Venezuela Urgently Needs a Feminist Emergency Plan

Andreína Chávez Alava Venezuelan women demanded justice for femicides during last year’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. (Andreína Chávez Alava) Venezuelan women are being murdered at a frightening pace, and yet the country still lacks a clear path of action to understand, report, prevent and eradicate this extreme form of gender-related…

President Maduro Reaffirms that No Threat Will Stop the Progressive Wave in Latin America and the Caribbean

Nohemi Trejo Regarding the VII Summit of Heads, Heads and Representatives of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States ( CELAC ), the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, He reiterated that “ there will be no threat or aggression that can stop the progressive wave…

Why President Maduro Canceled His Attendance at the VII CELAC Summit

Ernesto Cazal Argentine sovereignty is injured and its State will not provide security guarantees even to high-level politicians, both national and international ( Photo: Hannibal Hanschke / Reuters ) For many it has been a total surprise that President Nicolás Maduro has not traveled to Buenos Aires to participate in the VII CELAC Summit. It…

Attacks and Failures of the Right in Latin America

Claudio Katz Bolsonarism was affected by its failed coup. Its foundations in the army, gangs, agribusiness and evangelists are shaken. What are the current perspectives of the extreme right in the continent? Recently, the right-wingers in the region have faced three important setbacks. The failed coup in Brazil was preceded by a failed coup in…

Venezuela’s Seed Law Should Be a Global Model

Owen Schalk A farm worker holds bell peppers during a harvest in Cubiro, Venezuela. For peasant farmers, the battle over seed rights is critical to their livelihoods Seeds are an often-overlooked political battleground in industrialized countries like those of North America and Europe, but for peasant farmers in the Global South, the battle over seed…

Washington’s “Democracy Promotion” Spectacularly Fails in Venezuela

Roger D. Harris The Los Angeles Times reports that “the audacious gamble by the U.S. government to…restore democracy” suffered a “spectacular failure” in Venezuela. What this State Department stenographer masquerading as a newspaper considers a “democratic” setback consisted of failing to impose unknown US security asset Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s president. This man just got the boot from his own…

Guaidó is Gone, but We Shouldn’t Forget Canada’s Interference in Venezuela

Owen Schalk Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez. Ottawa’s support for Guaidó was vocal, unwavering, and rooted in a decades-long alliance with right-wing forces in Venezuela The Juan Guaidó farce has, finally, come to an end. The hardline Venezuelan opposition, which has long sought the overthrow of the Bolivarian Revolution even during…

Which Government Does the United States Recognize in Venezuela?

Vijay Prashad U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price (Image by State Department) On January 3, 2023, Shaun Tandon of Agence France-Presse asked U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price about Venezuela. In late December, the Venezuelan opposition after a fractious debate decided to dissolve the “interim government” led by Juan Guaidó. From 2019 onward, the U.S. government  recognized Guaidó as the “interim president…

Venezuela: Rentier Capitalism and a Project for Change

CARLOS DÜRICH The Bolivarian process has gone through several phases in its almost three decades of existence. The following is a historical analysis on the evolution of the dynamics of the class struggle in the Venezuela of Chavismo. Part I: The emergence of rentier capitalism “To historically articulate the past does not mean to know…

The Inglorious End of Juan Guaidó

Ricardo Vas And so it ended. Not with a bang, but with a whimper. After all, it was made of cardboard. It is very rare to have a political phenomenon beautifully encapsulated in a single moment or image. But in the case of (former) self-proclaimed “Interim President” Juan Guaidó, we got exactly that. On November…

Qassem Soleimani in Venezuela: The Lesser Known Motive Behind His Assassination

Hasan Illaik Why was Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani assassinated by the US? His visit to Venezuela in 2019 may provide some answers. On 3 January 2020, the US military assassinated Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds Force in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), along with his companion, the deputy head…

U.S. Judge Rules Alex Saab Not Entitled to Diplomatic Immunity

Robert Scola, a federal judge in Miami (Florida, USA) ruled that the Colombian-Venezuelan businessman Álex Saab, described in most corporate media as a front man for the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, is not entitled to diplomatic immunity, so he should be tried on charges of money laundering. In his 15-page ruling, Scola argued that…

Day 3 Closing Arguments in Legal Hearing Concerning US Political Prisoner Alex Saab’s Diplomatic Status

Stansfield Smith After day one and day two of the hearing, December 12-13, the case of Alex Saab’s diplomatic immunity wrapped up on the third day, December 20. Judge Robert Scola in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida will make his decision by the end of this month. Saab’s defense explained…

Saab Oral Argument Focuses on Legitimacy of Maduro Government

Dan Kovalik On December 12 to 13, 2022, an evidentiary hearing in the case of The United States v. Alex Saab was heard before Judge Robert Scola in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In “Saab Hearing Proves He Deserves Diplomatic Immunity, Exposes Prosecution’s Duplicity”, I summarize the key facts presented by Alex…

Saab Hearing Proves He Deserves Diplomatic Immunity, Exposes Prosecution’s Duplicity

Daniel Kovalik On December 12 to 13, 2022, an evidentiary hearing in the case of The United States v. Alex Saab was heard before Judge Robert Scola in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.  The only issue in the hearing was the question of whether Mr. Saab is entitled to diplomatic immunity, a…

Sanctions and National Dialogue in Venezuela: Their Indissoluble Linkage

Yoselina Guevara L. On Tuesday, December 6, the National Dialogue Forum in Venezuela was held online, organized by the Consulate of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Quito, the Consul Pedro Sassone and the collaboration of the Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity, Ecuador Chapter, and CPAZ Coordinating Committee for Peace, Sovereignty…

Day 2 of Legal Hearing Concerning US Political Prisoner Alex Saab’s Diplomatic Status

Stansfield Smith On Tuesday, December 13, the second day of the hearing (see first day here), the prosecution presented its case why the US rejects Saab’s status as a diplomat. The prosecution presentation initially focused on Saab being a “cooperative source” for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) between 2016-2019, meeting with DEA agents several…

Split Between Venezuela’s Communists and Maduro’s Ruling Party Deepens

Robert Griffiths The unity of days passed: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro with Óscar Figuera, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Venezuela at the 12th National Conference of the PCV in 2013. | Tribuna Popular Venezuela’s economy is likely to grow faster than most this year and next, according to Credit Suisse. GDP is forecast…