Salt Lake City, UT – On Friday, July 24, dozens of anti-war protesters picketed in front of the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building in downtown Salt Lake City to protest U.S. aggression against Cuba and continued funding for Israel.

The protest was organized by community members in collaboration with the Utah Anti-War Committee, responding to call from the Anti-War Action Network for a Nation Week of Action for Cuba.

Braving scorching July heat, demonstrators held banners reading “Hands off Cuba!” and “End all U.S. aid to Israel!” and marched around the intersection in front of the federal building. Chants of, “Hands off Cuba, end the blockade!” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” echoed across the busy downtown streets.

“We aren’t worried about the heat. We’re worried about standing up against Trump and Rubio’s latest threats against Cuba and holding it down for Palestine,” said Adam Koritz of the Utah Anti-War Committee.

After over an hour of the roving picket, Salt Lake City Police officers moved in and tried to isolate an anti-war protester who was on a bike, alleging that he was violating rules of the road. Outraged, the rest of the demonstrators quickly surrounded the cyclist and filmed the officers. Police backed off from the picket.

The anti-war picket completed several more rounds of marching around the intersection as the pair of officers looked on.

“The police who tried to silence our protest work for the same government attacking Cuba and Palestine,” said Sebastian Miscenich of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “We in Utah have more in common with people abroad fighting U.S. aggression than we do with the rulers of this country, whose police just tried to silence our voices.”

The protest coincided with the Pioneer Day celebrations, a local major holiday commemorating the arrival of Brigham Young and the first Latter-day Saint settlers to Utah. Passing motorists and revelers approved of the anti-war message, frequently honking and giving visible gestures of support.

Organizers urged the protesters to stay involved in the anti-war movement by joining the UAWC. Those opposed to U.S. wars should make plans to attend Salt Lake County Council at 2001 S State Street on Tuesday, August 4 at 1 p.m. to demand a resolution against Raytheon AST, a war-profiteering company for the U.S. and Israeli militaries, which has an office in Salt Lake City.

#SaltLakeCityUT #UT #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Cuba #Raytheon

Minneapolis, MN: On July 30, 35 people protested at Loring Park in Minneapolis to demand an end to the U.S. oil blockade on Cuba. The protest was called by the MN Anti-War Committee (AWC) and Women Against Military Madness’ HOLA (Hands Off Latin America) Committee as a part of the Anti-War Action Network’s call for a week of action in solidarity with Cuba.

An increasing amount of international attention is focused on the consequences of President Trump’s tightened blockade on the island. Since the U.S. kidnapped Venezuelan President Maduro, the Trump administration has imposed a six-month-long U.S. oil blockade on the island, which is causing a humanitarian crisis. Electric water pumps frequently sit idle due to lack of power, leaving major cities like Havana struggling with running water. Hospitals and medical manufacturing have also slowed down due to the lack of electricity.

Ben Golden, an organizer with the MN Anti-War Committee, emceed the protest. He explained, “The U.S. has engineered a deadly economic crisis so that they can manufacture an excuse for regime change in Cuba, but we won’t stand for it! Warfare is not always waged in bombs and bullets, and the U.S. is waging a reprehensible war on Cuba in the form of this embargo. We are here to say that we stand with the sovereignty of the Cuban people; end the embargo, and down with the U.S. war machine!”

Sarah Martin, a founder of the Hands Off Latin America committee, was the first speaker at the protest. Martin has traveled on solidarity trips to Venezuela and Cuba, which are both being threatened by the Trump administration. She said, “Both countries, Cuba and Venezuela, asserted their sovereignty and independence and broke free from the hold of U.S. imperialism and began to build societies which put people first, especially the poor. The U.S. did not take kindly to this, and both countries have been in the crosshairs of the U.S. empire no matter what administration was in power.”

Martin concluded, “The peoples of both countries are resilient and committed to their revolutions. It is up to us in the belly of the beast to do everything we can to interfere with Trump and Rubio’s plans. So, we’re here today and we’ll continue to come out until the U.S. backs off and ends the war threats, ends the oil embargo, and ends the blockade on Cuba.”

During the protest, two banners were hung from the bridge from Loring Park to the Walker Art Center over Interstate 94 demanding “End the blockade on Cuba” and “Let Cuba live! End the embargo on Cuba!” Thousands of drivers saw the banners and honked and waved to show support.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Cuba

New Orleans, LA – On Sunday, July 26, activists and community members gathered in front of the federal building downtown to commemorate the Cuban National Day of Rebellion and demand that the U.S. cease its blockade against Cuba.

The rally occurred with a backdrop of several banners on the walls of the Hale Boggs Federal Building commemorating the 250 year anniversary of the United States. Members of New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports held up their own banner which read “No more wars for oil. End the embargo on Cuba now. Venceremos!” alongside the Cuban and Venezuelan flags.

73 years after the Cuban people kickstarted their rebellion against the U.S.-backed regime and succeeded, the U.S. government has escalated its attacks on Cuba, with intent to cause suffering and break the spirit of the Cuban people

In January, President Trump issued an executive order which effectively established a fuel blockade against Cuba, plunging the nation into a deep humanitarian crisis. Protesters gathered to demand an end to this cruel economic war on the Cuban people. Despite the decades of U.S. sanctions that have plagued the Cuban population, the Cuban people have continued to resist U.S. interference in their politics and economic life.

