Miami, FL – Alex Saab, a Venezuelan diplomat, is now free after long negotiations between Venezuela’s government and the U.S. State Department. Saab flew back to Venezuela on Wednesday, December 20 into the waiting arms of his wife, Camilla Fabri Saab. He will be able to hug his children after more than three years of detention and imprisonment by the U.S. government.

It will be a hero’s welcome for Alex Saab when President Nicolás Maduro greets him at Miraflores Palace for all the country to celebrate his strength and determination. Saab is a man who humbly served the people of Venezuela by negotiating with Iran and other countries for food and medicine, as well as technologies for the oil industry to be rebuilt. Due to U.S.-imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan economy, President Nicolas Maduro enlisted Saab to barter oil and gold to defeat the U.S.-imposed economic crisis.

U.S. sanctions against Venezuela are currently crumbling as the White House needs Venezuelan oil for its European allies. The U.S. created its own crisis however, through the funding and arming of the war in Ukraine and now the Israeli genocide in Palestine, angering the world.

Venezuela wants its economy to meet the needs of its people instead of just making profits for banks and companies on Wall Street or in the city of London. The U.S. goal since President Hugo Chavez first launched the Bolivarian Revolution in 1999 has been to strangle all progress. The Bolivarian Revolution has created productive farms to feed people instead of importing 80% of food, built 4 million new apartments and small houses with running water and electricity, provided public education through high school, 13 new public universities, basic health care for all, and new productive industries other than oil extraction.

In fact, Alex Saab is largely responsible for the failure of U.S. economic sanctions targeting Venezuela and the U.S. was out to punish him. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency tried to recruit him to do their dirty work, but he would not bend. So, the U.S. illegally seized Saab in June 2020 from an airplane in Cape Verde off the coast of Africa. U.S. officials rifled through his diplomatic pouch and belongings while local police detained and imprisoned him.

The U.S. government then renditioned Saab to Miami in October 2021, because the newly-elected President of Cape Verde promised to free him. Ever since, Saab sat in a federal holding cell, appearing at a Miami court hearing beginning December 12, 2022, where the U.S. judge bowed to U.S. State Department and White House demands, ignoring the law and mountains of evidence showing Saab was a special envoy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

News sources are reporting that Venezuela will release some Americans, including two former Green Berets and mercenaries who attempted a failed invasion of Venezuela. They were backed by Miami-based companies when Donald Trump was president. The mercenaries were swiftly captured in their boats, disarmed by local Bolivarian militias, and handed over to authorities.

Besides negotiations for oil and prisoners, the U.S. is also attempting to impose their chosen candidate for president on Venezuela, despite that person being disqualified for breaking election laws.

Tom Burke of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “This is a great day for Alex Saab, for Camilla and her children, and for the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela! It shows that international solidarity is powerful!”

#MiamiFL #International #Venezuela #AlexSaab #Sanctions #FRSO #Feature

St. Paul, MN – On September 24, cars participated in the Women Against Military Madness’ Solidarity Committee of the Americas (SCOTA) and the MN Cuba Committee’s monthly car caravans to show solidarity with Cuba, demand an end to the 60-year blockade against Cuba and that Cuba be taken off the U.S.’ state sponsor of terrorism list.

This month, this caravan’s focus was on FBI repression which is ramping up against Cuba solidarity activists.

People gathered in a parking lot located at Griggs-Midway building on University Avenue, a main street which is home to Saint Paul’s working-class residents and lined with predominantly Asian and Black-owned businesses and homes.

They decorated their eight cars with signs, “Cuba si, bloqueo no,” “U.S. Hands off Cuba” and “End the blockade on Cuba,” and Cuban flags and piled into the vehicles.

As the caravan left the parking lot, they stayed in contact through Zoom, chanting out the windows and honking. The people on the streets saw cars with the Cuban flags flying from the windows and heard chants of “Cuba si, bloqueo no,” “Let Cuba Live,” “2-4-6-8, Cuba is not a terrorist state” and “End the blockade on Cuba.”

The route included a stop at the Minnesota State Capitol; the protesters stepped out of their cars with the capitol building in the background to hear speeches that focused on this month’s theme, FBI repression.

Sarah Martin of SCOTA gave context to the theme, “We are holding this caravan today, September 24 – this is the 13th anniversary of the FBI raids on the homes of anti-war and international solidarity activists in Minnesota, Michigan and Chicago. In the following weeks, the witch hunt continued and, in the end 23 activists had been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury for ‘material support to terrorists’. All refused to cooperate with the ridiculous witch hunt or testify before the grand jury about the people they had met with in Colombia or Palestine. They stayed silent and, in the end, no one went to prison.”

Meredith Aby-Keirstead, a member of the Anti-war Committee whose house was raided that day, spoke, “Federal harassment of international solidarity activists continues. On May 7, several members of the National Network on Cuba were detained and harassed at the Miami airport by border and customs officials. Then on June 22 members of the National Network, Pastors for Peace and Code Pink were arrested at Senator Bob Menendez’ office for merely wanting to speak with him. Talking to a U.S. official is not a crime. That is what they’re paid for.” She went on to say, “Being quiet is never the answer. We must speak out in defense of Cuba as well as our movement because we need the movement to win.”

