"We denounce and condemn the genocide that the government of Israel and its First World allies have committed, are committing and continue to commit against the glorious Palestinian people, against the brave people of Lebanon and against so many other brave, courageous and dignified peoples who refuse to submit themselves to brutality.

We do not and will not keep quiet. We denounce and condemn the aggressions against Syria, Iran, and so many other great and fighting brotherly peoples in all continents.

We do not and will not keep quiet. We denounce and condemn the occupation and usurpation of the rights of peoples and countries such as Haiti.

We do not and will not keep quiet. We denounce and condemn the systematic policy of extermination of cultures and rights that the colonial and imperialist powers maintain against peoples, governments and countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua."

A look at the State Department archives from the 1940s about the 1915-1934 U.S. occupation of Haiti gives a more basic reason for Blinken’s attention: “The United States Government had been interested in Haiti for decades prior to its occupation. As a potential naval base for the United States and other imperialist powers, Haiti’s stability was of great interest to U.S. diplomatic and defense officials who feared instability might result in foreign rule of Haiti.” (tinyurl.com/yc62sbms)

This report also contains the following phrase: “Following the successful [U.S.] manipulation of the 1915 elections …” It is unusual for the United States to openly admit election manipulation, which is a very serious crime under U.S. law as written, a law often flouted by U.S. agencies operating worldwide.

As Berthony Dupont pointed out in Haïti-Liberté on July 24: “If ever there was a chance for a second social revolution in Haiti, it is now. There is not one legitimate, elected Haitian official that the imperialists can pretend to defend. Both North American and European imperialisms are collapsing. Biden, Trudeau and Macron all have approval ratings at around 30% or below. They are dramatically losing their wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen and the Sahel. Even their proxy, Kenya, is hobbled by debt and mass protests.”

Even though the U.S. capitalist class had promised to fully fund the multinational security support mission, it couldn’t get its act together enough to pay the Kenyan cops — the repressive forces it was using — the bonuses they had been promised.

Progressives in the United States owe an immense debt of solidarity to the people of Haiti whose struggles for centuries have done so much to advance the struggles of all poor and working people for their full emancipation. U.S., French and Canadian [neo]imperialists out of Haiti now!

Now, we will finish this discussion with the internationalist solidarity shown to the Palestinian people. Before we arrived at the July 19th festival, we saw a park called “Parque Palestina,” which is beautifully lit and has a Palestinian flag flying alongside the FSLN and Nicaraguan flag. This park was recently built as a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian struggle against the Zionist entity [in the Middle East].

On the night of July 19, this solidarity was brought to the fore as we learned that the honored guest speaker of the night was none other than Palestinian freedom fighter Leila Khaled. The honor of being able to hear this valiant, militant member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was too much. But in the midst of the excitement, it was beautiful to hear her discuss the longstanding solidarity that the Sandinistas have shown with the Palestinian people.

We know that Patrick Argüello, a close comrade of Khaled’s, was with her during an operation to hijack a plane in 1970 to demand the release of Palestinian hostages held by the Zionist entity. He was Nicaraguan and a Sandinista who was martyred by Israeli security forces. Thus, the Sandinistas have not only shown symbolic and material solidarity with the Palestinian struggle, but Nicaraguan blood has been shed in the valiant struggle for Palestinian national liberation.

In his speech, Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega condemned the U.S. backing of the Zionist entity’s genocide in Palestine and emphasized that these two struggles — of Nicaraguans and Palestinians — are intertwined. It was a beautiful moment to hear tens of thousands of Sandinistas chanting “Viva Palestina!” and showing solidarity with Leila Khaled and the Palestinian people.

To end this article, I would just say that going to visit Nicaragua on this delegation was a life-changing experience. It was very important, because it allowed me to see through a lot of the [neo]imperialist propaganda that targets the Sandinista Revolution and the presidency of Daniel Ortega. Where I was supposed to find a dictatorship, I found a society in which the people are the leaders, where the popular masses are in struggle against [neo]imperialism and are building their nation.

That is why the United States continues to wage war against Nicaragua — because they are afraid of the power of the masses. They know that with the Sandinista Revolution, the masses are in power, and they will refuse to be exploited by U.S. corporate capital. Truly, it was amazing to speak to Nicaraguans and learn about the importance of the revolution and its manifestation in everyday life. I cannot wait to visit this beautiful nation again and still feel reinvigorated and even more dedicated to the anti-imperialist struggle after my time in the land of Sandino.

Contrary to the nonsense in the corporate press of a “unified opposition,” the non-Chavista elements have been anything but unified. Had they been, they may have made the most of the 48% of the electorate that did not support Maduro according to the count by the CNE.

The assertion by Machado/González that they had won the 2024 election by a margin of 70% lacks credibility. That seven out of 10 Venezuelans supported them was not proven in the streets. Machado called her followers out on Aug. 3 and again on Aug. 17, but the turnout was smaller than even her pre-election rallies.

