Daily Archives: September 8, 2020

2020-09-08: News Headlines

Staff (2020-09-08). Quid Pro Quo: Did Trump Help Kill Anti-Corruption Probe in Guatemala to Aid Reelection Bid? democracynow.org Iván Velásquez is a Colombian prosecutor who headed the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala from 2013 to 2019, a powerful U.N.-backed commission formed to investigate corruption in the country and supported by the Obama administration. But Velásquez and other investigators were expelled from the country after the Trump administration agreed to withdraw support for the commission in apparent exchange for Guatemala's support of Trump's immigration and Middle East policies. The details of that quid pro quo between President Trump and Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales are detailed in a new investi…

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida (2020-09-08). Political Pardon Given by Maduro May Be a Checkmate against Venezuelan Opposition. globalresearch.ca In Venezuela, Juan Guaidó no longer appears to be the leader of the opposition. The forgiveness of 110 opponents by President Nicolás Maduro completely fragmented the political wing opposing the regime, which, in practice, removes from Guaidó the "monopoly" of …

Eds. (2020-09-08). 850 thousand Insulin kits from Russia arrived in Venezuela (bypassing U.S. sanctions). mronline.org This Friday, a shipment of 850 thousand vials of 4 types of insulin from Russia arrived in Venezuela, being the 8th and 9th delivery within the framework of the Strategic Trade Alliance signed in 2019 between Russia and Venezuela in the International Economic Forum of St. Petersburg.

_____ (2020-09-07). Canada's Regime Change Efforts In Nicaragua Rife With Hypocrisy. popularresistance.org A recently leaked USAID document highlights "the breadth and complexity of the US government's plan to interfere in Nicaragua's internal affairs up to and after its presidential election in 2021." The stated aim is to replace president Daniel Ortega with "a government committed to the rule of law, civil liberties, and a free civil society." HighlightingWashington's aim, Ben Norton notes, "the 14-page USAID document employed the word 'transition' 102 times, including nine times on the first page alone."

teleSUR (2020-09-07). President Maduro Denounces Attempts To Sabotage Elections. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro Sunday denounced attempts to "sabotage" December 6 parliamentary elections generated from inside and outside his country. | RELATED: | He spoke about several maneuvers orchestrated by some opposition sectors that seek to prevent the elections from happening and use the pandemic as a scapegoat to sabotage it. | "With or without COVID-19 pandemic, there will be elections in Ve…

Paul Dobson (2020-09-07). Venezuela's Constituent Assembly: No New Constitution on the Way. venezuelanalysis.com ANC President Diosdado Cabello claimed there is not enough time to rewrite the magna carta before the body dissolves itself in December.

teleSUR (2020-09-07). Colombian Workers Hold National Strike Against Labor Reforms. telesurenglish.net Colombia's labor unions Monday held a national strike in rejection of Decree 1174, which was approved by President Ivan Duque to undermine labor rights amid the COVID-19 crisis. | RELATED: | This decree approves the contracts by the hour, which promotes informal hiring, and it removes the employers' obligation to assume social security payments. | "President Ivan Duque has taken advantage of the crisis caused by the pande…

_____ (2020-09-07). China Backs Venezuela's Right To Safeguard Sovereignty. popularresistance.org Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China and Venezuela share basically similar views on safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests, jointly supporting multilateralism, and improving global governance. | China stands with the Venezuelan people in their fight against COVID-19 and upholds the Venezuelan government's right to safeguard national sovereignty, and national dignity and development, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday. | Wang made the remarks while holding talks with his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza via video link.

teleSUR (2020-09-06). US Activist and Friend to Venezuela Kevin Zeese Passes Away. telesurenglish.net U.S. lawyer, advocate, writer, activist-organizer and comrade, Kevin Zeese, passed away on Sunday morning. | RELATED: | Zeese, alongside his partner Margaret Flowers, was the Co-director of Popular Resistance, an online resource providing news and information, which brings together movements for peace and economic, racial and environmental justice. | He sat on the advisory board of Courage Foundation defending Julian Assange, Edward Snow…

