Venezuela
Ultimas Noticias: Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) Announces PSUV Wins 23 of 24 Governorships and 82% of Votes for Deputies As of May 27, the voting machines corresponding to 99.88% of the polling stations had been transmitted, with a voter turnout of 43.18%. The part of the Venezuelan opposition led by María Corina Machado had called for a boycott of the election. This campaign is a recycled tactic of the far right opposition which seeks with a boycott to delegitimize Venezuelan democracy and accuse it of being fraudulent.
The election results: The Great Patriotic Pole [Chavista] alliance obtained 5,024,475 votes, representing 83.42% of the total votes; Democratic Alliance: 361,769 votes, 6.01%; UNTC, (United National Union of Workers): 304,425 votes, 5.05%; Neighborhood Force Alliance: 141,588 votes, 2.35%. Others obtained 181,926 votes, 3.02% of the total votes. Invalid votes: 8,813, 0.15% of the total votes.
Of 282 seats in the National Assembly, The Great Patriotic Pole obtained 253 seats; the Democratic Alliance 13 seats, the UNTC 11 seats, the Neighborhood Force Alliance 4 seats, and the Pencil Alliance Party 1 seat. For gubernatorial positions, the Great Patriotic Pole Alliance obtained 23 seats and the Democratic Alliance obtained 1 seat.
Mision Verdad: Chavistas Foiled the Rightwing Attempt at Election Terrorism and Sabotage The goal of the attacks was to create a climate of terror to portray to the international community that Venezuela is in no condition for elections and, in doing so, to sow fear among the population so they won’t go out and vote. This would be sold as mass support for far right leader Maria Machado’s call for an election boycott. On May 19 , the Vice President of the Policy, Citizen Security, and Peace Sector, Diosdado Cabello, denounced a new conspiracy and terrorism plot in Venezuela, resulting in the arrest of 38 people, 17 of them foreigners, linked to plans to sabotage the regional elections. On May 23, two days before the elections, the remaining terrorist group led by opposition extremist Juan Pablo Guanipa Villalobos, which had been in hiding since last January, was dismantled. As a result of the police operation, electrical detonators, C4 explosives, cell phones, computers, and various explosives equipment were seized.
Resumen Latinoamericano (Roger Harris): Ballots and Bias: How the Press Framed Venezuela’s Regional and Legislative Elections The headline from Le Monde spun the voting thus: “Venezuela holds divisive new elections.” Contrary to what the headline suggests, the divisiveness was not the government’s doing, but due to the opposition’s perennial internecine warfare. While the pro-government Great Patriotic Pole alliance around the ruling Socialist Party (PSUV) “works in unison,” according to opposition leader Henrique Capriles, the electoral opposition divided into three warring camps. They in turn were surrounded by a circular firing squad of the far-right abstentionists, calling for a vote boycott.
That Venezuelans had to vote while being subjected to illegal coercive sanctions on is completely ignored by the corporate press. The story untold by the press is the courage of the Venezuelan people who continue to support their government under such adverse conditions. Washington and its aligned press cannot question the popular sweep for the Socialist Party’s alliance in Venezuela, because it is so obvious. The chorus of criticism alleges the fraudulent nature of previous elections, although Washington considers any popular vote against its designated candidates as illegitimate.
Ultimas Noticias: Venezuela: School Feeding Program Serves 4.6 Million Students for Free Venezuela’s School Feeding Program (PAE) is serving 4.6 million students in more than 20,000 schools across the country for free, representing 90% coverage. “In our country, food and education are state priorities,” Adriana Urdaneta, president of the National Institute of Nutrition, said. “They are safeguarded in the national Constitution, enshrined as a right in Article 103, education, and Article 305.” She added that “nutritional education, as part of the PAE, embraces the 4S Pro food model, which consists of promoting the production, distribution, and consumption of healthy, tasty, safe, and sovereign [made] foods.”
TeleSur: Venezuela Honors the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Historic Struggle for Palestinian Human Rights Marking the 61st anniversary of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Foreign Minister Yván Gil publicly praised the organization’s enduring commitment to the Palestinian people’s struggle for justice and sovereignty. Founded in 1964, the PLO was established to consolidate the efforts of diverse Palestinian groups in their quest to reclaim their homeland and assert their rights. Minister Gil highlighted that the PLO’s legacy is not confined to the past but lives on vibrantly in every act of Palestinian resistance today.
