Published on 1 September 2015 by Prensa Latina

di-celmo

Giustino Di Celmo, a friend of the Cuban Revolution and who lost a son in Havana victim of a terrorist attack, died on the night of 1 September at the age of 94.

Di Celmo, a merchant by profession, traveled to Cuba for the first time in 1992 and during the most difficult years of the special period, he defied the blockade and threats hovering over this country, providing assistance in obtaining goods deficit for the people, says a note released here.

After the terrorist action against his son, Fabio, on September 4, 1997, in the lobby bar of the Copacabana Hotel, he decided to settle permanently on the island and was dedicated to denounce events of this kind against Cuba from the most diverse forums, the text added.

He also called for international solidarity with the Caribbean country and was a champion in the battle for the liberation of Elian Gonzalez after being kidnapped in Miami, and the return to the homeland of the five Cuban heroes who complied with cruel and unjust imprisonment in US jails.

Veteran of World War II, anti-fascist fighter, and man of peace, Di Celmo applied to become a member of the Communist Party of Cuba, exceptional status granted on September 30, 1997.

With his example, he captivated the affection and admiration of the people and his name will be registered as an example of solidarity with our country, highlights the note, adding that in response to the will of their children, the body will be cremated and subsequently repatriated to the home country.

Published on 24 August by TeleSUR

mining guatemala

Canadian mining companies account for 75 percent of the world’s extractive corporations. Canada is literally digging up the globe.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ed Fast says, “Canada’s mining sector … leads the world in responsible mining practices, and we are proud of the prosperity that this sector is creating at home and in every corner of the globe.”

However, the political, social and environmental costs are far greater than the Canadian government or mining corporations would have you believe.

In Latin America,Canada and its extractive industry are viewed as the new conquistadors; they are thirsty for land and minerals and hungry for power. Canadian mining companies are often positioned at the epicenter of community conflicts in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, and linked with violence, environmental degradation, corruption and murder. Research produced by Canada’s own Prospectors and Development Association of Canada (PDAC) found that Canadian mining companies accounted for the most human and environmental rights abuses globally. Harrowing examples in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras further erode Canada’s claims of bringing “good” to the world.

Canadian mining companies’ environmental and human rights abuses have been well documented by affected communities, NGOs and transnational solidarity groups. Such injustices are tangible examples of deep structural violence that Canadian extractives are inextricably linked with. Their actions, under the guise of “development,” have undermined governance in countries where democracy can be described as “uneven.” Legal scholar Debbie Johnston writes:

“Canada’s extractive industry routinely seeks out unexploited natural resources located in underdeveloped nations that feature weak, failing or often oppressive governments that, in turn, rely on foreign investment of capital and technology to exploit their resources, to prosper, and in some cases to stay in power.” Canadian companies actively choose to operate in Central American countries with corrupt governments and often limited public support.

Published on 26 August 2015 by Venezuela Analysis Infographic by TeleSUR English

Telesur Image

Venezuelan and Colombian foreign ministers will meet today to discuss the issues surrounding Venezuela’s border closure and the crackdown on smuggling and undocumented Colombian immigrants in Tachira state, amid rising controversy.

Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos advocated yesterday for diplomacy after senator and former leader Alvaro Uribe called Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro a dictator on Twitter and accused him of “torturing Colombians.” 

Maduro closed the border between Tachira and Santander after three Venezuelan soldiers were attacked by alleged paramilitaries last week. The closure was soon extended to a 60-day state of exception- similar to a state of emergency but without the suspension of human rights- after Venezuelan authorities assessed an alarming level of smuggling and paramilitary-related violence in the region.

Santos also warned of politicians using the situation as a political platform, as Uribe visited the border area and fanned the flames of resentment in communities that were economically dependent on contraband gasoline and Venezuelan goods. 

“Its not the time to sound the trumpets of war,” Santos rebuked, “It’s time for firemen to step in, not pyromaniacs.”

Published on 24 August 2015 by Granma

Right wing forces, incapable of recognizing the electoral victories of popular governments, consistently resort to violent action, as is currently happening in Ecuador. After the failure of a general strike called for August 13, the opposition here launched another adventure, blocking roads - including the Pan American Highway – burning vehicles and tires, in an attempt to lay the groundwork for a coup d’etat against President Rafael Correa and the Citizens’ Revolution.

Police have quickly re-opened roadways and detained rioters attempting to pressure Rafael Correa with these maneuvers, which began this past June as supposed protests against proposed tax laws regarding inheritances and earnings. It soon became clear that the issue was a pretext for disrupting the government, in hopes of precipitating a coup, but the opposition has reaped few political dividends.