Ben Norton (2020-09-06). U.S. govt-linked PR firm ran fake news networks for right-wing Latin American regimes. thegrayzone.com A Washington, DC-based PR firm linked to the US government and Democratic Party, CLS Strategies, ran a fake news network on Facebook and Instagram, spreading propaganda for Bolivia's coup regime and the right-wing opposition in Venezuela and Mexico. By Ben Norton major US PR firm located just a few blocks from the White House has …

teleSUR (2020-09-06). Venezuela to Inaugurate Simon Bolivar Institute for Peace. telesurenglish.net Venezuela will virtually inaugurate Saturday the Simon Bolivar Institute for Peace and Solidarity Among the Peoples which seeks to promote the work of Latin American Liberator, Simon Bolivar. | RELATED: | The Institute's main objective is to gather international support with the Bolivarian Revolution in the face of constant threats by the government of the U.S. President Donald Trump. | According to the Institute's offic…

teleSUR (2020-09-06). Colombia: Another Social Leader Killed in Nariño. telesurenglish.net Indigenous organizations Saturday denounced the murder of Juan Pablo Prado, a social leader who was killed in the Municipality of Tumaco, Nariño Department. | RELATED: | According to Colombia's Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC), the social leader was killed near the school where he worked on September 6 by unidentified men who shot him at least three times. | Francisco Cortez Guanga, governor of the Piguambí Palangana coun…

teleSUR (2020-09-06). Venezuela: 14,400 Candidates Will Run in Parliamentary Elections. telesurenglish.net Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has sworn in eight new ministers, six of whom are women. | RELATED: | During a session with the Presidential Commission for the Control and Prevention of COVID-19, the Head of State recognized the work of the eight outgoing ministers who will be participating in the electoral arena, in the upcoming parliamentary elections. | Likewise, he acknowledged the announcement of the Preside…

_____ (2020-09-05). Venezuelan Businessman Arrested And Tortured At US Direction. popularresistance.org The businessman àÅlex Saab has said through a letter that he is being tortured daily by agents paid by the United States to make false statements against the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and to sign his "voluntary" extradition to the North American country. | The Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported this Wednesday, September 2, that he had "exclusive" access to a letter written by Saab from the cell where he is being held irregularly on the African island of Cape Verde, a country that detained him at the request of the United States without respecting his diplomatic immunity and legal international…

teleSUR (2020-09-05). Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela Meet on Combating Crime. telesurenglish.net Venezuela and neighboring Trinidad and Tobago have activated a mixed commission to combat crime on their borders. | RELATED: | Security authorities of both countries met via teleconference on Friday to strengthen cooperation, as instructed following a recent call between President Nicolas maduro and Prime Minister Keith Rowley. | The meeting was led by Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol and Minister of National Security of Trinidad and…

teleSUR (2020-09-05). 50 Years Since Unidad Popular & Allende Triumph in Chile. telesurenglish.net The Communist Party of Chile marked the anniversary of the victory of Salvador Allende on September 4, 1970 with the "50 years after the victory of Popular Unity" international seminar. | RELATED: | Politicians of Latin America's left-wing, intellectuals and social and union organization leaders were among the panelists who carried a two-day discussion on the historical significance of the Allende's victory in Chile and on his legacy. | Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro a…

teleSUR (2020-09-05). Colombia: New Massacre in El Cauca Leaves 3 People Dead. telesurenglish.net Local authorities confirmed Saturday a new massacre in Colombia's Cauca Department where three men were killed in the rural zone of the municipality of El Tambo. | RELATED: | The killing took place in the Serengue area, on the boundary between the municipalities of El Tambo and Cajibio, in the west of the department of Cauca. | According to local authorities, the bodies of the three men were found by locals with t…

