Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gil Speech at UN General Assembly September 23Two days ago, the National Assembly of Venezuela unanimously decided to call upon our people to participate in a Consultative Referendum to reaffirm the defence of our sovereign territory in the face of the aggression of the American empire, which seeks to lead us into a war over natural resources. Those who claim to defend democracy activate mechanisms of political persecution to reverse democratic processes or to restrict freedom of expression, as in the case of Julian Assange, who remains a political target of those who cannot forgive him for revealing the true nature of imperialist interventionism. We support the proposal of Colombian President Gustavo Petro to convene a world conference for peace in Ukraine and Palestine. We propose the establishment of a “Zone Free of Unilateral Coercive Measures” in which we can conduct our financial transactions and interbank payments, allowing us to guarantee direct investments and legal trade between our nations, without risks or arbitrary or punitive impediments by Western powers.
Breakthrough News: Speeches of Cuban President Diaz-Canel and Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Ivan Gil at New York event Ivan Gil at 1 hour 6 minutes; Diaz-Canel at 1 hour 47 minutes
Minister for Foreign Affairs Denis Moncada Speech to the UN General Assembly September 26 We are living moments of the extinction of the imperialist, colonialist model, of looting and genocide whose greed has impacted Nature and our World. we demand that the United Nations enforce the mandate of the International Court of Justice of The Hague, which in 1986 sentenced the United States of America to indemnify Nicaragua. Entire countries have been destroyed in this brutal scorched earth policy, which seeks to satisfy the beastly appetites of the Earth’s imperialists… Entire countries have been occupied, and their peoples sacrificed and massacred. The aggressions that they arrogantly and haughtily call “sanctions” do not define us, nor do they intimidate us, nor do they disable us, nor do they bend us, nor do they lead us to sell out or surrender. We don’t know the word, surrender.
Resumen Latinoamericano: Latin America’s Progressive Bloc Lines up at the UN against Washington Sanctions The shift to the left that is currently taking place in Latin American governments was seen in the presidential speeches at the UN General Assembly. These governments were particularly unified in their disagreement with the application of US sanctions against Venezuela and Cuba. They also protested the inclusion of Cuba in the US “list of countries sponsoring terrorism.” Since the inauguration of Brazil and Colombia presidents Lula and Petro criticism of these policies has become common in this type of forum. The forcefulness of the demands by the Chilean president Boric, Argentina President Fernandez, and Honduras President Xiomara Castro, is illustrated by these excerpts from their speeches.
Venezuela Debuts ‘Geopolitical Map of Sanctions’ at United Nations in New York Venezuela launched a digital tool “Geopolitical Map of Sanctions” at the UN to document and denounce the use of unilateral coercive measures. Representatives from Russia, China, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, Belarus and Eritrea attending the presentation congratulated Venezuela for its initiative. Among the nations with the highest number of unilateral economic measures imposed are Russia, Iran, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, North Korea, Iraq, Belarus and Cuba. As of August 2023, a total of 26,162 measures weighed on 30 nations; of these, 96% (25,152) are concentrated in these nine countries. “Unilateral coercive measures are weapons of economic policy, whose objective is the political control of weaker countries by powerful countries who control the world economic system,” said Venezuela UN Ambassador Moncada. “Diplomacy, dialogue, those are the ways countries should relate to each other even when there are differences, not subjecting whole populations to an aggression that constitutes a crime against humanity,” said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for North America Carlos Ron. https://observatorio.gob.ve/mapa-geopolitico-de-sanciones/
Video: Mapping Imperialism: US Launch of GeoPolitical Map of Sanctions Carlos Ron, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for North America; William Castillo, Venezuela Anti-Blockade Observatory, Suzanne Adely, International People’s Tribunal on US Imperialism
Peoples Dispatch: Venezuela urges diplomatic resolution to Essequibo dispute with Guyana, condemns US attempts to militarize region Venezuela has also accused the US of trying to militarize the resource-rich region, where ExxonMobil has been conducting oil drilling projects for years. Competing claims over the 160,000 sq km area are rooted in the colonial period, with Caracas maintaining that Essequibo had been a part of Venezuelan territory since the 18th century. Meanwhile, Guyana claims a 1899 ruling by a tribunal in Paris, had awarded Essequibo to the UK, the former colonizer. Caracas has emphasized a treaty signed by Venezuela and UK (Guyana was still a British colony at the time) in 1966, called the Geneva Agreement, under which the parties agreed to reach a mediated solution to the Essequibo dispute, recognizing Venezuela’s nullification of the 1899 decision. Caracas stated that “The government of Guyana and its ruling elite continue to act as brazenly as employees of Exxon Mobil, and have handed over their sovereignty and independence to this US company, with the pretension of appropriating natural resources that do not belong to them.” “The Southern Command is trying to create a military base in the disputed territory in order to create the spearhead of its aggression against Venezuela and seize our energy resources,” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvàn Gil said.