Aby-Keirstead ended her speech with a rousing chant, “When Cuba is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

Before the next speaker, Martin led with a chant, “When people of conscience are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

Joe Callahan, member of the MN Cuba Committee and SCOTA, also spoke of the escalation of harassment of people and groups traveling to Cuba. “Last year the Puerto Rican Committee and Solidarity with Cuba Committee, after returning from a trip to the island, were harassed by the FBI who visited them in their homes and called them on the phones. Last year, members of the May Day brigade were detained at the airport and had their phones confiscated for a short time.”

In July, Callahan went with Pastors for Peace to Cuba on their 33rd Friendship Caravan and upon his return, he was detained and questioned but he only gave them one answer of why he went to Cuba, “With license of supporting the Cuban people.”

Callahan concluded by saying, “In a new escalation, members of the Venceremos Brigade, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Mancado, regarded as the beginning of the Cuban Revolution, were questioned on their way down to Cuba. This is not the Trump administration. This is Biden and company. We must pay attention to these attacks, resist and continue to visit Cuba.”

As the caravan made its way back, discussion was underway over the airwaves of the upcoming United Nations annual vote to end the U.S. blockade on Cuba in the beginning of November. There will be many actions across the country and world to put pressure on the United States and Israel to finally stand with the world saying “Let Cuba live!” and end the blockade.

#StPaulMN #Cuba #Sanctions #Blockade

New York City, NY – On Saturday, September 23, more than 500 anti-war organizers and activists from across the United States converged for “Voices of Dignity: The People vs. Blockades,” an evening program in support of Cuba and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The event was hosted by the Let Cuba Live Coalition and took place at the Society for Ethical Culture of New York .

The General Assembly of the United Nations meets in Manhattan every year, and the opening days of each year’s session bring political leaders from around the world. This year, progressive organizers on the ground have mobilized to welcome and support the leadership from Cuba and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela – both countries which continue to suffer from unmitigated hostility and economic attacks from the United States.

Saturday evening’s event focused specifically on the brutal sanctions that America has placed upon Venezuela in recent years, along with the human suffering caused by the ongoing blockade of Cuba. The speakers brought attention to the cruel, inhumane sanctions on the Venezuelan and Cuban medical sectors, in particular, and the ways that both countries were able to protect their citizens from COVID-19 despite the cruel American attempts to undermine them.

The speakers included the president of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, along with the foreign minister of Venezuela, Yvan Gil Pinto, executive director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research Vijay Prashad, and Dr. Samira Addrey, a Ghanaian physician-activist who received her degree from the legendary socialist medical school the Latin American School of Medicine in Cuba. Radical musical accompaniment was provided by DJ Cardamami, Linqua Franqa, and the Arturo O’Farrill Quartet. Manolo de los Santos, founder of The People’s Forum, was the evening’s host.

President Diaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Gil Pinto both took time to express their countries’ sincere gratitude for the organizing and activism of U.S. based solidarity movements, and emphasized the importance of continuing to put pressure on the U.S. government to abolish the horrific sanctions and blockade, in the name of humanity. As President Diaz-Canel noted, despite the difficult times in which we are living, “pessimism is not in the nature of a revolutionary.”

All speakers urged the attendees to sign the Let Cuba Live petition, demanding that the U.S. remove Cuba from the government’s list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism.” Under the Trump administration, not only did the U.S. announce 243 new sanctions against Cuba – designed to weaken its infrastructure and punish its population – but the U.S. also added Cuba to the list of countries that sponsor terrorist organizations. This is an absurd accusation, especially coming from the State Department, but it has made it nearly impossible for the Cuban state to complete important international trade and banking operations for necessary goods, including fuel, food, medicine and construction supplies.

To sign on to the petition, visit www.letcubalive.info.

#NewYorkNY #Cuba #Venezuela #Sanctions #Blockade #LetCubaLive

The letter reads, in part:

“President Trump reinstated Cuba to the state sponsor of terrorism list days before leaving office, without cause...By being on this list, Cuba is subjected to a series of sanctions and international financial restrictions that limit the nation’s ability to carry out critical financial transactions, including those needed to advance its efforts to combat the COVID pandemic and reboot its economy.

“Cuba can be removed from this list by executive order of President Biden, who promised during his electoral campaign to review the Sponsor of Terrorism designation. Rather than maintaining failed policies of the past it is time to pursue a way forward in our relations with Cuba that furthers our national interests, reflects our values and improves the lives of citizens of both countries.

“Now, therefore the City Council of Minneapolis, recalling its unanimous resolution of 2021, urges President Biden and Congress, each federal representative in its jurisdiction, to call on the federal government to remove Cuba from the United States list of state sponsors of terrorism.”

Speaking about the letter, Minneapolis Ward 10 City Council member Aisha Chughtai said, “I'm proud to have signed this letter calling on the Biden administration to change course and stop punishing Cuba. The Cuban people have the right to choose a socialist economic and political system without being subjected to a brutal blockade and other punishing policies. It's time for the Biden administration to end six decades of hostile bipartisan policy toward Cuba.”

