Category: Latin America

Federal charges against four Venezuelan Embassy protectors dropped!

Statement by the four Embassy Protectors, Washington, D.C., June 3, 2020 The federal charge of “interfering with certain protective functions” levied against four members of the Embassy Protection Collective was formally dropped today in a hearing before Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell in US District Court. The four defendants are Adrienne Pine, David Paul, Kevin … Continue reading Federal charges against four Venezuelan Embassy protectors dropped! →

United National Antiwar Coalition denounces any attempts by the US to stop shipments of Iranian fuel to Venezuela

Press release issued 5/20/20 Last week, an Iran-flagged tanker passed the Suez Canal, reportedly bound for Venezuela with a shipment of refined fuel. Despite having the largest proven oil reserves in the world, Venezuela’s refining capacity has been damaged by the US embargo, greatly hindering its economy. US officials have claimed that Venezuela has begun … Continue reading United National Antiwar Coalition denounces any attempts by the US to stop shipments of Iranian fuel to Venezuela →

Bolivia: Anatomy of a Coup

By JEFF MACKLER and LAZARO MONTEVERDE On Sunday October 20, Evo Morales was re-elected president of Bolivia with 46.85 percent of the vote against his nearest competitor, Carlos Mesa, who received 36.74 percent. In anticipation of a Morales victory, the U.S. corporate media launched a fake news disinformation barrage nine days earlier, aimed at discrediting … Continue reading Bolivia: Anatomy of a Coup →

Bay Area tours Venezuelan Embassy Protectors

By NICK BAKER Three Venezuelan Embassy Protectors toured the Bay Area earlier this month in an eight-event, seven-city tour. Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers, and David Paul were three of the last four Embassy Protectors remaining in the Venezuelan Embassy when police broke down the embassy doors and arrested them. They stayed in the embassy for … Continue reading Bay Area tours Venezuelan Embassy Protectors →

Mass anti-capitalist protests rock Chile

By LAZARO MONTEVERDEReporting for Socialist Action from Valparaiso, Chile It started small. In the week of Monday, October 14 small groups of middle-school and high-school students started to jump the turnstiles and barriers at Santiago metro stations to protest a 30 peso (approximately 4 cents US) hike. The rate hike took place on October 6 … Continue reading Mass anti-capitalist protests rock Chile →

Elections in South America: Not much changes

By LAZARO MONTEVERDE Reporting for Socialist Action from Valparaiso, Chile Bolivia, Argentina, and Uruguay all held national elections in October.  The result, not much change in the Southern Cone of South American. Bolivia Bolivia was the first to hold elections on October 20.  President Evo Morales ran for reelection along with his MAS [Movimiento al … Continue reading Elections in South America: Not much changes →

The SS Winnipeg, Pablo Neruda, and A Long Petal of the Sea

By LAZARO MONTEVERDE VARPARAISO, Chile — Not many radicals from the U.S. know of the Winnipeg and the great poet Pablo Neruda’s role in the event, which is a shame. It is one of many instances of heroism and direct action on the part of the left before and during World War II. Pablo Neruda … Continue reading The SS Winnipeg, Pablo Neruda, and A Long Petal of the Sea →

The defense of the Amazon is a fight for the future of the earth

STATEMENT FROM MEXICO “I don’t want flowers at my funeral, because I know they will be taken from the forest.” — Chico Mendes The defense of the Amazon is a fight for the future of the earth. Although the destruction of the Amazon rainforest was already an alarming issue for decades, with the acceleration of … Continue reading The defense of the Amazon is a fight for the future of the earth →

Two Venezuelan embassy protectors speak out

By MARTY GOODMAN “We denounce these arrests, as the people inside were there with our permission, and we consider it a violation of the Vienna Conventions” — Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Ron. I was in Washington, D.C., most of the time between May 7 to May 19 to support the Venezuela solidarity activists of … Continue reading Two Venezuelan embassy protectors speak out →

Before Venezuela, there was the coup in Honduras

By LAZARO MONTEVERDE “The Long Honduran Night: Resistance, Terror, and the United States in the Aftermath of the Coup,” by Dana Frank. (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2018). Activist and scholar Dana Frank has given us a useful book to help us understand the present events in Honduras, at the U.S.-Mexico border, and elsewhere in Latin America. … Continue reading Before Venezuela, there was the coup in Honduras →

U.S. hands off Venezuela!

By BRUCE LESNICK When you corner a rat, it lashes out. The rats in charge of the U.S. empire are cornered by the contradictions built into their own system: increasing economic inequality, regular depressions and recessions, declining profit rates, perpetual austerity, and endless wars promoted to stave off increasing global competition. The current vicious U.S. … Continue reading U.S. hands off Venezuela! →

The Hidden History of the Cuban Revolution

By LAZARO MONTEVERDE “A Hidden History of the Cuban Revolution: How the working class shaped the guerrillas’ victory,” by Steve Cushion. (New York: Monthly Review Press, 2016.) This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Given its durability, revolutionaries should pay close attention to both its successes and failures. This is not always … Continue reading The Hidden History of the Cuban Revolution →

U.S. gears up for war on Venezuela

By JEFF MACKLER and BRUCE LESNICK The relentless U.S. imperial beast has embarked on a full-scale, openly declared, bipartisan regime-change war aimed at overthrowing Venezuela’s democratically elected government headed by President Nicolás Maduro. Top U.S. officials—from President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, National Security Adviser John Bolton and special envoy Elliot Abrams of Iran/Contra … Continue reading U.S. gears up for war on Venezuela →

The Nicaraguan revolution betrayed

BY LAZARO MONTEVERDE A review of “What went wrong? The Nicaraguan Revolution: A Marxist Analysis,” by Dan La Botz. (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2018.) When I visited Nicaragua in 1983 as part of a delegation of religious activists from the Central America Movement, I thought I was witnessing a miracle. The country was radically transformed both … Continue reading The Nicaraguan revolution betrayed →

Corporate titans target Venezuela

By BRUCE LESNICK Ruling elites have united behind the Trump administration in its illegal, unjust, and brutal attempt to meddle in the internal affairs of Venezuela. Democrats and Republicans alike have fallen in line, revealing the degree to which the two parties march in lock step when the geopolitical prerogatives of the one percent are … Continue reading Corporate titans target Venezuela →

U.S. hands  off  Venezuela!

Once again, the Wall Street-captured, war-promoting, servants of the one percent—who administer the U.S. government at the pleasure of, and solely in the interest of, corporate America—have deigned to command a sovereign nation as to how to handle its internal affairs. In a further escalation of the U.S. government’s long-running campaign against the elected Venezuelan … Continue reading U.S. hands  off  Venezuela! →

The caravan that defies borders

By ELENA ZELEDON — SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — The 8000 poor people marching together through the states of Central America towards the United States are another sign that the pillars of imperialist domination, already weakened by the blows of the global recession in 2008, are now shaken by the exploding social contradictions of this … Continue reading The caravan that defies borders →