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Caribbean

Martinique Masses Continue Rebellion Against French Colonial System

The Caribbean Island of Martinique is classified as an overseas department of France but it is treated like a colony, lacking any voice in its own affairs. Social unrest has flared up again prompted by hyperinflation and the heavy-handed tactics utilized by security forces under the control of Paris. Due to its colonial dependency, the rate of rising prices in Martinique far exceeds that of the colonial power in France. During September, thousands of people took to the streets in response to the escalating prices for food and other consumer goods. Riot police from France were deployed to put down the unrest which involved industrial actions among the workers.

The Time Of The Lima Group Is Over

Following the proclamation by the National Electoral Council of the victory of Nicolás Maduro in the presidential elections, several fronts of conflict have opened within Venezuela. The opposition has refused to recognize the results and has declared that its candidate, Edmundo González, is the legitimate winner of the elections. This scenario was expected given that the opposition had already announced that they would not respect the result if their candidate did not win. The international hegemonic media also started a campaign several months ago to delegitimize the electoral result if Maduro won the elections.

Movement Leaders Gathered For Second Edition Of World Social Alternative

Mass movements, progressive organizations and social leaders from all sectors convened in Caracas for the second edition of the meeting of movements and social leaders for a World Social Alternative, an initiative put together by the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), in collaboration with the Simón Bolívar Institute for Peace and Solidarity amongst Peoples (ISB). The meeting ran from July 23-24, and featured debates, plenary sessions, and panel discussions at the Simon Bolivar Hall of the Bolivar Theater of Caracas in the capital of Venezuela, with delegates from across the globe. It follows the first encounter for a World Social Alternative which was held in Caracas between April 18 to April 20.

US Militarization Is A Threat To Peace

From 4-16 May, the 39th annual Tradewinds military exercise took place in Barbados, co-hosted by the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) and the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). This year’s exercise, dubbed Tradewinds 2024, involved more than 1600 military personnel from 26 participating countries plus representation from various regional organisations. In addition to the USA, which led the exercise, participants came from mostly Caribbean countries except Cuba; the old European colonial powers of the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands; Canada and the Latin American countries of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico.

Latin America Condemns Ecuador’s Storming Of The Mexican Embassy

The decision by the government of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa to forcibly enter the Mexican Embassy in Quito with dozens of police officers to arrest former Ecuadorian official Jorge Glas has been met with widespread repudiation across Latin America and the Caribbean. Xiomara Castro, Honduran president and the president pro-tempore of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), announced on Saturday that two emergency meetings of CELAC would be held on Monday April 8 and Tuesday April 9 to address the situation in which the American Convention on Asylum and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations were both violated by Ecuador against Mexico.

Haiti’s Acting Prime Minister And President Ariel Henry Resigns

Ariel Henry, Haiti’s acting prime minister and president since July 2021, resigned from his post on Monday, March 11. The resignation of Henry was announced by Irfaan Ali, Guyanese President and Chair of CARICOM, in a press conference in Kingston, Jamaica on Monday. Ali also announced that a “transitional governance arrangement” had been achieved in order to restore “rule of law” and ensure a peaceful transition of power, security, and eventual elections. The announcement came as a result of an urgent meeting on the “multidimensional crisis in Haiti” convened by CARICOM.

Letter To The People For Integration Of Latin America And The Caribbean

On February 23, the organizations participating in the Conference on the Integration of Latin American and Caribbean Peoples approved the “Letter to the People for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean”. The letter contains a summary of the event’s discussions and notes for advancing the integration of the people of the region. The Conference, which began February 22, ended February 24. In total, 4,000 people, from more than 20 countries in the region, participated in the event. Colombian Vice President Francia Marquéz was also present at the Conference.

Russian Foreign Minister Tours Latin America

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov just concluded a three-country regional tour of Latin America this week. He kicked off his tour on Monday in the Cuban capital of Havana, and also visited Venezuela and Brazil, where he concluded his tour with participation in the G20 Ministers’ Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, where he met with several other Latin American leaders. During his time in Cuba, the Russian diplomat discussed various topics with President Miguel Diaz Canel and his Cuban counterpart, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, including the decades-long blockade on Cuba imposed by Washington and strategies to boost economic cooperation, commerce, and investment.