#MinneapolisMN #Cuba #sanctions #Americas

In his ruling, Judge Scola wrote, “Saab Moran cannot be entitled to diplomatic immunity because he could not – as a matter of law – have been an agent of the Venezuelan government. At the time of his arrest, Saab Moran was, at best, a special envoy of the Maduro regime, which the United States has not recognized to be the official government of Venezuela since January 2019. So, Saab Moran is not entitled to diplomatic immunity in the United States.”

Tom Burke with the Campaign to Free Alex Saab said, “It is clear the White House and State Department are criminalizing the Venezuelan diplomat responsible for defeating U.S. sanctions. Alex Saab made big trade deals that brought food, medicine, oil industry machine parts, and other materials to Venezuela in exchange for oil and gold. Saab defeated every U.S. effort to strangle the Venezuelan economy. Saab helped to advance the Bolivarian revolution, benefiting all the working people and their children, and U.S. leaders aren't happy about that.”

Cassia Laham, a Miami anti-war activist, said, “The U.S. government’s legal arguments were weak and pathetic. In any other court, in any other country, Alex Saab would have walked free. The judge's ruling proved the political nature of this case and of Saab's kidnapping. The U.S. deems Venezuela a ‘national security threat’ simply because it takes care of its own people without bowing to the dictates of U.S. imperialism. And this can only be done with the help of heroes like Alex Saab.”

In June of 2020, the U.S. government blocked Alex Saab’s plane, which was in route to Iran, forcing it to land in Cape Verde. Saab was on his way to Iran on behalf of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to secure resources and humanitarian goods for the people of Venezuela. Then it asked Cape Verde's government to arrest Saab and detain him. The next day an Interpol arrest warrant suddenly appeared. U.S. intelligence agents rifled through Saab’s belongings and opened his Venezuelan government diplomatic pouch and sealed documents, an outrage to diplomats everywhere.

Then, in October 2021, the U.S. renditioned Saab to Miami, Florida despite there being no extradition treaty between the United States and Cape Verde. This occurred one day before an election in Cape Verde where the leading candidate promised to release Saab if elected.

Since then, Saab's defense team has tried challenge this illegal farce by proving his status as a diplomat. All indications are that Judge Scola’s ruling was a foregone conclusion discussed at the highest levels of the Biden White House and Antony Blinken's State Department.

 There will be an appeal from Alex Saab’s defense team, including the thorough fact-based defense arguments of Jonathan New. This, though, will force Alex Saab to sit in a Miami prison cell for many weeks, perhaps months longer than the 900 days the U.S. has already detained him.

Laham said, “Alex Saab is being punished by the U.S. empire because he was successful at beating U.S. sanctions. He is one of many political prisoners being held in U.S. prisons and we know he will not find justice inside a U.S. courtroom.”

#MiamiFL #Venezuela #PoliticalPrisoners #sanctions #AlexSaab #BolivarianRepublicOfVenezuela #Americas

Minneapolis, MN – Over 1000 people attended an online panel hosted by the United National AntiWar Coalition, May 9. In a panel entitled, “U.S. Sanctions During the COVID-19 Pandemic, a Global Threat” leaders representing six countries facing harsh U.S. sanctions highlighted the leading role of the United States in undermining the healthcare infrastructure of sovereign states in order to foment regime change.

U.S. imposed economic sanctions currently impact 39 countries, representing one third of the global population. These sanctions result in chronic shortages of basic necessities and have inhibited the ability of affected countries to acquire the medical supplies and equipment necessary to combat the spread of COVID-19.

“I am 53 years old, and I have lived all my life under the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the government of the United States against Cuba,” explained Ana Silvia Rodriguez Abascal. Abascal is the Charges des Affaires of the Cuban Mission to the United States. She elaborated that since 1962 the U.S. has created an increasingly complex array of laws that intensified the sanctions against Cuba and require both U.S. executive and congressional power to be undone.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is underscoring the malice and the cruelty of the U.S. blockade against Cuba,” Abascal continued, “Despite the attempt by ranking officials of the U.S. government to deceive the world by saying that the sanctions are aimed to do harm to the government and not to the people of Cuba, it is clear that the economic, commercial and financial war against Cuba is aimed at killing the people, bringing about hunger, disease and desperation, in order to make people blame the [Cuban] system for their hardship.”

Due to technical difficulties during the pane,l Omowale Clay, a member of the secretariat of the December 12th Movement, spoke on behalf of the Secretary for Administration in the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, Dr. Frank Guni. Clay explained that U.S. sanctions create a day-to-day crisis in Zimbabwe that is used by the West to sow dissent and disrupt Zimbabwe's national independence.

“At a time when the international community is coming together to talk about harmony, interdependence and cooperation, here is the West, led by the United States, still on its mission to undermine and seek regime change in governments whose only crime to them is that they want a free and independent country for their people, determined by their people,” Clay continued.

Francisco Campbell, the Nicaraguan Ambassador to the United States, highlighted the fact that the U.S.'s frequent use of human rights rhetoric to justify economic sanctions ignores the economic and political reality of targeted countries. “With the fight against poverty [the Nicaraguan government's] main priority, this policy, which is sustained by a strong participatory democracy, has been successful in promoting economic growth with social inclusion,” said Campbell, “The various social programs being implemented have dramatically reduced poverty and malnutrition in Nicaragua. Free healthcare throughout the country is guaranteed. Free public education has been restored. Highways are being built.”