Meanwhile, pro-Maduro rallies dwarfed the opposition’s. This was an indication of the high level of organization and popular support for the Bolivarian Revolution.

Still, in retrospect, the U.S. could have tried to galvanize support for an alternative project. There were politically moderate state governors and legislators who might have unified the fractious opposition. Instead, the U.S., anticipating a Maduro victory, obstinately clung to the disqualified Machado with her surrogate González.

The Machado/González platform was not a popular one, calling for extreme neoliberal privatization of education, health care, housing, food assistance, and the national oil agency. A far more attractive and winning platform would have been to retain the social benefits of Chavismo with the promise of relief from U.S. unilateral coercive measures.

In backing someone as unattractive, unknown, and unpopular as González, the U.S. showed its disinterest in a good faith engagement in the democratic electoral process.

US President Bill Clinton admitted to destroying Haiti’s agricultural sector, particularly its rice industry, in the early 2000s due to policies championed by the administration. According to Bertrhude Albert, CEO of a Haitian NGO called @P4Hglobal, small farmers’ rice harvests sat unsold in warehouses for months because they could not compete with US rice imports due to a lowered tariff. This policy forced more than 90,000 Haitian farming families out of business. Even today, Haiti, once known as the ‘Pearl of the Antilles’ for its rich, fertile soil, has not recovered.

estas inteligencias artificiales no son tan tontas

In Russia, China and Iran — countries compelled to achieve multipolarity and to distance themselves from the hegemonic drive of the U.S. — the Bolivarian revolution has powerful international allies; it also has the opportunity to be part of the new pole of the BRICS [which is] in the process of enlargement.

The Bolivarian process has a bastion of solidarity in Cuba and thus in all sovereign states and in the political and social movements of the anti-imperialist and anti-neoliberal camp.

In the framework of this new world correlation of power, the deployment on a larger scale of the political, social and military forces that have sustained the Bolivarian-Chavista process and the solidarity of states and peoples in struggle are a formidable combination that can resist, prevail and deepen the changes.

And on days like these, new visits of some Russian, Chinese or Iranian warships to Venezuelan ports would not go amiss.

Together with conceding “not an iota” to that insolent and aggressive [neo]imperialism in its decadence, it is necessary to show that the multipolar world has arrived to assert itself.

Because of their shared fight against [neo]imperialism, the people of Nicaragua have an intuitive understanding of the Palestinian struggle and the necessary means to achieve national liberation. Just as the Zionist project worked — and still works — at the behest of U.S. capital, so did the brutal dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza, trampling on the dignity of Nicaraguans through the use of the U.S.-created Guardia Nacional.

After a series of striking blows at the Somoza régime, the people’s insurrection against [neo]imperialism was solidified through guerilla tactics when Managua was liberated on July 19, 1979, by the Sandinista National Liberation Front.

On the 45th anniversary of the victorious revolution, Khaled spoke alongside Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and other international anti-imperialist figures. In her speech on the evening of July 19, Khaled spoke about the Palestinian struggle as one waged against Zionism, fascism and Nazism. She also mentioned the essential rôle women hold in the revolution as the preservers of life. We see this truth in the Sandinista revolution, as women made up 30% of the guerrilla fighters.

We honor Leila Khaled by learning from her life-long dedication to liberation. We call on folks to escalate their sacrifice and struggle for liberation, to dedicate themselves to study and political education and to observe the Thawabit (“fundamental principles,” often referred to as “Palestine’s red lines”).

Y por otro lado, Venezuela Bolivariana no está sola, se siente desde ya respaldada por China, Rusia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, y casi todos los países del Tercer Mundo, de África y Asia, ya que precisamente estos últimos se ven reflejados en Venezuela por todos los males que ellos también han sufrido, a lo largo de siglos, por parte del [neo]imperialismo.

Además, de la misma manera que es necesario reforzar las acciones de solidaridad con el pueblo palestino, denunciando las acciones criminales del sionismo, con esa misma fuerza se debe encarar la defensa irrestricta del proceso revolucionario venezolano, del triunfo de Maduro y del repudio a todas aquellas expresiones que, coincidentemente con el [neo]fascismo de los Milei, los Bolsonaro o sus mandamases de Washington o Tel Aviv, quieren convertir al país caribeño en una sucursal del imperio.

Por último, cuando muy pronto, la Justicia venezolana, a la que se ha subordinado el reelegido presidente, diga su última palabra sobre las famosas actas, y estas demuestren lo que el pueblo festejó la misma noche del 28 frente al Palacio Miraflores, ¿qué más van a pedir los inquisidores de la Revolución? ¿Aceptarán que la realidad es una sola y no la que ellos intentan imponer por la fuerza o seguirán alimentando la guerra contra un país que, como Cuba, son verdaderos ejemplos de un mundo distinto?

