Venezuela & ALBA News 9.9.2022: ALBA Countries demand Release of Seized Plane and Crew; Dan Kovalik book on Nicaragua; Helen Yaffe on Cuba

CEPR Sanctions Report August 2022 updates on the effects of US sanctions on the people of Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.

 

Political Prisoner Alex Saab
FreeAlexSaab.org Letter to Joe Biden Demanding the Immediate Release of Alex Saab This letter is signed by 24 social movements from different countries that on previous occasions have requested the end of the lawfare against Venezuela. In English and Spanish.

Video: Medidas coercitivas unilaterales como forma de extorsión mundial, caso del diplomático Alex Saab

 

Venezuela
Orinoco Tribune: President Maduro on Chile’s Referendum: There Was a Lack of Leadership He commented that the result of the plebiscite that took place in Chile, in which the majority voted against the new Constitution, was due to the fact that a grassroots, sovereign, and plenipotentiary process was not convened in Chile, because the government of Sebastián Piñera, former Chilean president, injected the process with limitations. In addition, “there was a lack of firm, clear, credible leadership that put itself at the forefront of the constitutional draft.” He recalled the processes that took place in Venezuela (1999), in Ecuador (2006), and in Bolivia (2007). “They had a national project and a clear offer of a better country, of a future, in a more democratic country.”

TeleSur:ALBA Demands Release of Crew of Venezuelan Plane in Argentina “This illegal retention constitutes a violation of the basic human rights of the crew, such as freedom of movement and respect for personal dignity, and is part of a new maneuver of non-compliance with the Charter of the United Nations and international law based on the illegal unilateral coercive measures applied against Venezuela.”

 

Cuba
Helen Yaffe: The US Blockade Against Cuba Is an Act of War The Republicans and Democrats have each tightened the screws equally on Cuba. We see this in the implementation of sanctions and OFAC fines that continued into the new millennium. President George W. Bush’s administration imposed 4.75 sanctions per year; Obama’s administration 6.38 per year; then the rate soared to 10.67 during Donald Trump’s first three years. Even during Obama’s ‘normalization,’ international banks remained terrified of fines being imposed while Cuba remains on the list of countries under US sanctions.

Help Us Raise $60,000 for Victims of Cuba’s Disastrous Fire, Code Pink, Puentes De Amor. $55,000 raised.

Video: Cuba’s Life Task: Combating Climate Change In this documentary, Helen Yaffe goes to Cuba to find out about ‘Tarea Vida’ (Life Task), a long-term state plan to protect the population, environment and the economy from climate change. The Cuban approach combines environmental science, natural solutions and community participation in strategies for adaptation and mitigation. There are lessons here for the world.

 

Nicaragua
COHA: Dan Kovalik’s new book: Nicaragua, A History of US Intervention & Resistance I have written this book to explore the pernicious nature of US engagement with Nicaragua from the mid-19th century to the present in pursuit of control and domination rather than in defense of democracy as Washington has incessantly claimed. In turn, Nicaraguans have valiantly defended their homeland, preventing the US from ever maintaining its control for long.

NicaNotes: Good News in the Financial Arena in Nicaragua: US Sanctions not Working
A recent article published on the web page of the Center for Strategic and International Studies conceded that Nicaragua had made major advances economically and, in spite of US sanctions, had “rebounded relatively well from Covid-19” and had ensured that Nicaraguans could feed themselves. The article noted that the Nicaraguan economy grew by 10.1% in 2021 and foreign investment increased by 39% from 2020 to 2021 with particular strength in energy and mining. The Nicaragua Export Processing Center reported that exports totaled US$1.87 billion from January to June 2022, a 20.5% increase compared to the same period in 2021.

 

Bolivia
Orinoco Tribune: Evo Morales Considers The US Responsible For Assassination Attempt on Cristina Fernández Morales commented that the US carries out this type of aggressions out of “desperation,” since it can no longer stop the progressive transformation that is being brought about by leftist parties in different countries of the region such as Colombia, Chile, Peru and Honduras. Morales called this advance of progressive forces “a democratic rebellion that is unstoppable in Latin America.” “Sister Cristina is not alone, the Patria Grande is with her.”

 

Events and Delegations
Wednesdays: WTF is Going on in Latin America & The Caribbean with Teri Mattson

Ben Linder Solidarity School  August 27-October 1 and October 8-29
September 10: Ben Linder Solidarity School with Dan Kovalik and Magda Lanuza, 9am-11am US Pacific / 12pm-2pm US Eastern / 5pm-7pm UK

September 13: Current Developments in Venezuela and the New Pink Tide
September 24: Democracy Beyond the US Empire: Foreign Ministers Bruno Rodriguez of Cuba and Carlos Faria of Venezuela, Vijay Prashad
September 26: ¡Viva la solidaridad! Latin America’s Left Leads the Way – Liverpool rally

Travel to Venezuela with Code Pink October 7-17 (postponed)
Travel to Cuba with Witness for Peace

 

If you have events to publicize or find helpful articles for readers on the ALBA  countries you can post them on Facebook here: Venezuela; Nicaragua; Bolivia; Latin America in general (here or here) Or send them to  [email protected]

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