By LAZARO MONTEVERDE On July 18 five Garifuna leaders from the north coast of Honduras were kidnapped.
Kidnapped Honduran Garifuna Leaders Still Missing
Category: Latin America
Líderes garífunas secuestrados en Honduras siguen desaparecidos
De LAZARO MONTEVERDE El 18 de julio fueron secuestrados cinco líderes garífunas de la costa norte de Honduras.
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
U.S. Weaponizes COVID-19 Against Venezuela
By ANN MONTAGUE As the news outlets are covering developments in the spread of the coronavirus 24/7 and there are daily press conferences with President Trump and the coronavirus Task Force, the State Department and the U.S. military are taking Henry Kissinger’s advice: “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.”
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
U.S. moves to entrap Venezuela
By LAZARO MONTEVERDE Like a chess master who move by move crushes a weaker opponent, the U.S. is again moving against Venezuela. At the urging of Washington., 12 of the 19 nations who are part of the Treaty of Rio, known by its Spanish acronym TIAR [Tratado Internacional de Asistencia Reciproca], voted to invoke the … Continue reading U.S. moves to entrap Venezuela
The Amazon forest burns
By LAZARO MONTEVERDE VALPARAISO, Chile — It has been the driest winter in the central valley of Chile in 60 years. June, July, and August are winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and also the rainy season in Chile. Water shortages have been declared in 50 communities and agricultural emergencies in an additional 100 communities. Sheep … Continue reading The Amazon forest burns
Interview: Rising hopes for Puerto Rican independence
By ERNIE GOTTA “Every day, folks now more than ever wake up daily with a new notion of politics that is not bound to a vote every four years but to direct action.” The recent protests in Puerto Rico, taken in the context of uprisings across the globe in Sudan, Hong Kong, and Algeria, paint … Continue reading Interview: Rising hopes for Puerto Rican independence
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
Puerto Rico defiant!
By WYATT MUND The island of Puerto Rico has been the site of massive unrest and protest for over the past two weeks. Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets in the largest demonstrations in the island’s history. After a fierce struggle, the initial call from the streets for the resignation of Ricardo Rossello … Continue reading Puerto Rico defiant!
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
U.S.-backed revolt fails in Venezuela
By JEFF MACKLER (UPDATED FROM EARLIER REPORT) It took some 34 days for the Donald Trump administration to decide on May 18, 2019, to forcefully evict from the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, D.C., four antiwar activist members of the Embassy Protection Coalition. The four were there with the formal and express consent of the Venezuelan … Continue reading U.S.-backed revolt fails in Venezuela
Venezuela: U.S. coup makers fail
By JEFF MACKLER “Nobody said regime change was going to be easy,” read the first line on the front-page New York Times article of May 2 entitled, “Pressure Rises After Failure In Venezuela.” The article, billed as “news analysis,” continues, “President Trump’s top advisers woke up Tuesday [April 30] believing that a rebellion in … Continue reading Venezuela: U.S. coup makers fail
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!