Campbell went on to say, “At a time when the world is being afflicted by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative that these sanctions that are intended to cause suffering and destruction be eliminated, allowing our countries to deal with the myriad challenges to our healthcare systems as well as the effects of the coronavirus on our national economies.”

“This requires real synergy of the efforts of all governments without exception,” said Dr. Bashar Ja’afari. Dr. Ja'afari is the Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations. He lamented that the lack of cooperation from the U.S. and other Western powers, including vicious sanctions, diminished the ability of the Syrian government to acquire the medical supplies necessary to meet their goal of having the supplies necessary to empower the Syrian healthcare system to provide COVID-19 prevention, checks and treatment for all Syrians without exception.

Dr. Ja'afari also explained the U.S.'s hypocritical approach to providing aid, which often includes weapons and funds, leads to, “the delivery of this aid to areas that are controlled by terrorist armed groups, who in turn take over this aid […] with the aim of supporting the position of these terrorist groups.”

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela Carlos J. Ron Martinez, explained the extent to which U.S. unilateral coercive measures impact the day-to-day functions of the country, inhibiting their ability to import and export natural resources, freezing their national funds located in international banks, and declaring that any funds that come from the state of Venezuela may be considered funds that were involved in drug trafficking.

Martinez went on to illustrate that these measures are especially cruel given the global pandemic, such that U.S. lawmakers feel the need to act, stating, “There was a letter issued by 11 U.S. senators in which they say that, precisely because of COVID-19, that sanctions against Iran and Venezuela should be lifted.” Referring to how Venezuela seeks to combat the pandemic despite the challenges the country faces, Martinez concluded, “Against the virus of unilateralism, we have the vaccines of multilateralism and solidarity. We have worked with Cuba, China and Russia, who have shown extreme solidarity with Venezuela. We have also had the support of the World Health Organization!”

Continuing the thread of international solidarity, the permanent Iranian representative to the United Nations, Dr. Majid Takht-Ravanchi, said, “In our common fight against COVID-19 all of humanity is on the same front, and to succeed quickly and sustainably we must ensure that no community or nation is left behind. Therefore, any action which limits the ability of a nation to tackle this crisis will help the disease spread like wildfire.”

Dr. Takht-Ravanchi explained that the unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran are, according to U.S. officials, the most extensive sanctions imposed on any country, and that these sanctions have limited the ability of Iran to contain the spread of COVID-19. He said, “the immediate removal of all sanctions on banking, insurance, transportation, medical, industrial, energy, exports, imports, and the like is a must, as it would enable the targeted countries to use freely and fully their own resources to effectively suppress the pandemic and address its short- and long-term impacts.”

The panel is available on the Popular Resistance YouTube page at

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #sanctions

Minneapolis, MN – “Workers of the world, unite! Not ‘workers of America unite’ or ‘workers who look like us, pray like us or love like us unite.’ It’s all workers,” said union organizer David Gilbert-Pederson of Minnesota Workers United. “We have more in common with the tailor in Tehran than the bankers who crashed our economy. We have more in common with the bus driver in Caracas than the politicians locking kids in cages.”

Gilbert-Pederson spoke to a protest on Lake Street, July 13, of over 80 people gathered to oppose recent U.S. war threats against Iran and Venezuela. Organized by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, the protest featured speakers from a variety of labor, international solidarity and anti-imperialist groups, and called attention to murderous new U.S. sanctions against Cuba as well as Iran and Venezuela.

In a speech, Mary Beaudoin of Women Against Military Madness said, “We are at war on Iran right now. The U.S. is engaged in a ‘hybrid war,’ meaning it’s waging a war with a variety of tactics. The U.S. is encouraging a terrorist group, the MEK, which wants regime change in Iran. And in January, the U.S. State Department was caught funding the Iran Disinformation Project, which has been promoting war in Iran to the media, and smearing Americans who expressed opposition to war in Iran.”

“But by far sanctions on Iran have done the most harm. Sanctions are an act of war,” she continued. “They have crippled Iran’s economy, and made it impossible to import items for agriculture, industry and health care, which are needed to keep its infrastructure functioning. Iran is under siege, and the dying has begun.”

Recent weeks saw rising tensions between Iran and U.S.-aligned forces in the Persian Gulf. An escalating back-and-forth of threats against oil shipments through the narrow Strait of Hormuz – just off Iran’s southern coast – has stemmed from the unilateral U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal with Iran and the imposition of extreme sanctions. The crisis reached new levels last week with the seizure of an Iranian oil tanker by UK authorities as it passed by Gibraltar, allegedly at the behest of the Trump administration.

Despite the news cycle’s focus on war threats against Iran, the Minneapolis protesters were also keen to point out that similar acts of U.S. aggression continue against Latin American countries.

“The Center for Economic & Policy Research estimates that over 40,000 Venezuelans have died because of U.S. sanctions,” explained Tracy Molm of the Anti-War Committee, who in April traveled to Venezuela with a Freedom Road Socialist Organization delegation. “It’s important to note that sanctions overwhelmingly affect the most vulnerable in society, denying people desperately-needed medicines and supplies like cooking gas, making daily life very difficult in the countries targeted.”

