Minneapolis, MN – People gathered at the May Day Bookstore here in Minneapolis, April 18, for a forum titled “U.S. Meddling Escalates: Venezuela: A New Crisis?”

The forum began with Anne Winkler-Morey, a member of Women Against Military Madness and a professor of Latin American history at Metro State University, orientating the audience to the history and context of U.S. intervention in Latin America.

Joe Callahan was the next speaker. Callahan, a long-time Cuba solidarity activist, spoke about U.S. intervention in Venezuela since 2002. He explained the significance of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela, “Removal of the Chavista government in favor of a right-wing regime would be a big blow first and foremost to the people of Venezuela, and a sharp blow to ordinary people around the world and to Cuba. Venezuela has been a bright example to the world, increasing social service expenditures 60% since Chavez was elected, as opposed to the world trend of brutal austerity measures. And they have been a thorn in the side to the empire’s international aggression.”

Meredith Aby-Keirstead, a member of the Anti-War Committee, was the last speaker at the forum. She agreed with Callahan that the revolutionary struggle in Venezuela is important for the U.S. anti-war and international solidarity movements to defend.

Aby-Keirstead explained, “Venezolanos learned in 2002 the power and importance of defending their Bolivarian Revolution and as long as the U.S. continues to attack their government they will respond. Some predict that the right-wing opposition will continue to try to overthrow the Maduro government and that when these leaders are jailed for treason that the U.S. will use their cases as ‘human rights’ stories. The mainstream media in the U.S. has enjoyed telling the narratives of the opposition leaders like Leopoldo Lopez as moderate liberals fighting for democracy when in fact they represent a political elite that want to line their own pockets with the oil wealth of Venezuela. We have our own role to defend the Bolivarian Revolution. We must challenge this narrative of the Venezuelan right wing as a Latin American ‘occupy movement’ or an ‘Arab Spring’ to the U.S. media in letters to the editor, to members of Congress with phone calls, and to Obama with protests and letters. The Venezuelan people will do their part and we need to do ours!”

On March 9 the U.S. increased sanctions on Venezuela and Obama signed an executive order declaring Venezuela an “unusual and extraordinary threat to national security.”

Foreign ministers of the 12-country Union of South American Nations and many members of the Organization of the American States, including Colombia – the U.S. main ally in the region – have called for a revocation of the U.S. sanctions.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Venezuela #MeredithAby #JoeCallahan #AnneWinklerMorey #Americas

In July 2011 Joe Callahan was arrested at the Pigeon River border crossing into Canada. The crossing is at the northeastern tip of Minnesota. A backpack containing El Salvadoran passports and maps of the area were found in his trunk. At the same time, a couple from El Salvador seeking refugee status was picked up in the area. Callahan was arrested and spent the next 30 days in a Thunder Bay jail in deplorable conditions. The most serious charge was ‘human trafficking and smuggling,’ which carries a sentence of very large fines and years in jail. He was released on $75,000 bail and returned to Minneapolis while he awaited trial.

After many months, these serious charges were finally dropped. On Oct. 31, Callahan pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting under Canada’s Immigration and Protection Act. The charge of providing misleading information was dropped. However, the Crown continued to play hardball. The prosecutor asked for a three to six month prison sentence, arguing that bringing people in illegally put the country in danger. He also admitted he’d never seen such a level of support for a defendant in the courtroom.

Francis Thatcher, Callahan’s lawyer, made a powerful case that Joe is a humanitarian and that what he did was in keeping with his lifelong commitment to immigrant rights. In his statement to the court, Callahan said, “I lived in Arizona and saw how ‘coyotes’ exploited and endangered undocumented immigrants. I would never do this. I find it abhorrent.”

The judge sentenced Callahan with a $5000 fine and no prison time. She also referred to the number of Callahan’s supporters in the courtroom and the 23 letters written on his behalf.

Callahan has returned to his home. He will continue to organize against U.S.-led wars, for immigrant rights and against repression – including the 23 people under investigation by a federal grand jury in Chicago for their international solidarity work in Palestine and Colombia – for the Cuban 5, for the two Somali women from Rochester, Minnesota who have been convicted of material support and for many other political prisoners.

The favorable outcome for Callahan comes after the victory of Carlos Montes against political repression.

A victory party will be held Nov. 24 at 7:00 p.m. at 4200 Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis.

#ThunderBayON #ElSalvador #InjusticeSystem #JoeCallahan #JoeCallahanSupportCommittee #Canada

Minneapolis, MN – About 70 people packed a hall in South Minneapolis to urge that the Canadian government drop the charges against prominent Twin Cities activist Joe Callahan. Callahan, who has received widespread support, is facing several immigration related charges and is scheduled to go on trial Oct. 31 in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

A statement from the Joe Callahan Support Committee gives the following summation of the case:

“On July 31, 2011, after two Salvadoran immigrants went to Canada to apply for asylum, long-time Twin Cities activist, Joe Callahan, was arrested by Canadian police at the Pigeon River border station. Joe was alone in his car. The Canadian police used a backpack, maps and other items found in Joe’s car as the grounds for his arrest.

Joe was charged with ‘aiding and abetting an immigration without a visa,’ and ‘providing false and misleading information.’ As a result of these charges, Joe was locked up in the Thunder Bay District Jail in cramped, crowded conditions where inmates are frequently forced to sleep on the floor, as Joe did for the first several days he was there. Joe was in custody for a month, and during that time, the authorities added the charge of ‘smuggling’ or ‘human trafficking.’ This charge is much more serious and carries a maximum sentence of ten years.”

The ‘smuggling’ or ‘human trafficking’ charge was recently dropped.

The Joe Callahan Support Committee is organizing a caravan of Twin Cities activists to attend the Oct. 31 trial.

Speakers at the indoor rally to support Callahan included Anh Pham of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression; Mary Bird and Francis Thatcher, Canadian attorneys representing Callahan; Mel Reeves, Occupy the Hood; Lisa Luinenburg, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition; Stefanie Levi, Socialist Action; April Knutson, Haiti Justice Committee; Wayne Wittman of Vets for Peace; and Joe Callahan.

Many of the speakers talked about the important role that Callahan plays in the Twin Cities labor, peace and immigrant rights movements.

Anh Pham, of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression noted that Callahan was among the progressive Twin Cities leaders that spoke out against the FBI raids on anti-war and international solidarity activists and urged people to attend Callahan’s Oct. 31 trial in Thunder Bay, Canada.

#MinneapolisMN #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #InjusticeSystem #JoeCallahan #JoeCallahanSupportCommittee #Canada