RT (2020-09-05). Facebook bans AMERICAN accounts for interfering in foreign politics — a DC lobby group helped topple govts in Bolivia & Venezuela. rt.com When Facebook talks about busting foreign influence campaigns, Russia is usually painted as the villain. But the social media giant recently wiped out a host of pages interfering in Latin American politics — from Washington, DC. | CLS Strategies is one of many PR and lobbying groups that call the 'swamp' of Washington, DC their home. According to the company's own website, it "helps clients win where it matters most — in the halls of government, the marketplace, and the court of public opinion." | But behind the website's corpo-speak, CLS Strategies lobbies lawmakers on behalf of foreign politician…

Ricardo Vaz (2020-09-05). Venezuela: Operation Gedeon Organizers Arrested in Colombia. venezuelanalysis.com The four Venezuelan citizens helped prepare the failed paramilitary incursion in May.

teleSUR (2020-09-05). Venezuela: CNE Rejects Unilateral Sanctions Imposed by the US. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) Saturday issued a statement to reject the unilateral and coercive measures imposed by the U.S. government, which seek to sabotage the parliamentary elections scheduled for December 6. | RELATED: | CNE president Indira Alfonzo Izaguirre condemned the U.S. government institutions for subrogating absolutely "irresistible and non-existent" powers by trying to impose coerci…

_____ (2020-09-05). UAE, Oman And UK Tell Court US Seized Their Oil. popularresistance.org Shippers based in the UAE, Oman and the UK told a US court today they hold title to the cargoes seized by the US aboard four tankers that allegedly were transporting petroleum products from Iran to Venezuela. | The US Justice Department on 14 August said it took custody of 1.16mn bl of Iranian product aboard four Greek-owned, Liberia-flagged tankers — the Bella, the Bering, the Luna and the Pandi. The vessels were carrying cargoes — interchangeably described by US attorneys as gasoil, gasoline and refined oil — from Iran to Venezuela, the US said. The three companies said they had the right to "

teleSUR (2020-09-05). Colombia: Prosecutor's Office Denies Request for Uribe's Release. telesurenglish.net The Colombian Attorney General's Office Friday rejected the freedom request presented by the defense of former president Alvaro Uribe, who is under house arrest on charges of alleged bribery and fraud. | RELATED: | "The prosecutor in charge of the investigation rejected the request because it should only be approved by a judge of control of guarantees in preliminary hearings," the Attorney General's Office stated.

Wayne Madsen (2020-09-05). A Silver Lining in the Rise of Neo-Fascism. thealtworld.com The only benefit from the rise of neo-fascist leaders in heretofore democratic nations is that the various fascist, neo-Nazi, racial and religious supremacists, and far-right terrorists have reared their ugly heads to the degree where it is now easier to identify them and their circle of contacts and organizations. When the United States, Brazil, Colombia, Poland, Turkey, and other similarly afflicted nations return to political normalcy, the forces of the far-right, already self-identified, can be rolled up, stripped of their weaponry and access to the Internet as threats to public safety. These resurgent Nazis…

teleSUR (2020-09-04). China Backs Venezuela's Right To Safeguard Sovereignty: FM. telesurenglish.net China stands with the Venezuelan people in their fight against COVID-19 and upholds the Venezuelan government's right to safeguard national sovereignty, and national dignity and development, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday. | Wang made the remarks while holding talks with his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza via video link. | RELATED: | Noting that Latin America is one of the "epicenter…

WSWS (2020-09-04). Threat of a US-led military intervention in Venezuela grows as Guaidó's coalition splits. wsws.org The danger of a devastating US military intervention has escalated as a result of the domestic political crisis of the Trump administration and growing divisions within the US-backed opposition in Venezuela.

sputniknews (2020-09-04). Russia Delivers 850,000 Packages of Insulin to Venezuela. sputniknews.com BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) – A shipment from Russia containing 850,000 packages of insulin drugs produced by Geropharm company has arrived in Venezuela, the Latin American country's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.