2020-06-19: News Headlines

ahtribune (2020-06-19). Do Not Belittle Protesters in U.S. By Calling Their Struggle A "Color Revolution"! ahtribune.com For almost a decade, I have been covering "Color Revolutions" in virtually all parts of the world. While making a film for TeleSur, I was facing Egyptian tanks, risking my life under sniper fire, getting roughed-up in the middle of clashes of the supporters of al-Sisi and Morsi. | Together with Syrian commanders, I was also facing the terrorists in Idlib; challenged the Ukrainian fascists; encountering Bolivian indigenous elders high in the Altiplano, after the revolution of Evo Morales and MAS was crashed by the U.S.-sponsored coup in 2019. I regularly worked in Venezuela, Lebanon, and Iraq. And of course, ag…

_____ (2020-06-19). 'Black Lives Matter' Is International. popularresistance.org Corte Madera, California – The police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25th was the spark that ignited the tinder of accrued injustice throughout the US and globally. This injustice has deep antecedents in the US and indeed in much of what is now called the Global South. There is a shared history of colonial conquest of the Indigenous and the abominable institution of the enslavement of African peoples. | What happened has its roots in systemic oppression that has resonated internationally. Just as the police suffocated George Floyd, US unilateral coercive measures against Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua,…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-19). Colombia's 21st century social cleaning: saving money on chainsaws. colombiareports.com Colombia's president Ivan Duque must be proud of himself. He enriched his allies by killing countless people without using a single chainsaw. One may argue that killing Colombians for profit…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-19). Colombia's military investigated over arms trafficking for illegal armed groups. colombiareports.com Top officials of Colombia's security forces are suspected of arms trafficking for organized crime groups, weekly Semana reported on Thursday. A network within the 4th Brigade in Medellin, the Arms…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-19). Colombia's economic reactivation: 'Black Friday' in midst of pandemic. colombiareports.com A plan of Colombia's President Ivan Duque to reactivate the economy turned into an epidemiological nightmare as crowds gathered at large retailers in the midst of a pandemic on Friday,…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-19). Congress approves controversial bill allowing life imprisonment for child rapists. colombiareports.com Colombia's congress approved a constitutional amendment to sentence convicted child rapists and killers to life in prison amid a major controversy. The constitutional amendment proposed by the government of President…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-18). Alleged election fraudster to preside Colombia's senate while in court. colombiareports.com Controversial Senator Arturo Char will have a tough year presiding over Colombia's senate while trying to prevent the Supreme Court from destroying President Ivan Duque's coalition. The conservative Radical Change…

Ricardo Vaz and Lucas Koerner (2020-06-18). Venezuelan Oil Output Continues Decline as Refinery Resumes Operations. venezuelanalysis.com Venezuelan crude exports on track for 70 year low as Washington continues to target tankers and shipping companies.

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-18). Colombia's coronavirus aid used to pay back election contributions? colombiareports.com Colombia's Inspector General said Tuesday he was investigating how $12.5 million (COP47 billion) in coronavirus aid funds ended up in the pockets of elections campaigns sponsors. The granting of government…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-18). Pablo Escobar's involvement in 1985 palace of justice siege another urban myth? colombiareports.com The popular belief that late drug lord Pablo Escobar ordered and financed the 1985 guerrilla attack on Colombia's Palace of Justice increasingly appears to be a far-right urban myth. The…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-18). Colombia's potential cocaine production reached all-time high in 2019: UN. colombiareports.com Colombia's potential cocaine production reached a new high in 2019 despite a drop in registered hectares of coca, the base ingredient of the illicit drug, according to the United Nations….

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-18). Open letter to Colombia's press freedom foundation on promoting free press. colombiareports.com Dear Fernando et al, I am writing to express my surprise that the Assembly of the Foundation for the Freedom of the Press (FLIP) has not taken action, i.e. sanctions,…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-18). Colombia's coronavirus aid used to pay pack election contributions? colombiareports.com Colombia's Inspector General said Tuesday he was investigating $12.5 million (COP47 billion) in coronavirus aid funds ended up in the pockets of elections campaigns sponsors. The granting of government contracts…

en.mehrnews (2020-06-18). Iran-Venezuela alliance a glorious example for nations to follow: American analyst. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 17 (MNA) — An American columnist and political author says the Iran-Venezuela alliance against the US is a glorious model for other nations to stand against Washington's hegemonic policies.

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-17). US monitors urge Colombia to accelerate slowed down peace process. colombiareports.com Scholars monitoring Colombia's peace process urged the government of President Ivan Duque to accelerate the country's peace process that has slowed down under his watch. The Kroc Institute of the…

en.mehrnews (2020-06-17). Maudro warns EU not to interfere in Venezuela's internal affairs. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 17 (MNA) — President Nicolas Maduro has warned the European Union (EU) against interfering in Venezuela's domestic affairs.

Zero Hedge (2020-06-17). IRGC Gears Up For 'Routine' Fuel Shipments To Venezuela, Defying Trump. iranian.com Here we go again — Iran is prepping a round two of major sanctions-busting gas delivery to fuel-starved Venezuela, which is of course rich on heavy crude oil but currently lacks the capacity to refine it based on its derelict and badly in need of repair facilities. Amid continued White House threats of military intervention to uphold a sanctions …

Ricardo Vaz and Lucas Koerner (2020-06-17). US Rejects Venezuela Legislative Elections as TSJ Intervenes in Two Opposition Parties. venezuelanalysis.com The new leadership of Democratic Action and Justice First confirmed that their parties will contest the National Assembly later this year.

RT (2020-06-17). Trump saw Venezuela as 'really part of the US,' thought invasion was 'cool' — but backtracked because of Putin, Bolton claims. rt.com US President Donald Trump thought it would be "cool" to invade Venezuela but was persuaded not to by "Soviet-style propaganda" from Moscow, claims former national security adviser John Bolton in book excerpts leaked to the press. | Trump said invading Venezuela would be "cool" and described the South American country as "really part of the United States," according to the Washington Post, one of three publications that were given access to some content from Bolton's memoir, 'The Room Where It Happened.' | | So Bolton says in his boo…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-17). Colombia projects 41,000 coronavirus deaths before end of 2020. colombiareports.com Colombia's government informed the Constitutional Court that it expects the coronavirus to kill more than 41,500 citizens before the end of the year, local media reported Tuesday. Between March 6…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-17). US deports Medellin Cartel founder Carlos Lehder to Germany. colombiareports.com US authorities deported Carlos Lehder, one of the co-founders of the Medellin Cartel, to Germany where he arrived on Tuesday. The 70-year-old Lehder, who has both a Colombian and a…

Ricardo Vaz and Lucas Koerner (2020-06-16). Venezuelan Attorney General Orders Arrest of Tupamaro Party Leader, Indicts FAES for Extra-Judicial Killings. venezuelanalysis.com Jose Pinto called the death a "false positive" orchestrated by the party's enemies.