Venezuela
Jacobin: US Sanctions Are Driving Displacement and Migration From Cuba and Venezuela If the Biden administration wants to stop the mass displacement that is leading enormous numbers of Cuban and Venezuelan migrants to the US-Mexico border, it should end the sanctions that have made life in those countries all but impossible for average people. In 2022, 42% of US asylum requests came from Cuba and Venezuela alone, countries that are the target of brutal US sanctions.
Ultima Noticias: National Council for the Development of Afro-descendant Communities of Venezuela and Venezuelan Government Ministers Hold Conference “Only the recognition of all our diversity guarantees the existence of the human species on this planet. So the fight of people of African descent is not only for them, but for all of humanity,” Minister for Culture Ernesto Villegas highlighted. President of the National Council for the Development of Afro-descendant Communities of Venezuela (Conadecafro), María Isabel Blanco Sifontes, “We have advanced, we have managed to obtain constitutional recognition. We have concrete achievements in housing, health and education, moving from the feeling of effort to the materialization and forcefulness of achievements that benefit and raise the quality of the towns. That is what Conadecafro is for.”
Orinoco Tribune: President Maduro: Government and Workers Have to Recover Productivity Together He emphasized that public and private investments must be guaranteed to increase the productivity of companies through the Workers Productive Councils (CPTT). He urged business owners to pay attention to his win-win proposal for both public and private sectors. Maduro also highlighted the leading role of the 2,400 Workers’ Productive Councils in the nation’s industrial sector.
Venezuelanalysis: Venezuela Rejects US Report on Terrorism: ‘Sanctions Are the Real Terror’ Venezuela’s statement is here. On May 23, US Secretary of State Blinken presented a report singling out Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria for “not cooperating fully with United States antiterrorism efforts.” Caracas responded by reaffirming its commitment to combat terrorism and criticizing the political nature of the US’ “unfounded accusations.” Caracas likewise condemned the US’ “infamous war on terror” that has cost a reported 4.5 million lives around the world and exacerbated global insecurity with the proliferation of extremist groups.
Orinoco Tribune: Venezuela’s Communist Party Controversies Reach New Level A dissident faction of the PCV held a grassroots congress in Caracas, creating controversy within the PCV. Given the PCV’s opposition to the Maduro government, participants in the controversial congress organized by PCV alternative groups stated they reject the party leadership, which opposes the Venezuelan government’s policies.
TruthOut: Sanctions on Venezuela Aren’t Promoting Democracy, They’re Killing Venezuelans Former so-called “interim president” Juan Guaidó had barely gotten a word out during an event at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. before a group of activists denounced the far right opposition figure. Leonardo Flores, a Venezuelan political analyst and activist living in the US.yelled, “Juan Guaidó, you’re a liar, a thief, return to Venezuela to face justice!” Activists throughout the U.S. seeking to end sanctions feel a sense of urgency, not just because of the humanitarian toll they have on the country’s population but because they perceive a shift in the political landscape that could allow for a change in U.S. policy toward Venezuela.
Cuba
National Network on Cuba: Campaign to Take Cuba off the US State Sponsors of Terrorism List The Biden administration is continuing to wage economic and media warfare against Cuba.The State Dept claims Cuba is “not cooperating fully” with US antiterrorism efforts, yet gave no further details. This has been used to justify calling Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism even though last month, US and Cuban authorities met to discuss anti-terrorism. Efforts.” Being placed on this list denies Cuba funding from international institutions.
TeleSur: Cuba’s Tourism Booming With Inflow of 1.2 Million Foreign Visitors The government hopes to see about 3.5 million foreign visitors this year as the tourism sector gradually recovers to pre-pandemic levels of more than 4 million annual visitors.
Nicaragua
Foreign Minister Denis Moncada: The Fight against Neocolonial Practices Nicaragua’s political statement at the Moscow conference “Fight against the Contemporary Practices of Neocolonialism.”
Bolivia
TeleSur: President Arce: World Trade Summit In China, A “Unique” Opportunity Arce participated in the Beijing summit with a virtual intervention and spoke of China’s role on the world stage and bilateral cooperation on issues of industrialization of zinc and lithium, among others. The Bolivian president noted China has become a vital actor for Latin America in the field of trade and investment in this new global context. The “global crisis of capitalism” has put humanity at a crossroads, Arce noted China’s proposals for “global development, the global security initiative, and the global civilization initiative.”
Events
Thursdays: WTF is Going on in Latin America & The Caribbean with Teri Mattson (or watch here or here)
May 28: The View from the Ground: What We Experienced in Nicaragua in 2018
May 31: Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America: Arise 2023 – An Online Festival of Left Ideas
June 3: The Gains of the Peoples of Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast
June 3: International Peoples Tribunal on Nicaragua
June 22-25: National Rally and actions to Demand Cuba be taken off the US State Sponsors of Terrorism List
Delegations/Tours
June 19-26 delegation to Nicaragua
June 17-27 Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast Delegation with Friends of the ATC
June 26-July 6: Pastors for Peace Climate Change tour to Cuba
July 3-10 Afro-Cubanismo Hothouse People to People delegation to Santiago de Cuba
July 15-29 IFCO/ Pastors for Peace US-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan
July 21-30, Sept 8-17, December 1-10, Dec 8-17: Witness for Peace delegations to Cuba
August 1-13: Code Pink and Task Force on the Americas delegation to Venezuela
Fall/winter Witness for Peace delegations to Cuba
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