“The latest round of sanctions on Venezuela are aimed at the CLAP, a government food distribution program. The CLAP program provides food to 6 million Venezuelans,” Molm continued. “If sanctions were the ‘humanitarian solution,’ why would the Trump government target food programs? That’s because sanctions aren’t humanitarian at all. They are a tool of warfare!”

Joe Callahan of the Minnesota Cuba Committee called out the Trump administration for re-imposing the U.S. blockade on Cuba, in part for the socialist country’s longstanding humanitarian missions in Venezuela and around the world. “Mike Pompeo and others have tried to blame Cuba for the failure of the coup attempts in Venezuela. To be sure, Cuba is closely allied with Venezuela. There are tens of thousands of Cuban doctors there, and the Cuban government has strongly denounced U.S. aggression against Venezuela. But of course the real reason for the failure of the coup attempts in Venezuela was the lack of support of the Venezuelan people and military,” he said.

Demonstrators chanted and held signs, got supportive honks from passing motorists, and a number of pedestrians joined in support.

#MinneapolisMN #International #AntiwarMovement #StudentMovement #Labor #OppressedNationalities #Venezuela #Iran #US #MiddleEast #Americas #PeoplesStruggles #sanctions #MinnesotaPeaceActionCoalitionMPAC #DonaldTrump #MinnesotaWorkersUnited

Minneapolis, MN – President Trump signed a U.S. sanctions bill against Russia, Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on August 1. In a hostile move, both the U.S. House and Senate voted by large majorities to target the oil and gas industries of Russia, the space and nuclear industries of Iran, and the international banking and financial institutions dealing with the DPRK.

Steff Yorek of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said on August 2, “This is yet another provocative and warlike act by Trump and the U.S. Congress against sovereign countries. It is dangerous for the peoples of the world and for us here too. As the U.S. grows weaker and weaker in its ability to dictate to other countries, we are seeing more bullying, threats and possibility of new wars.”

Yorek continued, “The hypocrisy of Wall Street, Congress and the corporate media is plain for all to see. All they can talk about is how Russia interfered in the U.S. elections, while the U.S. interferes openly in the elections of Ukraine, Venezuela, Honduras and many other countries. The U.S. funds and arms far-right and even fascist groups, shares intelligence with rich politicians to overthrow elected leaders, and then lies about election results in those countries, while claiming to spread democracy and freedom.

“As every person in the Middle East knows, U.S. sanctions lead to war. Russia, Iran and the DPRK are responding by gathering their friends and allies, and preparing for self-defense. As Russia, China and others are working together more and more, many are welcoming the opportunity to end the poverty, misery and war the U.S. brings to their countries,” Yorek concluded.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Venezuela #PeoplesStruggles #Iran #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #sanctions #SteffYorek #NorthKorea #Antifascism #DonaldTrump #Trump

Tampa, FL – 70 Palestine solidarity activists filed into the intersection of Maritime and 20th Street here to protest the docking of the ZIM Alabama, a container ship carrying Israeli goods. The Tampa Port Authority was woken early in the morning of Sept. 21 by protesters opposing the importation of Israeli goods. Israeli companies super-exploit Palestinian labor, paying very low wages.

Protesters were hoping to catch the attention of dockworkers arriving for work. Some members of the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1402 waved and honked in support.

“It was really great to see dockworkers showing interest and support for our cause. There was a real sense of solidarity from the workers themselves,” said Caroline England, a member of Tampa Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

After gathering at the intersection, protesters marched to the port itself. Upon approaching the security checkpoint at the port, police surrounded the protesters, attempting to cut them off from both the port and incoming workers. Police threatened to arrest a Palestinian American woman. However fellow protesters were able to get the police to back off. The rally continued until 8:00 a.m., when it was announced that International Longshoremen’s Association workers would not be entering the port until 1:00 p.m. due to an unspecified delay. Protesters retreated in order to rest and organize reinforcements for later.

The protesters gathered again at noon with a larger crowd than the morning. They conducted another march on the port, slowing traffic that was attempting to enter. Police stood by as protesters entered the port and protested the docking of the ZIM Alabama from Israel.

The action is part of the Block the Boat movement to place economic pressure on Israel to stop killing and oppressing Palestinians. There is a growing movement of students participating in the Boycott, Divest And Sanction (BDS) campaign.

Sam Beutler of Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of South Florida said, “Every little action on our part counts. The BDS movement was integral to the destruction of the South African Apartheid regime and can play a similar role in dealing with Israeli apartheid today – whether it be not buying Sabra hummus, HP computers, or attempting to stop a boat containing Israeli goods from docking. Each action moves towards the ending of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.”

This is the second protest of the ZIM Alabama in Tamp; there was another Aug. 30. Another Block the Boat rally is being organized to oppose the return of the ZIM Alabama.

#TampaFl #TampaFL #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #SDS #Palestine #Israel #sanctions #Florida #BDS #SJP #StudentsForJusticeInPalestine #ZimAlabama #Boycot #Divest #MiddleEast

Jacksonville, FL – In the latest move by the U.S. to topple the progressive, democratic Venezuelan government, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced on March 3 that President Barack Obama was considering economic sanctions on Venezuela. Schultz, who represents a district in south Florida and who chairs the Democratic National Committee, made the disturbing announcement on the heels of a proposed Venezuela sanctions bill introduced and sponsored by Florida's two senators, Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson.

