2020-04-30: News Headlines

Adriaan Alsema (2020-04-30). How to turn Colombia's prisons into coronavirus death camps and stay positive. colombiareports.com It took months of inaction, but Colombia's government finally turned Villavicencio's prison into the perfect coronavirus petri dish from where its prison chief infected at least three more prisons. The…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-04-30). ELN ends coronavirus ceasefire weeks ahead of expected peak in infections. colombiareports.com Despite calls for an extension, Colombia's ELN rebels end their unilateral ceasefire on Thursday, claiming that military offensives demonstrated President Ivan Duque is not interested in peace or in combating…

Oliver Vargas (2020-04-30). Bolivia's socialist presidential candidate Luis Arce speaks about elections, COVID-19 and fascist oppression. peoplesdispatch.org The presidential candidate of the Movement for Socialism in Bolivia, Luis Arce Catacora, talks about COVID-19 being used as a pretext to postpone elections, the economic policies of the coup government, and the approach his party plans to take…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-04-30). Duque's approval rating surges to 52%, opponents see support skyrocket. colombiareports.com The approval rating of Colombia's President Ivan Duque surged to a record 52% in April after reaching an all-time low of 23% in February, according to pollster Invamer / Gallup….

en.mehrnews (2020-04-30). BRICS ministers demand removal of US sanctions amid outbreak. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 30 (MNA) — Foreign ministers of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) have called for the cancellation of the US sanctions that have hampered some countries' efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Newsclick (2020-04-29). Roger Waters: We need to save this fragile planet. peoplesdispatch.org Vijay Prashad speaks to Roger Waters on issues ranging from the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the protests in Chile to the coup against Evo Morales Ayma in Bolivia and the struggle to liberate Palestine.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-04-29). Chilean police repress a peaceful protest in Santiago, detain 30. peoplesdispatch.org On April 27, the Chilean national police force, the Carabineros, violently repressed a peaceful protest at the Dignity Plaza in the capital Santiago. The protest was called for by several social organizations against the Carabineros on their 93rd anniversary and against the right-wing government led by President Sebastián Piñera. | Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, dozens of Chileans, wearing face masks and maintaining social distance, gathered at the iconic Dignity Plaza, to express their rejection of the Carabineros, on their 93rd anniversary. The protesters expressed their repudiation of the police force by banging…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-04-29). 'Coronavirus used as excuse to roll back Colombia's peace process and democracy'. colombiareports.com President Ivan Duque and his far-right party are using the coronavirus to cover up "assaults" on Colombia's peace process while promoting authoritarianism, the country's peace movement told the United Nations…

George Stone (2020-04-29). U.S. weaponizes COVID-19 crisis in bid to destabilize Venezuela. peoplesworld.org Venezuelans have been victim to intense U.S. interventionism since Hugo Chávez took power in 1999 and formally launched his "Bolivarian Revolution." They have shown no intention to relent in recent years and have arguably ramped up the pressure since Nicolás Maduro took over as president in 2013. In the midst of a global pandemic, the …

RT (2020-04-29). Big Ag break-up? Senators target America's meat monopolies, as virus threatens shortages. rt.com Two US senators have asked the Federal Trade Commission to launch an antitrust probe into the US meatpacking industry. As these firms struggle to maintain supply chains, calls are growing for a return to small-scale farming. | In the last couple of decades, the American meatpacking industry went through a rapid consolidation. Four companies now handle 85 percent of all beef production in the US, and three of these firms control 63 percent of the country's pork production. The companies — Tyson Foods, Cargill, the Brazilian-owned JBS S.A., and the Chinese-owned Smithfield — have been criticized extens…

graham (2020-04-29). Bailout? Tax experts publish 5-step test for Covid19 business bailouts. truepublica.org.uk By Mark Bou Mansour: Following bans from Denmark, Poland and Argentina on companies registered in tax havens from receiving Covid19 bailouts, the Tax Justice Network has published a "bail or bailout" test to clarify uncertainty on how governments can determine which companies are discreetly using tax havens to pay less tax. The test is designed …

teleSUR (2020-04-29). Bolivians in Chile May Return to Country After Quarantine. telesurenglish.net The governments of Chile and Bolivia agreed on Tuesday that Bolivian citizens who have been camping for days in the Chilean commune of Providencia will be able to return to their country after completing a 14-day quarantine. | RELATED: | Chilean Foreign Minister Teodoro Ribera Neumann announced the decision, taken during a meeting with Bolivian Foreign Minister Karen Longaric. | "Bolivia's borders were closed…

