Peoples Dispatch: Hundreds of Kenyan police arrive in Port-au-Prince, establishing the latest foreign military occupation of Haiti 400 Kenyan police arrived on June 25 in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. The deployment of 600 more is expected to follow in the coming days and weeks. This was authorized by the UN Security Council, which last year approved the dispatch of foreign law enforcement forces to Haiti. The dispatch occurred the same day that Kenyan police killed eight protesters in Kenya who were protesting the unpopular neoliberal Finance Bill 2024.
The mission has also been widely condemned by movements and organizations in Haiti, Kenya, and across the world as another instance of foreign intervention in the Caribbean country. The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) was responsible for grave atrocities, including massacres, mass rape and the introduction of cholera into the country, leading to the death of 30,000 people.
Bolivia
Peoples Dispatch: The Bolivian people defeated another coup On the afternoon of June 26, hundreds of military personnel under the order of General Juan Zúñiga, in an attempted coup, surrounded the Quemado Palace (the government palace) ahead of a ministerial meeting. Zúñiga announced that the military personnel would free Bolivia’s “political prisoners” including Jeanine Áñez and Luis Fernando Camacho, imprisoned over their involvement in the 2019 coup against Evo Morales. President Arce confronts Zuniga (video), who was later arrested. Bolivian people confront coup military (video)
Former Bolivian president Evo Morales called on the Bolivian people to mobilize in defense of democracy. While the army attempted to storm the palace, hundreds of Bolivian people began to mobilize to demand that democracy be respected and the army stand down. These protests by members of mass organizations, trade unions, and the general population were met with repression by the military police officers who shot tear gas indiscriminately and blocked off access to the Plaza Murillo.
The Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB) representing over 2 million workers, declared an indefinite general strike. Political leaders across Latin America and the Caribbean vehemently rejected the attempt by a fraction of the Army to subvert Bolivian democracy and celebrated the swift defeat of the attempt. Many highlighted that this took place just five years after the coup d’état which took Evo Morales out of office and installed the de facto leader Jeanine Áñez. Xiomara Castro, the president of Honduras and the pro-tempore president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), called on all the presidents of CELAC member countries to “condemn the fascism that today threatens democracy in Bolivia and demand the respect of civil power and the Constitution.”
Al Mayadeen: Bolivia coup attempt met with regional, international condemnations Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was among the first to speak out: “We call on the Bolivian people to defend their democracy, their constitution, and their President Luis Arce. It’s important to defend peace and stability. Bolivia has the support of all of Latin America. The coup must end.” Cuban President Diaz-Canel echoed Maduro’s sentiments, describing the scenes emerging from Bolivia as “outrageous.” His remarks underscored the broader regional alarm over the developments in Bolivia. Leaders from Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, Iran, and Spain also issued public statements condemning the coup attempt and expressing their support for President Arce.
Venezuela
TeleSur: Bolivarian Economic Agenda Quietly Diversifying and Growing Venezuela’s Economy While international media ignore or misrepresent the true economic and social effects of political sanctions by nations stealing its wealth while promoting regime change, Venezuela has been – over time — quietly achieving a veritable economic miracle. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez reported that Venezuela’s Gross Domestic Product had increased by 7% in the first quarter of 2024, based on attempts to diversify the economy. This process featured “a Bolivarian economic agenda with 18 productive engines, based on the great wealth and potential of Venezuela.” Areas targeted for special attention included oil, food and medical drug production, “and strengthening the nation’s industrial platform.”
The diversification program is home-grown, but also draws on the mutual experiences of Iran, Russia and China – friendly developing nations still surviving economic sanctions by USA, G-7 and European Union (EU) member-states. Energy shortfalls and higher prices in the USA have forced Washington to seek a conditional return to Venezuela by oil giant Chevron — while at the same time dismantling Venezuela’s state-owned CITGO petroleum corporation in the USA.
Orinoco Tribune: UN Confirms it will Send Delegation to Monitor Venezuela’s Presidential Elections The United Nations confirmed it will dispatch a panel of electoral experts for the Venezuelan presidential elections on July 28. The UN delegation will be part of the over 20 international electoral observation delegations, among them the Carter Center. During a press conference on June 25, the spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, Stéphane Dujarric, announced that four experts will travel to Venezuela at the beginning of July to provide the UN an independent internal report on the general electoral environment in the country.
TeleSur: Julian Assange is an Example of Courage: President Maduro “On behalf of the people of Venezuela we embrace and congratulate Julian Assange on his release. It is the triumph of freedom and humanity’s fight for respect for human rights. Assange is an example of courage and bravery in the battle for the truth. Justice will always prevail!” wrote Maduro on social media. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador: “I celebrate the release of Julian Assange from prison. At least in this case, the Statue of Liberty did not remain an empty symbol; it is alive and happy like millions in the world.” Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum: “For us, Julian represents truth and freedom of expression. Mexico City is a progressive city that has always defended fundamental freedoms and the right to free access to information.” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel: “The long and cruel punishment imposed on him for his denunciations of imperial crimes will remain in the memory of the people as proof of how little his jailers believe in press freedom.” Colombian President Gustavo Petro: “I congratulate Julian Assange on his freedom. Assange’s eternal imprisonment and torture was an attack against press freedom on a global scale. His crime was to denounce the massacre of civilians in Iraq by the US war action. Now the massacre is repeated in Gaza.” Former Bolivian President Evo Morales: “We are very happy about the freedom of Julian Assange. He was imprisoned for many years for exposing the U.S. crimes to the world. He helped us reveal and dismantle the lies that justify wars and invasions. It is a day of joy for the fight for peace.” Former Ecuador President Rafael Correa: “They have stolen 12 years of a journalist’s life for telling the truth. The real war criminals went unpunished. The one who spoke out against war crimes was persecuted.” Bolivian President Arce “His crime was revealing war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by imperialism. This event reminds us that revolutionary struggle is essential to achieve freedom and social justice,” said the Bolivian President. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called his liberation a “victory for democracy and the fight for press freedom.”
