Thomas Jefferson articulates the Monroe Doctrine in 1786; Hitler based his German Lebensraum on the US model Thomas Jefferson: “Our confederacy must be viewed as the nest from which all America, North and South is to be peopled. We should take care too not to think it for the interest of that great continent to press too soon on the Spaniards. Those countries cannot be in better hands. My fear is that they are too feeble to hold them till our population can be sufficiently advanced to gain it from them piece by piece.”
In his book Mein Kampf, Hitler discussed U.S. laws and policies and noted that the US was a racial model for Europe and that it was “the one state” in the world that was creating the kind of racist society that national socialists wanted, praising the way the “Aryan” US conquered “its own continent” by clearing the “soil” of “natives” to make way for more “racially pure” occupiers. The Nazis frequently referred to the bloody conquest of the American West as the historical warrant they needed to justify the clearance of the Slav population.
Venezuelanalysis: Repatriated Venezuelans Denounce ‘Abuse and Torture’ in El Salvador’s CECOT Mega Prison Returned migrants recounted their experiences of daily mistreatment and torture while being held in CECOT. One described how prison officers frequently beat them for actions such as “showering, speaking, or asking for water.” “We thought we were left for dead, that we would never see our loved ones again.” Several denounced being denied food and water, refused access to a phone call, placed in solitary confinement, and beaten to the point of unconsciousness. Eude José Torres Herrera said that he was hit in the face, dislocating his jaw. Rodolfo Mayor stated that one of his molars was removed with pliers, and that he was beaten and shot in the chest with a pellet gun. “They beat me so badly that I urinated blood for a week and fractured a rib.”
Al Mayadeen: ‘I practically felt like an animal’, relays Venezuelan migrant US handed to CECOT During the four months the men spent at CECOT, they said they were repeatedly assaulted. One said that guards stole thousands of dollars from him that he was taking back to Venezuela, and denied him legal counsel or phone access. Joen Suarez described being taken multiple times to a dark punishment cell where he said he was kicked, beaten, and verbally abused. Angel Blanco Marin said he was struck so forcefully that he lost half of a molar. Despite repeated requests for medical attention and pain relief, he said he received nothing for over a month. “I practically felt like an animal. The officials treated us like we were the most dangerous criminals on Earth. … They shaved our heads, they would insult us, they would take us around like dogs.”
Detainees were roused at 4 am to wash. If caught cleaning outside of designated times, they were taken to a punishment cell, shackled to a chair, and beaten with sticks. Blanco said he could hear others screaming from down the corridor. An attempted hunger strike in April worsened their treatment. Guards used rubber bullets and plastic pellets to subdue the protest. When they requested legal help, he said, guards responded, “That word doesn’t exist here.”
Cuba says Venezuela remains the main supplier of Crude Oil, using a formula that circumvents US sanctions Cuban President Díaz-Canel acknowledged May 29 that the island receives oil and derivatives from Venezuela thanks to a secret “formula” that circumvents US sanctions. He made these statements in his podcast “Desde la presidencia” (From the Presidency), which focused on the country’s prolonged daily blackouts. The program also featured the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, who explained that Venezuela remains Cuba’s main supplier of crude oil, although shipments have decreased in recent months due to US sanctions against Caracas. Then Díaz-Canel said, “We’re not going to explain this formula so they don’t persecute us. One of the most important characteristics of the tightening of the US blockade,” is “financial and energy persecution.”
Venezuelanalysis: Trump Administration Reverses Course, Allows Restart of Chevron Operations in Venezuela The US administration has walked back a major sanctions policy by granting Chevron a new waiver to operate in Venezuela. They have yet to comment on the policy U-turn. Chevron owns between 30 and 40 percent of shares in four joint ventures, with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA owning majority stakes. The enterprises’ recent output stood between 200,000 and 250,000 barrels per day, roughly a quarter of the country’s total. In contrast to predictions of an immediate oil sector setback, Venezuela has maintained crude production and export levels in recent months. Last month, PDVSA directed 90 percent of its cargoes to Chinese refineries.
Becca Renk: 46 Years Later, Nicaragua’s Youth Still Lead the Revolution One of the questions I’m asked most frequently about Nicaragua is: “Does the revolution have a future?” To anyone who visits the country, it is obvious that Nicaragua’s revolution, which has managed to both revere its historical heroes and also treasure its youth, is stronger than ever. Young people currently make up 70% of the population. Although Nicaragua’s co-presidents are in their 70s, their government leadership at all levels is largely made up of young people.
