Venezuelanalysis: Opposition to Boycott December Election The actual title of this article is mistaken (“US Backs Guaido-led Opposition in Election Boycott”) The US does not “back” or “support” Guido’s decisions. The US tells him what to do. The last paragraph makes this plain: “Representatives of Guaido and the Venezuelan government entered into negotiations brokered by Norway last year. However, the talks collapsed in August 2019 after Washington escalated its sanctions regime into a sweeping embargo, blocking all dealings with Venezuelan state entities and authorizing secondary sanctions against third party actors.”
RT: Trump Ruined our Venezuela coup and botched ‘winning play,’ cries Democrat senator before getting Roasted online The Democratic Party’s gripes with President Trump are many, yet the latest may be the most bizarre to date. One senator argued that Trump’s brash personality bungled a perfectly good, American-style coup in Venezuela.
If Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn) had his way, opposition leader Juan Guaido would be occupying the Presidential Palace in Caracas right now, after the successful ousting of President Maduro. Despite the weight the US threw behind Guaido last year, the young upstart’s planned coup was a failure, and Murphy blames Trump for that loss.
Common Dreams: Elliot Abrams Confirms to Senate Hearing That US Still ‘Working Hard’ to Overthrow Maduro in Venezuela US Special Representative to Venezuela Elliott Abrams told a Senate panel that despite a number of failed previous attempts, the administration is continuing efforts to foment the ouster of democratically elected President Maduro. “Obviously we hope that [Maduro] will not survive the year and we are working hard to make that happen,” Abrams told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Orinoco Tribune: Opposition leader Capriles Radonski says the Opposition is Destroyed and Needs a New Plan Referring to Juan Guaidó, Capriles pointed out, “You had a plan and failed, are we going to continue in that failure? That’s over.” “The opposition has never been in a situation of such inertia and with great contradiction. Why keep laying lies on the people? Are we going to continue exercising government where, on the Internet? Let’s be serious,” he said.
Nicaragua
Grayzone (Ben Norton): Document exposes new US plot to overthrow Nicaragua’s elected socialist gov’t A disturbing new document outlines plans for a US regime-change scheme against Nicaragua’s elected government, overseen by USAID, to bring about a “market economy” and a purge of Sandinistas.The document calls for the future US-installed regime in Nicaragua to create a new military and police; to dismantle popular organizations that support the Sandinista Front; and to have a thorough purge of the Sandinista movement to prevent it from ever returning to power. We may assume the same would happen with Venezuela.
Cuba, Bolivia
Grayzone (Ollie Vargas): While Bolivia’s coup regime lets its citizens die, Cuba has nearly defeated Covid-19 The two countries have roughly the same population of about 11 million and were among the last in the region to see their first imported cases. Covid-19 arrived in Bolivia on March 10th; it hit Cuba the following day. The similarities end there. Cuba has a total of 2,495 cases. Meanwhile, Bolivia had 1,825 cases of Covid-19 just in the last 24 hours, adding to a staggering national total of 68,281 infections. Cuba has suffered 87 deaths from the virus while Bolivia has suffered a whopping 2,535.
Peoples Dispatch: Cuba’s medical brigades in Africa embody a long tradition of solidarity
Africa reports around 929,696 cases and 19,693 deaths.Since the start of the pandemic, 42 Cuban medical brigades have been sent to 35 countries. Close to 300,000 patients have been attended to by Cuban medicals. Cuba’s Henry Reeve International Medical Brigade is the only medical contingent to provide a global response to the pandemic. This internationalism and commitment to people’s health is a product of the Cuban Revolution. Cuba’s international solidarity arises from a long historical commitment to assisting the struggling people of the world. From medical to military, agricultural, educational, cultural support and more, the Cuban footprint in Africa dates back to our national struggles against colonialism.
US National Council of Churches (NCC) recognizes religious freedom in Cuba
In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, NCC President Jim Winkler called to remove Cuba from the list of countries that, according to Washington, have committed or tolerated ‘serious violations of religious freedom’. ‘I myself, like at least two of my predecessors, have witnessed first-hand the freedom by which Cubans are allowed to express their faith. Over these years, we have built a relationship of trust, and based on this trust we know that what we have seen with our own eyes is a genuine faith and robust church life.’
Webinars
Petition: Boris Johnson Give Venezuela Back Its Gold
Saturdays: Nicaragua Friends of the ATC Ben Linder Solidarity School online class
August 8 Support Haiti’s UNIFA Hospital, with Mildred Aristide and Danny Glover
August 12 Bolivia’s Fight to Restore Democracy – Canada’s Role – Guillaume Long, former Foreign Minister of Ecuador, analyst with Center for Economic and Policy Research, Matthew Green, MP for Hamilton Centre (NDP), Ollie Vargas, Bolivian Journalist for Radio Kawsachun Coca
August 13: Celebrate the Life & Legacy of Fidel Castro
José Ramón Cabañas, Cuba’s Ambassador to the US; Josefina Vidal, Cuba’s Ambassador to Canada; Ana Silvia Rodriguez, Permanent Representative of Cuba to the UN; Clever Banganayi, Friends of Cuba Society in South Africa; Vijay Prashad, Indian historian, journalist; Gail Walker, IFCO/Pastors for Peace