On the contrary, despite the opposition’s counterrevolutionary flag-waving, the population supported Correa’s policies with demonstrations August 13, without going on strike, while messages of solidarity arrived in Quito from political and social organizations across the country.

Normality reigned in Ecuador’s principal cities on the day of the attempted general strike, much to the chagrin of the opposition, led by well-known members of Ecuador’s elite who depend on a few leaders of Pachakutik, a faction within the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie) and the Workers United Front.

Published on 5 August 2015 by CounterPunch

Carlos Lozano

In a recent interview Carlos Lozano, a leader of the Colombian Communist Party (PCC) and director of the Party’s weekly Voznewspaper, offered a sobering appraisal of the likelihood that talks underway now in Cuba between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government will lead to peace with social justice.

He alluded to historical affinities between the FARC and his own Party, thereby raising the possibility that these two Marxist – oriented groups, together in the past and then apart, are finding common ground once more. He speaks of nationwide struggle toward socialist, anti-imperialist revolution. That’s an uncommon narrative these days.

Published on 14 July 2015 by TeleSUR

PAIS bombed

A bomb damaged the headquarters of the ruling PAIS Alliance party in the coastal city of Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, late Monday night, which a PAIS legislator has labeled a “message of terror.” The bombing took place around 10:40 p.m. Monday. No details were released regarding possible motives or suspects.

While no one was injured, the bomb was strong enough to damage the concrete wall and sent debris into the adjacent street. PAIS legislator Bairon Valle said the explosion was felt in a three-block radius. "This was not a household item,” Valle said, according to national newspaper El Telegrafo, “but a high-caliber bomb, strategically placed to destroy the entire first floor of the building."

Published on 13 July 2015 by www.venezuelanalysis.com. The interview was first broadcast on TeleSUR

maduro map

From the Peruvian Sun Hall at the Miraflores Palace, teleSUR’s Tatiana Perez and Rey Gomez spoke to President Nicolas Maduro about the government’s plans to recover the disputed territory, which Venezuela believes was taken from it illegally by the British Empire.

Mr. President, welcome, thank you for taking the time to talk to teleSUR.

Welcome to you too, to the house of the Venezuelan people, Miraflores Palace, with the liberators Simon Bolivar and Antonio Jose de Sucre, who perfectly set the spirit for this conversation.

I want to begin this interview with a current issue in Venezuela: the political dispute that exists over the Essequibo region. Why has this issue emerged? Why this change in Guyana's position?

It is a topic that has spanned Venezuela’s history over three centuries: the 19th, 20th and now 21st. I gave a comprehensive explanation in the National Assembly of the key elements of this theme, which can be split into four stages.

Published on 26 June 2015 by TeleSUR English

Supporters of the Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa rallied in the capital Quito Friday as a response to opposition protests the day before, when opposition supporters chanted “Out, Correa, Out.”

“The debate that Correa is proposing is what type of society we want, how do we change it?” one person at the rally told teleSUR. "We want the opposition to reflect and not to seek the removal of the president … We mobilized to support the president peacefully, so we are ... happy," Andrea Benavides, who left work to join the rally, told the national El Telegrafo newspaper.

Nathaly Molina says she is convinced that Correa had done important work for the country and thus she did not agree with the opposition mayors of Quito and Guayaquil in their effort to "confront the government that cares about the disadvantaged sectors of the country." "I come to defend the democratic process, because I do not agree with few people who want to get rid of the president for their own convenience," said Esteban Cordova, who at the pro-Correa rally.

Demonstrators said they were planning to stay outside the palace until late Friday night, after the opposition march yesterday tried to break through police cordons to reach government supporters and the palace.

Published on 16 June 2015 by Granma

cuba ecuador

Since this past June 8, the government of Ecuador, led by President Rafael Correa Delgado, has faced, in several cities, acts of violence and calls for the overthrowal of the Citizens’ Revolution government.

Oligarchic groups, supported by the media, Internet social networks, and the transnational press are attempting to discredit the legitimately constituted government, generate a crisis, and unleash violence in a stable, peaceful country.

President Correa and other leaders of the Alianza País movement have energetically denounced this new coup attempt, and have taken the lead in popular mobilizations in defense of the Citizens’ Revolution, and rejected a plan, which according to reports, could be receiving support from abroad.

Given the events, which appear to be following the same destabilization script used against other progressive governments in the region, the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Cuba expresses its firm, unconditional solidarity and support to the sister people of Ecuador, to the government of the Citizens’ Revolution, and its leader, compañero Rafael Correa Delgado. At the same time, we insist on respect for Ecuador’s legal order, and energetically reject any interference in the country’s internal affairs, in accordance with the principles established in the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.

Havana, June 15, 2015

Year 57 de la Revolution