William Camacaro: Immigration as a Political Weapon On March 15, the U.S. government, without due process, illegally and unconstitutionally transferred 253 Venezuelans to El Salvador’s notorious anti-terrorist prison, CECOT. These individuals were accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, yet no evidence was provided. Bloomberg notes that nearly 90% of those deported and imprisoned in El Salvador have no criminal records. The prisoners were subjected to humiliation and egregious human rights violations.
According to a report by the human rights organization Cristosal, the prisoners at CECOT do not receive enough water, food is very scarce, and they are only allowed one hour outside their cells. They are constantly beaten by their guards and have no access to phone calls, lawyers, or family visits. President Maduro strongly condemned the illegality and inhumane conditions of Venezuelan migrants arrested in the US and hired a law firm to defend his compatriots in El Salvador.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua Co-President Rosario Murillo: We are moving towards Mother’s Day [May 30] celebrating the progress, achievements and everything that is possible from Peace“In 2006 we had 20 State-owned and 29 private maternity homes, this year we have 182, a program that has been recognized by international health organizations…in 2006 there were 9,205 pregnant women housed in Maternal Homes; in 2024, 72,143 and maternal mortality reduced by 80% from 104 deaths in 2006 to 21 maternal deaths thank God in 2024…mortality in children under one month old fell by 66%, from 1,352 deaths in newborns in 2006 when the people regained control of the government, to 465 in 2024. We have certified 6,742 midwife sisters from the Maternal Homes.”
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Events
May 30: Event with Cuban Embassy’s David Ramirez and Yasser Ibarra. At International Association of Machinists Hall at 7pm. 1261 Avalon Blvd. Wilmington, CA For more info, email LA.US.Handsoffcuba@gmail.com
May 31: Chicago Reportback from Cuba May Day delegations in person and online.
June 1: Cuba Today: Cuban Consul General Speaking in Vancouver
June 1, 11:30 am (Oakland): Cuban embassy officials speak about the effects of the U.S. blockade on the island, the creativity to build their project despite this, and the role of youth in moving change forward.
June 1, 4:00 pm (Oakland): First and Second Secretaries of Cuban Embassy speak
June 7 (Baltimore): Cuba’s New Family Code and LGBT Rights
June 7: National Network on Cuba meeting
Monday, June 9, at 2:30 pm ET. Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition monthly meeting on Zoom. Email NicaraguaSolidarityCoalition@gmail.com for zoom access.
June 15: Global March to Gaza (WhatsApp Video 2025-05-19 at 21.59.06_a6365d9e (1).mp4 This is a call for many participants to join a peaceful march at the Egyptian border with Gaza, with the aim of negotiating the opening of the Rafah terminal with the Egyptian authorities, in collaboration with NGOs, diplomats, and humanitarian institutions.
June 22, 3 pm ET Nicaragua Webinar: Our Time in Nicaragua: Veterans for Peace Report BackWith Gerry Condon (delegation leader, VFP national Board Member and past President); Josh Shurley (VFP national Vice President); Michael Kramer (President, Northern New Jersey VFP); Douglas Ryder (President, Raleigh/Durham, NC VFP); Dan Shea (President, Portland, Oregon VFP); Al Glatkowski (At-Large VFP member in Virginia); Chris Smiley (VFP Communications Director, Managua). Webinar Co-moderator: Camilo Mejía, Nicaraguan citizen, US veteran, former prisoner of conscience.
June 22: Belgium – Protest for Peace and Justice: No to NATO War SummitAn international protest will take place in The Hague in response to the upcoming NATO Summit (June 24 and 25). A protest against the increasing militarisation of Western powers and their support for the ongoing Israeli offensive in Palestine.
June 23: Peace Conference in Brussels
July 4: International Rally: Sanctions Kill – US out of Venezuela & Latin America Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental//Carlos Ron, Vice-Minister, Foreign Affairs, Venezuela//Alicia Castro, former Argentinian Ambassador to Venezuela & UK//Fravia V.Marquez Silva, International Summit for Anti-imperialist Africans & Afro-Descendants, Venezuela // Dáire Hughes MP, Sinn Fein, Ireland//Felix Plasencia, Venezuelan Ambassador//Kate Hudson, CND//Francisco Dominguez, VSC//Gawain Little, GFTU//Fiona Sim, Black Liberation Alliance//Sarah Woolley BFAWU
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Delegations to Cuba, Nicaragua:
Cuba
Different Brigades and Solidarity Trips to Cuba
Witness for Peace delegations to Cuba
July 7-24: Visit Cuba with Helen Yaffe
Friendly Planet delegations to Cuba
Nicaragua
Casa Ben Linder Email casabenjaminlinder@gmail.com to apply:
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.
Chicago ALBA Solidarity 