La respuesta es conocida, y por eso, en esta oportunidad, como en tantas otras, no hay vereda del medio ni “tercera vía”. O se está con Venezuela Bolivariana o se opta por ponerse de rodillas ante los asesinos que estimulan la violencia interna y externa en el país de Simón Bolívar y Hugo Chávez.

According to this narrative, support for the opposition is overwhelming, and the only possible way supporters of the government could win is through fraud. That way, if the vote does not go according to Washington’s wishes, yet another effort to remove Maduro from power by force can be initiated on the basis of the supposed illegitimacy of the results.

We reject this cynical, self-serving logic. Since the process of change called the Bolivarian Revolution began under President Hugo Chávez, Venezuela has held over 30 elections that have been conducted professionally and impartially. The electoral system includes multiple layers of fraud protection, including an extensive auditing process where representatives of all candidates are involved.

For years, this system was recognized as fair and democratic by all outside institutions. What changed was that after the 2018 election of Maduro, the Trump administration made a clear decision to discredit the elections and withdraw recognition of Venezuela’s legitimate government so as to overthrow it.

The Venezuelan people have suffered greatly from all this. The crushing weight of U.S.-imposed sanctions caused misery across the entire population and was designed to create an explosive situation that would result in the unconstitutional removal of the government. A study by the Center for Economic Policy and Research found that these cruel sanctions have cost the lives of over 40,000 Venezuelans.

Washington failed in their political aim of instigating regime change. The economy is now in a period of recovery. Instead of turning a new page, the U.S. government has returned to using false election fraud narratives to create their desired crisis. We demand respect for Venezuela’s independence and the sovereign right of the Venezuelan people to elect their own leaders without outside interference.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/5243214

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/5242797

Ismael Mayo Zambada García, el legendario líder del cártel de Sinaloa, ha sido detenido este jueves en El Paso, Texas. La detención del emblemático narcotraficante, quien no había pisado una cárcel en décadas de vida criminal y cuya cabeza tenía una recompensa de 15 millones de dólares, se produjo en un aeropuerto privado de la ciudad fronteriza. La aprehensión fue adelantada por el semanario Zeta de Tijuana y confirmada por dos fuentes del operativo a la agencia Reuters. Las autoridades también tienen en custodia a Joaquín Guzmán López, uno de los hijos de Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán.

The charges raised against every one of the more than 40 countries sanctioned by the U.S. government are usually the same template. Venezuela is no exception.

The targeted government in countries facing U.S. sanctions attack is first declared guilty by U.S. corporate media, and the whole U.S. political establishment joins in demonizing the leadership as guilty of criminal, anti-democratic or corrupt actions. The claim, endlessly repeated, is that imposed sanctions are only targeting criminal individuals and enterprises. But this is a total fraud. The blockade is designed to throw the entire economy into shock.

The media line repeats endlessly that the economic dislocation, wild inflation, shortages of essential products are caused by leaders who are corrupt, inept and paid-off. Slanderous terms declaring elected leaders to be autocrats, dictators, are used repeatedly in each news article.

It takes intense new levels of mobilization of the entire people to resist an orchestrated U.S. take-down or régime change operation. It takes even more to build a force capable of mobilizing the population in the midst of scarcity. The need is to both survive and to thrive.

This is the challenge that [the Bolivarian Republic of] Venezuela has undertaken with great determination and revolutionary fervor.

Nearly every person we spoke to saw the Palestinian struggle as their own. Palestinian flags can be seen everywhere, hanging alongside FSLN flags. We noticed many parallels between the two liberation movements, including but not limited to the rôle of armed struggle, the religious foundation of the revolutions and the honoring of martyrs. Because of their shared fight against [neo]imperialism, the people of Nicaragua have an intuitive understanding of the Palestinian struggle and the necessary means for national liberation.

Delegations such as our own are determined to return back to the belly of the beast and dispel the propaganda and myths about Nicaragua that are fed to us by the CIA/U.S. State Department. Through conversations with working people, we learned that our primary task as revolutionary anti-imperialists in the [neo]imperial core is to actively wage a struggle to lift the deadly U.S. sanctions on Nicaragua and demand a complete cessation of [neo]imperialist policies in the Western Hemisphere.

Connecting directly with migrant diasporas, who understand that forced migration is a product of [neo]imperialist military interventions and economic sanctions, is also an avenue to mobilize against the U.S. war machine.

The success of the Sandinista victory is a source of education and inspiration for our struggle in the [neo]imperialist United States. Major literacy campaigns in Nicaragua bolstered support for the revolution, teaching us that we should be involved in meeting the material needs of our community members.

We understand that education and raising class consciousness is fundamental to an anti-imperialist struggle. We must genuinely build trust and love the people, cultivating a culture of care that counters the individualism and opportunism that capitalism instills.

We want to thank the Nicaraguan people and the FSLN for welcoming us into your beautiful nation. We will continue to uplift the successes of the Sandinista revolutionary struggle, which is a model for those fighting for the liberation of all peoples from [neo]imperialism.