Other U.S. representatives joined Schultz in calling for economic sanctions on Venezuela, including Miami Republicans Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Under pressure from the far right of the Republican Party of Florida, which includes sections of the large anti-Castro Cuban exile community in Miami, Governor Rick Scott joined calls for Obama to impose sanctions on the South American country.

According to Schultz, the proposed sanctions considered by Obama would target many individuals in the Venezuelan government. Senators Rubio and Nelson's bill would restrict individuals in the Venezuelan government and many leaders of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) from traveling to the U.S., freeze assets in U.S. and U.S.-allied banks and treasuries, and restrict access to credit markets.

Sanctions are latest move by Washington to topple Venezuela's progressive government

These sanctions represent the latest episode in the U.S. government's long campaign to topple the democratically elected government of Venezuela and stop the Bolivarian revolutionary process. In 2002, U.S. and Venezuelan business elites supported a military coup against then-President Hugo Chavez, who was returned to power within 47 hours by a mass uprising of working people. Less than a year later, rich Venezuelan oligarchs linked to the oil industry halted petroleum production in order to force Chavez from office. The oil bosses locked out the oil workers and threatened violence. Despite support from the U.S., their plot failed due to the continued popularity of the Venezuelan government among the majority of people. Even now, Wikileaks documents show far-reaching connections between the CIA and the right-wing opposition leaders, like Leopoldo Lopez, and instigator of protests and street violence.

Additionally, the U.S. government spends an incredible amount of money funding the far-right opposition groups protesting President Nicolas Maduro's government today. Estimates by the Center for Economic and Policy Research found $90 million reaching these groups since 2000. In 2014 alone, the U..S Congress passed a budget containing $5 million in funding for the Venezuelan opposition. While the Obama administration funds the right-wing opposition in Venezuela, they also signed $8.7 billion in cuts to food stamps into law, highlighting how imperialist meddling also hurts the U.S. working class.

‘Targeted sanctions’ actually target poor and working people

Although the politicians calling for sanctions emphasize that they are against individuals, rather than the entire country, the brutal history of U.S. ‘targeted sanctions’ makes clear that the Venezuelan people will suffer from these measures.

In 2001, then-President George W. Bush signed the deceptively named Zimbabwe Democracy and Economy Recovery Act (ZDERA) to punish the progressive government of Zimbabwe for its land reform program. These sanctions legally targeted only 113 individuals in the government and 70 entities, but the individuals included important government officials and huge state-owned enterprises vital to Zimbabwe's economy. For instance, the individual restrictions on Minister of Finance Herbert Murerwa's access to international credit indirectly limited the entire elected government of Zimbabwe, leaving the state unable to pay public workers their full salaries and pensions.

In order to meet their obligations to workers and African farmers who received land in the redistribution, Zimbabwe was forced to print money. This led to staggering hyperinflation and a shortage of necessary goods like food and AIDS medication. The U.S., UK, and the EU imperialists caused the entire crisis through their ‘targeted sanctions’, and then criticized Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe.

The U.S. placed more comprehensive sanctions on the Republic of Iraq under President Saddam Hussein throughout the 1990s. They pushed and enforced the punishing sanctions through the United Nations. The U.S. claimed the sanctions were in response to Hussein and the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, but the world knows it was so the U.S. could attempt to dominate the Middle East and seize Iraq’s oil fields.

Like in Zimbabwe, the real victims of U.S. sanctions on Iraq were ordinary working people. A groundbreaking study by the Food and Agriculture Organization in 1995 found that the UN sanctions on Iraq caused the deaths of more than 567,000 Iraqi children, by restricting access to food, medicine and critical infrastructure. Other studies since then have placed the child death toll alone closer to 1 million.

Obama's consideration of sanctions on Venezuela echoes the sick policy justifications of the former Democrat President, Bill Clinton. U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Madeleine Albright, appointed by Clinton, infamously attempted to justify the horrifying deaths of Iraqi children by saying, “We have heard that half a million children have died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it? We think the price is worth it.” When it comes to economically devastating the people of Iraq, Zimbabwe or Venezuela, both the Republicans the Democrats see eye-to-eye.

Sanctions on Venezuela will hurt working families in the U.S.

It is likely that such sanctions on Venezuela would prevent Maduro's government from continuing the legacy of Chavez, one in which poor and working families in the U.S. receive free and reduced price oil. Starting in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, the Venezuelan government partnered with CITGO to provide free heating oil to more than 100,000 families in the U.S. According to CITGO, more than 252 American Indian communities and at least 245 homeless shelters also received this aid. To this day, the program continues, but the sanctions considered by Obama threaten this important economic aid for working families.

With more and more people opposing the 54-year long U.S. embargo against Cuba, Obama will likely encounter large resistance to sanctions on Venezuela from progressives across the U.S. Nevertheless, the danger of sanctions remains high for both working people in the U.S., who benefit from the solidarity of the Venezuelan government, and the entire people of Venezuela. It will take a nationwide movement of progressives committed to ending U.S. imperialism and supporting the Bolivarian revolutionary process to stop history from repeating itself.

#JacksonvilleFL #Venezuela #sanctions #UnitedSocialistPartyOfVenezuela #NicolásMaduro #Americas

Chicago, IL – Federal charges were unsealed against two Chicago men, Aug. 6, for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe. The charges claim that Ben Israel and Greg Turner assisted Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and others in an effort to lift the unjust economic sanctions. The government claims that Israel and Tuner were promised payment for their lobbying and consulting work in 2008 and 2009.

