Cuba
Granma: The hypocrisy of the Assange case If WikiLeaks had revealed the war horrors of any other country, Assange would be a hero, not a criminal. Or if any other nation were moving land and sea to secure the extradition of a journalist who revealed civilian deaths, acts of torture and clandestine military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through thousands of documents, then that country would engage in “political persecution” that goes against “freedom of the press” and “represses the media.” However, since the horrors and violations revealed in those documents were committed by the United States, then that nation “acts in accordance with the law.” This is hypocrisy…If he sets foot in the United States, not only will his life be in danger, but an alarming precedent will be set for investigative journalists. It would be a direct blow to that banner he is trying to sell: freedom of the press and free speech…Independent, serious journalism, as Assange did, is a serious threat to the hegemony of the West, which has historically controlled information.
Congresspeople McGovern, Lee, and Meeks Issue Statement regarding devastating fires in Matanzas, Cuba “Today, we call on the Biden Administration to immediately offer the appropriate assistance to facilitate international response efforts following explosions at the Supertanker Base in Matanzas. We also urge the Administration to suspend any relevant sanctions in order to expedite such a response, and to deliver much-needed humanitarian relief to the hundreds of Cuban citizens affected by this crisis, as well as the many more facing multiple and cascading crises in Cuba, including shortages of food, energy, and medicine.”
Open Letter to Biden: Sanctions Fuel the Fire The letter was released August 9, and as of August 10, a growing list of prominent figures in the US and internationally have signed on, including Cornel West, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Noam Chomsky, and Jeremy Corbyn. The letter is part of the “Sanctions Fuel the Fire” campaign, spearheaded by the People’s Forum, Answer Coalition, IFCO/Pastors for Peace, and Code Pink.
Peoples Dispatch: Cuba solidarity activists declare “sanctions fuel the fire!” Biden has been silent on the issue of lifting US sanctions that make Cuba solidarity work nearly impossible, and sending humanitarian aid to help fight the Matanzas blaze. The campaign has three central demands of the Joe Biden administration: lift the 243 sanctions Trump enacted during his administration, remove Cuba from the “State Sponsors of Terrorism” list, and send material aid to the island.
1. Emergency appeal to send badly needed supplies to Cuba IFCO, Global Health Partners, Saving Lives Campaign
2. Help Us Raise $50,000 for Victims of Cuba’s Disastrous Fire, Code Pink, Puentes De Amor
3. Cuba Urgently Needs our Help Today! Matanzas is not Alone!
Bolivia
TeleSur: Colombia Vice President Francia Márquez Advocates Latin American Unity in Bolivia Colombia’s vice-president-elect met with her Bolivian counterpart David Choquehuanca and with President Luis Arce Catacora. She invited all to collectively build a united Latin American region in peace and with social justice. She stated that she is part of those excluded peoples and regions, of those “ancestors who were brought from the African continent in conditions of slavery…[that those who were brought from Africa by force] “helped to give birth to freedom for America, freedom that has not materialized [because] we are still facing colonialism, racism, patriarchy and the neoliberal model that today has our Mother Earth, the Pachamama, the womb, the big house in agony.”
Nicaragua
Kawsachun News: Nicaragua Speech at International Black Reparations Conference Governments, companies and individuals, who for the most part, still refuse to make reparations for the terrible damage inflicted upon the African Continent, on more than 20 million human beings, who for more than 400 years were victims of this scourge, as well as upon all of us, the more than 200 million Afro Descendants, who currently live in the Americas. One in three enslaved Africans perished at sea, others in the ports and auctions of North America, Central and South America and the Caribbean. The vast majority of slaves died before reaching 30 years of age, as a result of brutal conditions of forced labor, rape and merciless torture inflicted upon them by “masters”, in huge sugar, banana and cotton plantations, in the mines or while working in a wide array of government projects.
Venezuela
MorningStar: Maduro’s success: principled resistance to imperialism pays off Though Venezuela’s economy is recovering, it is still suffering from the consequences of US aggression since it still needs to address and reverse all the distortions caused by US sanctions. With the strong economic recovery presided over and led by President Maduro’s government and the PSUV, the revolution has entered a phase of deepening the transition from a rentier, oil-export-based economy, to economic diversification and import-substitution, aimed at continuing the socialist transformation of state, society and economy.
Orinoco Tribune: The Great AgroVenezuela Mission: Maduro Announces That Venezuela Now Produces More Than 80% of its Food Nicolás Maduro reported that Venezuela now produces more than 80% of the food it consumes. He highlighted that just a few years ago, 90% of the food being consumed in the country was imported.
Venezuelanalysis: Venezuela Condemns US Effort to ‘Steal’ Cargo Plane President Maduro expressed his deep disgust for the illegal grounding of the Venezuelan state-owned airplane in Argentina, a maneuver that he described as an attempted robbery by the US government. “We are very angry about what is happening in Argentina, very angry,” said President Maduro during a televised address, “and very indignant about the theft of the plane in Argentina. Enough of the abuses of Venezuela, enough.” The president noted that “two months have passed since the kidnapping of the Venezuelan and Iranian pilots,” and accused Argentina’s authorities of “doing nothing” about it, despite the fact that these people “have not committed any crime in Argentina, or in Venezuela, or anywhere in the world.”
Events and Delegations
Wednesdays: WTF is Going on in Latin America & The Caribbean with Teri Mattson
Code Pink: Cuba is Not a Sponsor of Terror! (petition)
August 18: US/Canada Hands Off Venezuela! Free Alex Saab!
August 25: Lessons From the 2022 National Strike In Ecuador with strike leaders from Conaie
August 28: Summit of the “Americas” vs. CELAC: Whither the Monroe Doctrine @ 200?
Travel to Venezuela with Code Pink October 7-17
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