So how does Nicaragua’s revolution, founded by Baby Boomers, manage to be relevant to Gen Z? On a practical level, putting youth in power ensures that young people’s needs are met. In Nicaragua, free universal health care, subsidies for transport, electricity and gas are just a few of the programs that make improved quality of life accessible for young people. The most important program for Nicaragua’s youth, however, is the universal access to free quality education preschool through university, including hundreds of free vocational training programs. “As a young person, I see more and more opportunities all the time,” says Abril Reyes Arriaza, a 23 year-old singer who has been organized in the JS19J Cultural Movement since secondary school. “I don’t think that anyone needs to leave our country to find new opportunities because there are plenty of them here.”
Ben Norton: The Struggle Against US Imperialism, Nicaragua Is A Model Of Sovereignty The US empire invaded Nicaragua multiple times, imposed a colonial military occupation, propped up a puppet dictatorship, waged terror war, and backed violent coups. Yet the Sandinistas have always defended their nation’s sovereignty. The Nicaraguan people have endured relentless attacks by the US empire, not just for decades, but for centuries. The Sandinistas toppled Somoza and created a new revolutionary left-wing government on the 19th of July, 1979. Finally, Nicaragua was able to restore its sovereignty.
Washington immediately launched another neocolonial war on Nicaragua. The CIA created far-right death squads, known as the “Contras,” as the US terrorized Nicaragua. In contrast, China has been partnering with the country to help it to economically develop.
Nicaragua has played a key role in pushing for a more multipolar world, in opposition to US imperial hegemony. The 19th of July, 2025, marked the 46th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua. There, Co-President Daniel Ortega pointed out that Europe is now remilitarizing and massively increasing its military spending on weapons because it, along with the US, wants to prepare for war against Russia and China. The United Nations has become a tool dominated by the Western imperialist powers, and the US uses its veto power to prevent the UN from taking any significant action (like stopping the genocide in Gaza). The UN needs a “refoundation”, Ortega said, to create a “new United Nations”. Ortega ended his speech warning that, although there is peace in Nicaragua today, “that does not mean that the enemy [the US empire] is resting. The enemy is always conspiring, always trying to provoke bloodshed, always trying to provoke pain in Nicaraguan families, because they believe they can defeat the revolution”.
Documentary: Hugo Chavez, A Revolutionary in Power (1992-2013)
Documentary: Mi Amigo Hugo My Friend Hugo Oliver Stone
Documentary: Simon Bolivar – Latin American Liberator
Granma: Bolivar, The Liberator of America ( July 24, 1783- December 17, 1830) It is said that in his 47 years of life, Bolívar fought in 447 battles, being defeated only six times. He rode 123,000 kilometers and crossed the almost impassable Andes Mountains on foot, leading his liberating army, without adequate clothing, footwear, or food, in sub-zero temperatures at altitudes of over 6,000 meters. Bolívar was born in Caracas on July 24, 1783, descendant of a family of Basque origin established in Venezuela since the end of the 16th century, belonging to the Caracas aristocracy, with numerous possessions and riches. In his Oath of the Sacred Mountain, he said, “I will not give rest to my arm, nor repose to my soul, until I have broken the chains that oppress us by the will of the Spanish power.”
Granma: Fidel, Che, and July 26: essential symbols Historical processes, especially those with revolutionary roots and objectives of a socialist nature, need faces that embody them and symbolize the demands and hopes that are most significant for society. This is the case of Fidel and Che Guevara during the Cuban Revolution. The two forged one of the most beautiful and instructive friendships in contemporary history. Ernesto reflects on his first meeting with Fidel, in mid-July 1955: “It was a political event to have met Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary, a young, intelligent, self-confident, and extraordinarily bold man; I think we liked each other…”
Years later, Fidel said of their first meeting: Che “already had a good revolutionary background, a good Marxist background, and he was very studious. He had graduated as a doctor, he conducted research, and he was very rigorous in his study of Marxist issues.” Later Che said of Fidel: “He has the characteristics of a great leader, which, combined with his personal gifts of audacity, strength, and courage, and his extraordinary desire to always listen to the will of the people, has led him to the place of honor he occupies today. But he has other important qualities, such as his ability to assimilate knowledge and experience, to understand the whole picture of a situation without losing sight of the details, his immense faith in the future, and his broad vision to foresee events and anticipate events, seeing further and better than his colleagues.”