Exercise Tradewinds: 40 Years Of US Counterinsurgency In The Caribbean

Between December 5-7, 2023, in San Antonio, Texas military planners from the United States, Canada, Barbados, and other CARICOM entities met to make plans for Tradewinds ’24.[1] There, it was determined that the 39th iteration of Exercise Tradewinds (EXTW24) would take place, at least in the first phase, in Barbados. Although Exercise Tradewinds “began” in 1984, EXTW24 will only mark the 39th iteration of these exercises versus the 40th iteration, given that no exercise was held in 2020 given the (ongoing) global COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Between January 29, 2024, and February 2, 2024 military planners met again, this time at the Hilton Resort in Barbados, to survey the terrain for EXTW24.

US Military Projection In Latin America And The Caribbean Intensifies

Upon assuming the US presidency, Joe Biden asserted in his first major foreign policy address, “America is back!” For Latin America and the Caribbean, this has meant an “aggressive expansion” of the US military in the region. In just the last year, US Marines and special forces landed in Peru in May 2023, brought in by the unelected rightwing government to address internal unrest. In October, the US got the UN Security Council to approve the military occupation of Haiti using proxy troops from Kenya. Also in October, the rightwing government of Ecuador resorted to deploying US troops to deal with their domestic insecurities.

Year 2023 In Review For Latin American And The Caribbean

December 2 marked the 200th anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine, which proclaimed US dominion over Latin America and the Caribbean. Left-leaning governments in the hemisphere have had to contest a decadent but still dominant USA. Challenges in the past year include a world economic slowdown, a continuing drug plague, and a more aggressive hegemon reacting to a more volatile and disputed world order. The progressive regional current, the so-called Pink Tide, slackened in 2023 compared to the rising tide of 2022, which had been buoyed by big wins in Colombia and Brazil.

New Mood In The World Will Put An End To The Global Monroe Doctrine

Every day since 7 October has felt like an International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, with hundreds of thousands gathering in Istanbul, a million in Jakarta, and then yet another million across Africa and Latin America to demand an end to the brutal attack being carried out by Israel (with the collusion of the United States). It is impossible to keep up with the scale and frequency of the protests, which are in turn pushing political parties and governments to clarify their stances on Israel’s attack on Palestine. These mass demonstrations have generated three kinds of outcomes.

Why Africans / Black Folks Should Oppose Zionism

Political Zionism is a racist ethno-nationalist imperialist ideology and movement founded in the late 19th century that mis-uses Judaism to justify the settler colonial occupation of Palestinian land as a state reserved only for Jews.[1] Christian Zionism, which actually preceded political zionism, is the belief that the biblical land of Israel should be controlled by Jews thereby ensuring the second return of Jesus which will bring salvation to Christians.[2] Zionism in Africa long preceded the founding of Israel, and the relationship goes back to at least the South African Zionist federation founded in 1898[3].  The Zionist movement considered east African countries for resettling Jews before agreeing on Palestine.

Improvements Under Sandinistas For Nicaragua Caribbean Coast Peoples

The Sandinistas defined several specific goals in their vision of how they wanted the country to change. Regarding the Caribbean region, the vision was for people there to become full participants in the country. He stressed that achieving the goals in the Caribbean region were difficult, but this struggle succeeded in being able to implement the autonomy process, which is allowing the region to make a number of important changes for the development of the region. One of the first hurdles was the old thinking that national unity meant uniformity and homogeneity. This included only recognizing Spanish as the official language and a deaf ear to the whole concept of multiculturalism.

US Moves To Curtail China’s Economic Investment In The Caribbean

Toronto, Ont. - On March 8, 2023, General Laura J. Richardson of the United States Southern Command gave testimony at a congressional hearing wherein she issued a warning to U.S. lawmakers about the expansion of Chinese influence in the Caribbean that were at odds with purported U.S. interests in the region. Richardson advised policy makers in the U.S. to “pay more attention” to the Caribbean (and Central and South America) because “proximity matters.” To raise the issue to a level of “threat” for U.S. policymakers, Richardson claimed that China had “increased its support for anti-U.S. regimes in the region” of which the usual suspects Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua were mentioned.

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