Two Genociders vs the World: US, Israel Oppose Ending Cuba Blockade
Cuba
Granma: An emphatic victory for Cuba at the UN: 187 votes against the US blockade As part of the voting process, two nations (the United States and Israel) maintained their historic position in support of the blockade and one (Moldova) abstained. From March 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024, the US blockade caused damages and material losses to Cuba represents $421 million a month, $13.8 million a day, $575,683 dollars an hour. 44 hours of the blockade is equivalent to the funding needed to guarantee computers in the country’s educational centers (US$25,200,000).
The People’s Forum: Let Cuba Live! Donate Thanks to generous community support, we have succeeded in raising $100,000 to send urgently needed aid to Cuba. Because of these donations, 30 tons of food supplies including pasta, milk, cooking oil and water arrived in Cuba October 26.
Black Agenda Report (Margaret Kimberley): The U.S. Continues Its Terror Campaign Against Cuba [US and Israeli] war crimes range from starvation, destruction of hospitals, shooting children in the head, rape and torture, attacking United Nations peacekeeping forces, assassinating Palestinian leaders, and burning hospital patients to death. All the atrocities have been documented, often by the perpetrators themselves, and have been defended vociferously. The horror makes it easy to forget that U.S. crimes continue unabated around the world even when we don’t have to look very far to find them. Just 90 miles away from Florida, the people of Cuba are suffering in darkness, denied the ability to access electricity, all because of the damage done by more than 60 years of sanctions which were made worse by a new crime, the State Sponsor of Terror (SSOT) designation.
WeareCeda.org: Cuba In Crisis Our U.S.-Cuba News Brief is a weekly newsletter which features U.S.-Cuba relations news, in Cuba developments, and Cuba’s foreign relations, as well as events and recommended readings. Over 5,500 senior government officials, legislators, academics, activists, journalists, and cultural leaders read it weekly to stay up-to-date on all things Cuba.
Venezuela
AFGJ: Take action! Oppose new and existing sanctions on Venezuela It is the fifth most sanctioned country in the world, and cost the country dearly. 40,000-100,000 people estimated to have died from lack of food, medicines, clean drinking water and other basic necessities caused by “sanctions” the US has imposed since Obama. Senate Bill 995 would turn punitive Executive Orders into law, making them harder to remove and further isolating Venezuela from global markets and the international financial system. S.995 would bar Venezuela from receiving loans from the international banks and would punish those institutions if they do grant loans. It would punish any third countries that provide any assistance to the Maduro Administration while blocking Venezuela’s access to any assets it has in the US.
Venezuela Condemns Brazil’s Veto at BRICS Summit Below is the unofficial translation of the Venezuelan statement: “The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela thanks the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, his government, and the heroic Russian people for the invitation extended to President Nicolás Maduro Moros to participate in the BRICS+ Summit in Kazan. Venezuela, which not only has the largest energy reserve in the world but also represents the values, principles, and vision of building a fair, multicentred and multipolar world, has had the backing and support of the countries participating in this summit to formalize its entry into this integration mechanism.
Through an action that contradicts the nature and postulate of the BRICS, the representation of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry (Itamaraty), led by Ambassador Eduardo Paes Saboia, decided to maintain the veto that Bolsonaro applied to Venezuela for years, reproducing the hatred, exclusion, and intolerance promoted by Western power to prevent, for now, the entry of the Homeland of [Simon] Bolívar into this organization in an action that constitutes the aggression against Venezuela and is a hostile gesture adding to the criminal sanctions policy imposed against a brave and revolutionary people, like the Venezuelan people. Venezuela is enhancing the global South and East with its firmness in defending self-determination and the sovereign equality of States. No trick or maneuver against Venezuela will stop the course of history. A new world has been born! Venezuela is part of this free world without hegemony.
The Venezuelan people feel outrage and shame at this inexplicable and immoral aggression by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, maintaining the worst of Jair Bolsonaro’s policies against the Bolivarian Revolution founded by Commander Hugo Chávez. This historic summit for a new world of peace, justice, and shared development has been a resounding success. We congratulate President Putin and his government for their extraordinary contributions, in the words of the Liberator Simón Bolívar, to universal balance. Caracas, October 24, 2024”
TeleSur: Brazilian Veto on Venezuela Is a Hostile Gesture: President Maduro He responded to Brazil’s decision to veto his country’s entry into BRICS, calling it a “hostile action” that contradicts the spirit of integration that this economic cooperation group promotes. The president demanded an explanation from Brazilian President Lula da Silva. “When the list of new BRICS member countries was announced, Eduardo Paes Saboia, a functionary with a dark Bolsonarist background, admitted that the government of Lula da Silva indeed vetoed Venezuela,” Maduro stated. He also recalled that the Brazilian Foreign Affairs Ministry, known as Itamaraty, has a history of decisions aligned with U.S. interests.