Venezuelanalysis: Iran, Venezuela and a Multipolar World: A Conversation with Mohammad Marandi I think the alliance between Iran and Venezuela is extraordinarily important because these are two leading anti-imperialist countries in the Global South. The two are strategic actors in the resistance against the US empire. For that reason, they will have to play a decisive role in the emergence of the multipolar world, especially because they—as advocates of and from the Global South—know the needs of the Global South in terms of sovereignty. It is clear that those countries that are sanctioned are the ones that the empire is most fearful of. In short, the fact that Venezuela and Iran are so heavily targeted is a clear indication of the important role that they play in weakening and hopefully defeating the empire. The West has always been a menace to humanity, and especially to the Global South. The empire has been crude and brutal, and nothing has changed for many centuries.
TeleSur: The Chavista Gran Polo Patriotico Simon Bolivar (GPPSB) wins more than 285 out of 335 municipalities President Maduro added that, out of the 24 capitals of the country, “we won 23 capitals. We only lost San Carlos in Cojedes.” He took the opportunity to congratulate the opposition winner in that municipality. “Just as the historical victory of the revolutionary, Bolivarian, and Chavista popular bloc has been consolidated, I also believe that today marks the birth of a new Venezuelan opposition that has the obligation to govern well from the 50 mayorships they have won,” he declared. “On this date, July 28, 2025, we dedicate this great victory of the Venezuelan people to the eternal Commander, Hugo Chavez Frias. (…) He is always alive in our struggle, always alive in our memory, always alive in our daily actions; we are his sons and daughters.”
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Upcoming Events
July 29 webinar: ‘How Venezuela Moved a Mountain’ by Thierry Deronne Film Screening and Discussion with the Director “How Venezuela Moved a Mountain” is a documentary film that vividly describes the current situations in Venezuela and the concept of the commune. The film follows Venezuelan activists and their comrades—including fishermen and farmers cultivating coffee, sugarcane, and cocoa—as they strive to realize Hugo Chávez’s vision of communism, working alongside Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement from the Andes to the central coastal regions and areas such as Miranda, Lara, and Cumanacoa. The film also highlights the crucial role of women as key drivers of the struggle.
July 30: Che Guevara, the Cuban Revolution and Black Liberation | White Solidarity with Black Power
July 31: Defend Cuba’s health internationalism from the Trump administration’s attacks! Dr. Jose Armando Arronte Villamarin led Cuban Missions to Chicago, Jamaica, Egypt & Vietnam. Director of International Organizations for the Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP); Dr. Uriel Ramirez, graduate of the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) in Havana; Dr. Abeeku Ricks is a Graduate of Cuba’s Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM); Peggy Gilpin, on the Board if Global Health Partners and as President of US-Cuba Health Exchange for over 30 years she led delegations to Cuba; John Waller spent much of the last 30 years coordinating the sending of medical and other aid to Cuba.
August 2 (Los Angeles): Hands off Cuba! Cuba Report Back and Solidarity Event
August 24, 3 pm ET: Nicaragua Webinar. Learn about SINAPRED, Nicaragua’s National System for Prevention, Mitigation and Attention to Disasters, and how it contrasts with the US system.
August 29-31 (Detroit): Peoples Conference for Palestine
August 30-Sept. 1 (Portland): International Migrants Conference
September 7 (Britain): Viva la Solidaridad! Stand with Latin America Against Trump
September 12 (Toronto): Defend the Human Rights of Latin American Migrants!
September 21, 3 pm ET: Nicaragua Webinar on Nicaragua’s and Venezuela’s remarkable housing programs, with Sofia Clark and a speaker from Venezuela’s Gran Misión Vivienda
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Delegations to Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela:
Venezuela
December delegation to Venezuela: Invitation to the World Summit for Mother Earth-Global Eco socialists Gathering
Cuba
Witness for Peace delegations to Cuba
November 15-23: Cooperatives & 10 Best Practices in Cuba
Friendly Planet delegations to Cuba
Nicaragua
Casa Ben Linder Email casabenjaminlinder@gmail.com to apply:
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 
