canada, according to Canadian authorities,
00:08:50.180 utilizing the country as a major logistical hub for illegal activities
00:08:53.740 that pose a direct threat to domestic public safety.
00:08:56.580 RCMP senior officials have said the group uses Canada as a logistical transit point for illicit goods
00:09:01.960 and engages in activities that affect domestic public safety.
00:09:05.440 Tren de Aragua, which is Spanish for train of Aragua,
00:09:08.440 is a transnational organized crime syndicate based in Venezuela's Aragua state.
00:09:13.160 It uses the word train as criminal slang for a coordinated crew or operation
00:09:17.000 and was formerly under the leadership of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
00:09:21.240 U.S. federal indictments and criminal complaints
00:09:23.540 described Tren de Aragua as a violent transnational criminal organization
00:09:27.180 that originated as a Venezuelan prison gang
00:09:29.560 and expanded its network throughout the Western Hemisphere,
00:09:32.200 including into parts of the United States.
00:09:34.540 According to a superseding felony indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York,
00:09:38.860 the gang, under leaders such as Hector Resdenford Guerrero Flores,
00:09:43.400 also known as Nifio Guerrero,
00:09:45.660 engaged in a wide range of illicit activities,
00:09:47.760 including human smuggling, drug and firearms trafficking,
00:09:50.280 kidnapping, robbery, extortion, prostitution, and money laundering,
00:09:54.800 and has formed ties with other criminal and narco-terrorist groups
00:09:57.700 operating across the region.
00:09:59.480 So, Alex, what do terrorist designations allow the federal government
00:10:02.440 and law enforcement to do?
00:10:04.000 And has the terrorist designation of Tren de Aragua
00:10:06.180 led to any action against the group in Canada?
00:10:09.140 So, Isaac, in Canada, listing an organization as a terrorist entity
00:10:12.360 under the criminal code gives the government and law enforcement,
00:10:15.000 including the RCMP and CSIS and other federal organizations,
00:10:18.140 several important legal tools.
00:10:20.360 Among them, when a group is designated that they are a terrorist organization,
00:10:25.840 it includes financial assets held in Canadian banks or Canadian institutions,
00:10:29.740 allowing financial institutions to report on activity within those accounts.
00:10:35.040 Whether or not that will lead to any sort of meaningful convictions,
00:10:37.820 I remain skeptical on.
00:10:39.400 Interestingly enough, Tren de Aragua only appears in court documents in Canada
00:10:43.420 in recent years in removal orders,
00:10:46.520 and the government of Canada has actually regarded individuals
00:10:50.200 who have identified Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization,
00:10:54.180 intimidating them, thus rendering them needing refugee status in Canada.
00:10:58.480 They have deemed those claims to be false,
00:11:01.400 or at least unverifiable,
00:11:03.940 or not standing to the bar of evidentiary proof required to remain in Canada.
00:11:09.020 So, with all of that being said,
00:11:11.540 the designation of Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization
00:11:15.040 was largely at the behest of the American government,
00:11:17.560 and I'm not sure if it's going to have any sort of meaningful difference in Canada
00:11:20.940 in terms of legal proceedings going forward.
00:11:23.700 Of course, I remain optimistic about the fact that we,
00:11:26.660 or the United States at least,
00:11:27.860 has removed this horrible dictator as the leader of Venezuela,
00:11:32.100 but whether or not any individuals will be convicted in Canada
00:11:35.400 with regards to their relations to this organization in Venezuela
00:11:39.000 remains another thing entirely.
00:11:40.820 We shall see.
00:11:44.240 That's it for today, folks.
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