Venezuelanalysis: Venezuelan Human Rights Group SURES Casts Doubt on UN Human Rights Council’s Independent International Fact-finding Mission on Venezuela Since its inception in 2019, the Independent International Fact-finding Mission has been repeatedly criticized by the Venezuelan government and human rights advocates working inside the country as having a politically driven mandate. The SURES director further highlighted the cooperative and collaborative relationship that the government of Venezuela enjoys with the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. “We believe that this collaborative approach with the country is the most appropriate way to monitor and make progress in the promotion of human rights,” she added. The Mission’s reliance on anonymous interviews makes its claims impossible to independently verify.
Another Terrorist Attack on Cuban Embassy
Terrorist attack against the Cuban Embassy in the United States – Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba On a regular basis, in the official exchanges between the Embassy and the Department of State, we have warned that the permissive behavior of United States law enforcement agencies in the face of violent actions can encourage the commission of acts of this nature. It is the second violent attack against the diplomatic headquarters in Washington, since April 2020. On the night of that day, an individual of Cuban origin, standing in the middle of the street in the US capital and using an assault rifle, fired a burst of thirty cartridges against the building. After three years, the perpetrator still awaits trial and the United States government has refused to classify the incident as a terrorist act.TeleSur: Cuba Releases Video of Attack on Its Embassy in Washington
Political Prisoner Alex Saab
UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner: End detention of Alex Saab UN experts [Alena Douhan,Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights; Livingstone Sewanyana, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order] today: “We call on the United States to comply with its obligations under international law, to immediately release Mr. Alex Nain Saab Morán and drop all charges against him.” Full letter here.
Events
2023 Ben Linder Solidarity School, September 23 – November 18 Class topics include: Nicaragua and the Sandinista Revolution; History and current context of Latin America and US imperialism; ATC and peasant organizations / social movements; Food Sovereignty and Agroecology; Solidarity and Internationalism.
October 13-15: Annual Meeting of National Network on Cuba in Boston
October 14: Inside Biden’s Cuba Policy with Liz Olivia Fernandez, Belly of the Beast
October 21-22: (Madrid) Encuentro Sandinista de Solidaridad con Nicaragua Organizations from different parts of the Spanish state in the Sandinista Meeting of Solidarity with Nicaragua.
January 27, 2024: Latin America conference in London 18th annual conference in solidarity with Latin American progressive movements.
Upcoming Delegations to Nicaragua, Bolivia, Cuba, Venezuela
Upcoming Witness for Peace delegations to Cuba
November 20-29: Bolivia, Food Sovereignty, Popular Democracy & Indigenous Resistance
Casa Ben Linder delegations to Nicaragua in January, and February (January: Rights of Indigenous and Afro-Descendant Peoples in Caribbean Coast Autonomous Regions)
April 9-19: Venezuela: Celebrating Popular Sovereignty and Power
If you have events to publicize or find helpful articles for readers on the ALBA countries, please send them to [email protected], or you can post them on Facebook here: Venezuela; Nicaragua; Bolivia; Latin America in general (here or here) Or send them to [email protected]