Rose Framboise of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization made a point to read excerpts from Secretary of State Rubio’s recent inflammatory report on Cuba, which she quoted verbatim: “‘In Cuba’s telling, the oppressed peoples of the world from Harlem to Hanoi all share one enemy: the same racist Yankee imperialism victimizing Africa, Asia, Latin America was victimizing Blacks and other minorities in the United States.’ I appreciate your candor, Marco Rubio – it seems like a pretty fine analysis to me!” said Framboise.

The Trump administration’s increasing economic and political pressure against Cuba is only becoming less popular. Recent polls from May show that only 15% of Americans support U.S. intervention in Cuba, with over 64% completely opposing U.S. war in the country. The crowd echoed that sentiment by chanting “Cuba sí, bloqueo no!” and “Biggest threat to the world today, Donald Trump and the USA!”

#NewOrleansLA #LA #International #Cuba

Braddock, PA – On Sunday, July 26, the International Solidarity Committee of Pittsburgh (ISCPIT) gathered outside John Fetterman's home in Braddock, Pennsylvania to protest the Senator's support of the Trump administration's increased sanctions on Cuba. This protest was held as part of the Anti-War Action Network's week of action marking Cuba’s National Rebellion Day.

Organizers and attendees chanted, held signs and spoke on a variety of issues that Senator Fetterman has been on the wrong side of, focusing on his vote in April to uphold the Trump administration's ramping up sanctions on Cuba. “Let the people of Cuba live” was shouted by attendees, as passersby joined in or honked in approval.

Since April, Fetterman has increased his violent political rhetoric. Last week, the Senator went on Fox News to say he “will always be the last man standing within the Democratic caucus in the Senate that's unapologetically standing for Israel.”

This week, faced with criticism from those he represents, Senator Fetterman posted to Twitter “Israel keeps killing Hamas members. @DemSocialists, cry harder.” This mirrors his in-person bravado quite well, as he briefly locked eyes with a chanting organizer from behind his curtains before quickly disappearing from sight and calling his private security team, who arrived within minutes to ensure protesters stayed on the “correct” part of the public sidewalk.

Recent polling shows that fewer than one in five Pennsylvania Democrats hold a positive view of Senator Fetterman's job performance.

Protest organizer Marigold Cameron of ISCPIT and FRSO stated, “Fetterman won't fight for us, so it's up to us to fight for ourselves, to say no to blockade on Cuba, no to war in Iran.”

The messaging of the day was clear: The people of the world have a right to live outside the whims of United States demagogues. Cuba is under attack by the U.S.and if politicians won't end the violence, activists will step in to fight for freedom and justice.

#PittsburghPA #PA #AntiWarMovement #Cuba #AntiWarActionNetwork

Northampton, MA – On July 26, the River Valley Anti-War Committee (RAWC) called a rally to stand in solidarity with Cuba. The rally was held in Pulaski Park in downtown Northampton to demand the U.S. lift the blockade and for the Trump administration to cease its drive toward war with Cuba.

The rally was attended by over 30 community members holding signs reading “Cuba is not a threat” and “Stop the embargo.” A trio of teenage activists held a hand painted banner that proclaimed “Hands off Cuba! Break the blockade!” In between speakers, the attendees chanted, “Biggest threat in the world today? Donald Trump and the USA!” and “We want justice, you say how! Lift the blockade on Cuba now!” earning applause and cheers of encouragement from community members passing by the park on several occasions.

Aidan Mastroianni of RAWC opened the rally, “July 26 is widely considered the spark that began the Cuban revolution that would go on to topple the U.S.-backed dictatorship,” he said, detailing the importance of July 26 to the history of Cuba.

Mastroianni continued by denouncing the 100-page document recently published by the U.S. State Department titled “Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism,” stating that this is “an attempt to fool the people of this country into supporting yet another illegal military intervention against a sovereign nation” and that it contains “mostly fantastical lies and outright projection.”

Sadie Ryan, a member of Mass Cuba Solidarity, talked about the declassified federal documents that clearly lay out the reasoning and tactics employed by the U.S. government when the blockade was first enacted.

“The most effective means of undermining the popular revolution was to isolate and suffocate the country,” said Ryan, quoting one of the many similar documents available to the public. “The strategy was clear: to tighten the noose around the Cuban people to deliberately produce hunger, desperation and overthrow of the government.”

“Why do we demonize the country that has uplifted and helped so many nations when inside the belly of the beast we are told to support only destruction?” asked Roman Handlen of the River Valley district of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, as he spoke about the tradition of internationalism upheld for generations by the people of Cuba. “Why was our government spending so much time, money and energy trying to destroy the Cuban people when America’s own people struggled in poverty?”

Handlen continued, contrasting how by 1960 the Cuban government had outlawed discrimination and institutional racism with the fact that Black Americans in the Black Belt south continued to suffer under Jim Crow laws.

Several speakers ended their speeches with calls to visit Cuba on one of the many solidarity brigades that make the trip yearly and to continue their solidarity work.

“The experience and perspective gained from traveling to Cuba is essential for us to continue to expand our advocacy and solidarity work here,” said Jaiden O’Kane of the River Valley Democratic Socialists of America. “Every conversation we start, every voice we amplify strengthens our solidarity and builds our movement.”

Aidan Mastroianni closed out the rally by echoing this call to visit Cuba stating, “See for yourself that they are not our enemy, see what kind of society they have built and how much of a lie the mainstream narrative we have been fed for decades is.”

#NorthamptonMA #MA #International #Cuba #AntiWarMovement

NYC, NY—On July 22 at 8 a.m., protesters will rally to demand, “Free President Maduro and First Lady Flores!” outside the federal courthouse in Manhattan, New York.

A growing coalition of groups and individuals, both in NYC and nationally, support freedom for the pair. Coalition members include Brookl