MintpressNews: Maduro Vs. US Election Interference: A Battle For Venezuela’s Future With upcoming elections scheduled for July 28, the US is working overtime to dislodge the socialist government of Nicolás Maduro. Ten individuals are vying for the position, including nine in opposition to Maduro, who heads a coalition of 13 leftist groups. The U.S. is continuing its campaign of economic warfare against the country, with crushing sanctions designed to make the economy scream and foster domestic resentment towards the Maduro administration. Much of the local Venezuelan media is also financed by Washington, and the NED report details numerous projects promoting pro-U.S. anti-government messaging. Washington’s money has bolstered and promoted oppositional groups for more than twenty years. The NED, however, refuses to divulge any of the names of the Venezuelan groups it funds.
Washington has long regarded Venezuela as a cornerstone of the anti-imperialist movement in Latin America, understanding that if it is allowed to flourish, the virus of independence might spread to the rest of the continent and beyond. For that reason Washington has invested so much into training a domestic opposition, funding political parties, attempting coups and carrying out economic warfare against Venezuela. Yet it has, so far, been unsuccessful.
Internationalist 360: How Venezuela is Overcoming the US Blockade The Venezuela election is taking place in the context of US unilateral coercive measures. These so-called sanctions have amounted to an actual economic and financial blockade designed to cripple the economy and cause the people to renounce their government. Such outside interference by Washington is tantamount to electoral blackmail. Instead of irrevocably crashing the economy, according to Carlos Ron, the US hybrid warfare against Venezuela exposed the US-backed opposition, who have called for sanctions against their own people and have even treasonously endorsed a US-backed military coup option.
Venezuela’s economic situation is now looking comparatively bullish. President Maduro announced oil production had recovered to one million barrels a day. Earlier this month, the five millionth home was delivered as part of the Great Housing Mission social program. The economy has transformed from one dependent on oil revenues to buy foreign goods to now over 90% food sovereign. Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Ron further explained the political dimensions of the US sanctions, which were designed to reverse the sizable achievements of the Chávez years. The aim, he said, was to kill hope and blame socialism for the attacks of “predatory capitalism.” The Venezuelan state was robbed by the US and its allies: seizure of overseas assets; dispossession of CITGO, the state-owned oil subsidiary in the US; and confiscation of gold reserves held abroad. Far from being isolated, Ron noted, Venezuela has further integrated into an emerging multipolar world. Venezuela was just elected to a vice-presidency of the UN General Assembly. Video of webinar here.
Cuba
Resumen Latinoamericano: Cuba Stands with Palestine and Joins the ICJ Lawsuit Cuba announced it will join Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Maldives, Egypt, Ireland, Belgium, Turkey, Mexico, Chile and Spain as countries formally joining the lawsuit filed by South Africa before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel for the ongoing genocide in Gaza. “We must put an end to the massacre against the people of Palestine,” said Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.
Donate
Global Health Partners: Help us to send cardiac pacemakers to Cubans who need them to survive. And act to stop the U.S. government’s economic siege of Cuba So far, the US-European campaign has raised $80,000 of the $150,000 goal in three weeks.
Events
- July 6-7 No to NATO, Yes to Peace! NATO 2024 Counter-Summit
- July 8: Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition monthly zoom meetings: second Monday of the month 2:30 PM ET. Email [email protected] in advance to access.
- July 7 & 14 Webinars: ‘Venezuela Chooses: What is at Stake in the Coming Elections?’ July 7: Joe Emersberger, Maria Paez Victor, Williams Camacaro, Francisco Dominguez. July 14: Diego Sequera, Steve Ellner, Ben Norton, Alan MacLeod
- July 10: Forum on Nicaraguan co-ops and the success of a project that addresses the unrecognised work of rural women in co-ops. Nicaraguan co-ops form an important part of the social economy that generates 40% of the country’s wealth and employs 90% of the workforce. But, particularly in rural areas, the role of women in generating this wealth is often unrecognised and unremunerated. The positive impact of the partnership of co-ops and Etico that addresses this marginalisation will be discussed. This Forum also celebrates the life of Florentina Perez, using her example to exemplify the role women play in production, community, solidarity & Revolution. To register send an email to Helen on [email protected]
- July 11: Nicaragua Against Empire
- July 15 Protest at the Republican National Convention. Join contingents against the US blockades and economic warfare on Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua
- August 19-22 Protest at the Democratic National Convention. Join contingents against the US blockades and economic warfare on Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua
Delegations to Cuba, Nicaragua
- Cuba Delegations
- Nicaragua Delegations Casa Ben Linder 2024
- Email [email protected] to apply:
- November 8-17 2024: Salud & Solidaridad: Hands-On Healthcare in Nicaragua
- February 2025: The Bird Brigade: Birding in Solentiname Arquipelago
- March 2025: Power & Protagonism: Women in Nicaragua
- Email [email protected] to apply:
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