The men have been charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which carries up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

An affidavit from FBI agent Steven Noldin claims the two lobbied congress people and Illinois state politicians.

Starting under the Bush administration, Zimbabwe and its leaders have faced devastating sanctions for charting a course of development independent of Western domination. U.S. politicians have also condemned Zimbabwe’s land reform efforts.

A statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago indicates the FBI investigation started in late 2008. According to the statement, “a scheduler for President-Elect Obama’s transition team sent an email to another transition team member stating that State Representative A ‘wants a phone call from [transition team officials] regarding a meeting he had last week in Zimbabwe. I am not sure who to pass this on to but it’s the second time they have called.’ The transition team forwarded this email to the FBI based on its concerns that State Representative A may have violated sanctions by traveling to Zimbabwe.”

One of the prosecutors pursuing the case is civil liberties opponent Barry Jonas. Jonas is well known for his prosecution of the Holy Land 5. Accused of material support for terrorism, the five are now doing long prison sentences for the ‘crime’ of providing charity to Palestinians.

Jonas is also working on the case of Midwest anti-war and international solidarity activists who were raided by the FBI in September 2010 and subpoenaed to a Chicago grand jury investigating material support of terrorism. The peace activists demand an end to the investigation.

#ChicagoIL #sanctions #USImperialism #AssistantUSAttorneyBarryJonas #InjusticeSystem #Zimbabwe

Minneapolis, MN – More than 175 people came to the event “Iran in the Crosshairs” on Oct. 19 to hear from anti-war activists and Congressman Keith Ellison (Fifth Congressional District of Minnesota) about how to stop the U.S. march to war.

Margaret Sarfehjooy with Women Against Military Madness laid out the context of U.S. war threats and sanctions on Iran. “Our crippling sanctions on Iran have already resulted in deaths caused by lack of medicine, according to an official from the Tehran Thalassemia Association. The Iranian Hemophilia Society announced in August that ‘the lives of tens of thousands of children are being endangered by the lack of proper drugs caused by international economic sanctions.’”

Representative Keith Ellison spoke about the atmosphere of war in the U.S. Congress and about the pressure he is under to support war. He explained that anyone who proposes a sanctions bill gets a hearing and that everyone in Congress is pressured to vote for any kind of sanctions.

Ellison has voted against sanctions on Iran twice and he explained his votes. He didn’t promise to vote against sanctions on Iran in the future, but he did say, “It’s easier to vote no if you know you have the backing of your community.” He did promise, “I’m not going to vote for sanctions that will make it harder for the U.S. to talk.”

Ellison concluded that he thinks the U.S. is on a path to war with Iran and that he sees pushing sanctions as leading the U.S. to war.

Meredith Aby of the Anti-War Committee concluded the event with an impassioned appeal for action, “We need to be a voice for peace and justice. We cannot be passive. We cannot assume that our leaders will do the right thing. The threat of war and the impact of sanctions already in place on Iran are very real. When we are silent we send a message that the status quo is acceptable and we know that there is a real possibility of war and we can’t be quiet about this. We need to raise the demand of no war with Iran on the national and state level.”

The Minnesota Peace Project, the Twin Cities Peace Campaign and Women Against Military Madness sponsored the event.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Iran #WomenAgainstMilitaryMadness #sanctions #RepKeithEllison #USCongress

People in the United States have no interest in supporting this war. Big oil companies, weapons manufacturers, and their bought-and-paid-for politicians are gunning for Iraq, ready to throw billions of dollars into this war, while they're cutting welfare, money for schools and healthcare, and cutting our jobs. Working people in the U.S. will get nothing out of this war, except more cutbacks here at home. The racist demonization of Iraqi people as terrorists will cause racist attacks in the U.S. We will see more hate crimes, more racial profiling and more INS and FBI harassment of Arab, Muslim and immigrant communities.

The Gulf War Never Ended

In 1991, the U.S. dropped tons of explosives on Iraq; more than 100,000 Iraqis were killed. The nation was devastated – every road, bridge, date plantation, power plant, water or sewage facility was hit. Homes, schools, mosques, churches, hospitals, even clearly-marked civilian bomb shelters were targets for American bomber pilots. Twelve years of sanctions are depriving Iraqis of food, medicine and the capacity to rebuild. Drive-by bombings in illegal no-fly zones are rarely reported in mainstream media, but continue the terror war that never ended. The United States government is responsible for the deaths of over one and a half million Iraqi people. A massive bombing campaign and a large-scale invasion will mean even greater loss of human lives.

Weapons as a Pretext for War

U.S. claims of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction are outrageous. If the U.N. wants to look for weapons of mass destruction, they should start by inspecting the Pentagon, not Iraq!

Many reports have established that there is no evidence of nuclear or other weapons production in Iraq. The U.S. and UN have no right to insist that weapons inspector spies be allowed into Iraq. No country, least of all the United States, would allow foreign inspectors unlimited access to government buildings, industries, and military sites. Inspections are a violation Iraq's sovereign rights. On many occasions, inspectors have instigated conflicts that serve to justify U.S. military attacks in Iraq.