Maduro: Veto by Brazil’s Foreign Ministry Will Not Silence Venezuela President Maduro, confirmed that the country belongs “by nature” to the new multipolar world that has already been born and that, in his words, “we helped create.” Similarly, he condemned the last-minute veto made by Brazil of Venezuela’s entry into BRICS. He commented that the vice president and the foreign minister “had previous conversations and said that they would not veto Venezuela… Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told me to my face that Brazil would not veto Venezuela… There were meetings between that foreign minister and the one from Russia, and he clearly stated that he would not veto Venezuela.”
“When the final list was provided, an official with a sad Bolsonarist past (Eduardo Paes Saboia) appeared—and was highly criticized in Brazil—and stated directly that Brazil vetoes Venezuela and exercised an immoral veto power that violated the agreements of Celac, Mercosur, the BRICS.” “The birth of a new world is inevitable, it has already been born. It is stupid to believe that Venezuela’s right to belong to this new world can be vetoed,” said President Maduro.
Ultimas Noticias: Maduro strongly condemned the assassination attempt against Evo Morales In response to the conflict in Bolivia between the Evo faction and the Arce faction of MAS, ALBA-TCP stated, “once again urges the parties in Bolivia to meet and join their strengths and capabilities for the benefit of Bolivians, through sincere dialogue, which contributes to the prosperity and tranquility of the nation, and prevents the escalation of a conflict most likely induced by third parties who are the enemies of peace and sovereignty of our peoples.”
Popular Resistance (Roger Harris): What Venezuelans Think About Their Presidential Election The Venezuelan electoral authority has not published detailed vote-count data. Their supreme court’s audit appears to be considered sufficient by the government. It is common in Latin America and the US for courts to resolve electoral disputes. According to a Hinterlaces poll August 9, 59% believe Maduro won. Polls show a consistently loyal 35% support for the government Socialist Party (PSUV). A hardcore 14% fall into the committed opposition camp. 61% of Venezuelans reject the idea of privatizing PDVSA, the state oil company.
Ultimas Noticias: Venezuela Boosts Tourism with New Historical Routes and Exceptional Growth The Minister of Popular Power for Tourism revealed that to date, 1,588,000 international tourists have entered the country in 2024. The tourism sector has experienced a remarkable growth of 108% compared to the previous year.
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Donate:
The People’s Forum: Let Cuba Live! Donate
Events:
November 5, Oakland: Meet Cuban Filmmaker Gloria Rolando
November 15-17: National Network on Cuba Annual Meeting
November 17 webinar: Building solidarity with the Nicaraguan Revolution: the Friends of ATC network: The Friends of ATC is the solidarity network in Nicaragua of the Rural Workers Association (Asociación de Trabajadores del Campo, ATC). This webinar describes how the network was formed and its focus on solidarity with Nicaragua and the Sandinista Popular Revolution. Today, Nicaragua is over 90% self-sufficient in food, mainly grown by small farmers who received land during the 1980s agrarian reform, who are supported today by government programs focused on the popular economy. Speakers: Ari Gutman, Michelle Munjanattu.
January 28-31: Havana, Cuba: VI International Conference For World Balance This conference cultivates partnerships and formulates actionable strategies to propel us towards a more equitable and just global community. Organized by the Office of the Martí Program and co-sponsored by UNESCO and Soka Gakkai International.
February 8, London: Latin America Conference This will be the 19th annual Latin America Adelante! Conference.
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Delegations to Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua:
Bolivia
Jan 25 – Feb 3, 2025: Bolivia, 20 Years of Popular Democracy and Indigenous Self-Determination
Cuba
December 1-9: National Single Payer: Invitation To Join Our Delegation To Cuba
December 13-22: Hatuey Project delegation to Cuba
January 26, 2025 to February 4, 2025: Visit Cuba with the Center for Global Justice
April 17-May 3, 2025: Puerto Rico Brigada Juan Ruiz Rivera to Cuba
Witness for Peace delegations to Cuba
Friendly Planet delegations to Cuba
Nicaragua
Casa Ben Linder 2024 Email casabenjaminlinder@gmail.com to apply:
20 February – 1 March 2025: The Bird Brigade: Birding in Solentiname Arquipelago
6-16 March 2025: Power & Protagonism: Women in Nicaragua
May 2025: Co-ops and Communities: Cooperative Movement in Nicaragua
June 2025: Global Health: Family and Community Health in Nicaragua
July 2025: Solidarity in Action: Nicaragua’s Popular Revolution
November 2025: Salud & Solidaridad: Hands-On Healthcare in Nicaragua
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This is also available at ChicagoALBASolidarity.org. If you have events to publicize, send them to venezuelaweekly@afgj.org or stansfieldsmith100@gmail.com.
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