We also need to defend the right of all nations to arm themselves in their own defense. The Iraqi government has rightly identified major military threats from Israel and Turkey, both armed with billions of dollars in U.S. weaponry.

Why War? Why now?

While the policy of sanctions and small-scale bombings has kept Iraq out of the oil market and political scene for twelve years, that's not enough anymore. While the current Bush Administration has vast ties to the U.S. oil industry, and is hungry for open access to Iraqi oil reserves, the aim of the Bush policy in Iraq is to expand U.S. political, military and economic control in the Middle East.

The current Palestinian Intifada has caught the attention of the world, and serves as an example of resistance to U.S. objectives in the region. Israel's focus on smashing the uprising makes it a distracted ally, and Israeli brutality has made Arab neighbors less accommodating of U.S. demands. As the most outspoken ally of the Palestinian cause, Iraq has fanned the flames of Arab resistance, supported Palestinian freedom fighters, and threatened to attack Israel. Both because Israel has become an unstable ally, and because Iraq stands up for Palestine, the U.S. is moving to establish another puppet regime in Iraq.

The Middle East is key to maintaining U.S. political power – there are important resources (like oil), and the region is strategically located south of Europe and west of Asia (the homes of our two main global competitors). U.S. imperialists want military bases in the Middle East, friends in the Middle East, and business in the Middle East.

Iraq is a barrier to those goals, and it serves an example to Arab neighbors. Iraq has remained resolute since 1991 – it has not become an American outpost or puppet. Iraq is an example that the U.S. can no longer afford.

Economic interests and pressure from anti-war movements have weakened many governments' support for U.S. policy against Iraq. The same is happening in the U.S. Congress, where Iraq has been made the number one pawn in the upcoming elections. Lacking support for old policies, the Bush Administration is left with only two options: Give up, or attack. The Administration has chosen to attack.

Regime Change Means Occupation

According to the Bush Administration, 'regime change' is the immediate goal of a U.S. attack on Iraq. This is different from campaigns in 1991 and 1998, which aimed to weaken and isolate the country. The first thing we need to understand about 'regime change' is that the United States has no right to dictate to Iraqi people who their leaders should be. We must uphold the right of self-determination for Iraq. It is clear that on a daily basis, the primary attack on the freedom of every Iraqi woman and man comes from U.S. sanctions, bombings and threats of war.

Next, we must understand that in order to eliminate the current Iraqi government, and install a puppet regime, the United States won't be able to bomb and run. The U.S. will need to seize Baghdad and every major city in Iraq – an operation that will risk the lives of a huge number of U.S. troops. The Iraqi government, aware of this new strategy, has promised to defend its cities. Taking the cities will take a long time, and likely result in civilian deaths on a massive scale. If the U.S. is able to seize the cities, Iraqis will continue to fight. To maintain power for an unpopular puppet government will require years of military occupation.

Stop the War at Home and Abroad

This is why we must to work to stop this war before it starts. We have to build a strong movement that brings together all the communities who recognize the criminality of this war. Students, long-time peace activists, Iraqis and all other people of conscience need to place clear demands on the U.S. government. We must oppose the murderous sanctions in all forms and we must call for an end to U.S. patrols in the illegal no-fly zones. We must support Iraq's right to oppose inspections by foreign spies, and we must demand that the Bush Administration commit to no war with Iraq, today or in the future

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #Editorial #Afghanistan #Iran #Editorials #sanctions #GulfWar #regimeChange

While Iraq fades from headlines, its people suffer the effects of sanctions. These sanctions, the harshest ever imposed on any country, restrict even food and medicine imports. Despite Iraqi cooperation with United Nations inspections, the United States refuses to consider lifting sanctions. US officials admit they aim for sanctions to topple Saddam Hussein's government. Meanwhile, Iraqis blame the US government for growing misery. UN agencies report that the sanctions have already killed over 1.7 million people.

In June, the US bombed a water reservoir, claiming that nearby Iraqi radar had been tracking American jets. This strike worsened a critical shortage of drinking water. Because chlorine and machinery for water treatment are barred by sanctions, much of Iraq's drinking water is unsafe. While US officials denounced the “cowardice” of embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, US policies punish Iraqis for the actions of their government.

August bombings of Afghanistan and Sudan, and the new “war on terrorism,” continue the US government's racist attack on Arab people as violent fanatics. These actions attack the Middle East, an effort to assert military control in a region important to maintaining US global economic power.

While the attacks failed to distract Americans from presidential scandals at home, they served as another excuse to punish Iraqi people with sanctions. Reportedly, Iraq bought medications from the medicine factory destroyed in Sudan.

Last month, the UN announced it will not review the sanctions this October as planned; the Iraqi parliament ended cooperation with UN weapons inspectors until a timeline is set for review of the sanctions regime. Tensions raised after the US reported VX nerve gas on junked missile fragments found in Iraq. In late September, European scientists found that there was no nerve gas on missile parts from the same site, confirming Iraq's response to the allegations.

Sanctions against Iraq isolate the US more every day. For Western allies, sanctions limit economic opportunities; the US is alone in defending inhumane sanctions. Pressure at home and around the world takes a toll on US policy makers.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #News #Afghanistan #Iraq #Sudan #sanctions #UN