teleSUR (2020-04-29). Brazil Admits Country Is Getting Worse Due to COVID-19. telesurenglish.net With 5,017 people affected by COVID-19, the Brazilian government on Tuesday admitted that emergency situation is getting worse in the country due to the pandemic. | RELATED: | In the last 24 hours, 474 deaths were reported, the highest number recorded since the beginning of the epidemic. | The country's health authorities said the number of infections and deaths continues to grow. That reality must be treated as…

teleSUR (2020-04-29). Colombia: Over 70 Indigenous Families Displaced in Urrao. telesurenglish.net Colombian Antioquia Indigenous Organization (OIA) said on Thursday that their native communities suffered from forced displacement due to the armed groups present in their territory. | RELATED: | According to OIA representatives, over 70 indigenous families left their homes in the southeast municipality of Urrao. As communication states, another 1,000 families could also be in displacement risk in Perdidas Valley and Andabu…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-04-29). Colombia's southeast in crisis as coronavirus breaks out and promised medical aid is missing. colombiareports.com The government of Colombia's southeastern Amazonas province urged for help on Tuesday after a coronavirus outbreak almost instantly collapsed its healthcare system. The National Health Institute (INS) reported that the…

teleSUR (2020-04-29). Ecuador's Amazon Indigenous Sue Gov't, Oil Firms Over Spill. telesurenglish.net Indigenous people in Ecuador's Amazon launched a lawsuit against Ecuador's government as well as private and State oil companies over their responsibility in the country's biggest oil spill in more than ten years, NGO RELATED: | The legal action was filed in the provincial Court of El Coca, in the northeastern region of Sucumb…

teleSUR (2020-04-29). Peru: Authorities Report Increase in Femincides Amid Quarantine. telesurenglish.net Peru's Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP) announced that seven feminicides occurred during the COVID-19 quarantine and social isolation.. | RELATED: | According to Gloria Montenegro, head of the aforementioned ministry, following the announcement of the state quarantine declaration on March 16, the total number of domestic violence cases significantly increased. | The National Institute of Statistics and Information Techn…

teleSUR (2020-04-29). Uruguay: Broad Front Submits Motion Against Right-Wing Law. telesurenglish.net The Uruguayan Broad Front party presented on April 28, a motion for the senate's consideration to invalidate a government bill. | RELATED: | The "urgent consideration law", a government denominated the bill, is the third modification of a prior law project. It proposes Civil Code modification, strike right regulation, wage payments in cash among others adjustments. As Broad Front representatives stressed, none of these measures…

Federico Fuentes (2020-04-28). COVID-19 crisis: Bolivia's movement towards socialism says #PutLivesFirst. mronline.org Given the exponentially rising death toll from COVID-19 and the devastating social and economic effects of brutal lockdowns, what could a humane and progressive response to the global pandemic look like?>

teleSUR (2020-04-28). Brazil: Workers' Party Files Lawsuit Against Bolsonaro and Moro. telesurenglish.net The Workers' Party (PT) of Brazil filed a lawsuit against President Jair Bolsonaro and former Justice Minister Sergio Moro at the Supreme Federal Court (STF) on suspicions of prevarication, extortion and corruption. | RELATED: | According to the PT, those crimes were unveiled in the war of accusations between them on Friday, when Moro resigned to his post and Bolsonaro refuted his confessions. | Moro left his post after the presid…

teleSUR (2020-04-28). Chaos and Fear in Latin America's Prisons as COVID-19 Spreads. telesurenglish.net As the coronavirus pandemic is starting to spread across Latin America's massively overcrowded prisons, putting the lives of tens of thousands at risk, riots have been reported in almost all the region's countries as inmates say their fundamental rights to safety and protection are being violated. | RELATED: | A riot was reported Monday in the Castro Castro prison in Peru's capital, Lima, resulting in a fire and the d…

Fight Back (2020-04-28). Venezuela: Solidarity vs. COVID-19 (and Capital). fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – These are hard days for people the world over. The COVID-19 virus has forced billions of people to stay at home, bringing the global economy to a near standstill. At the moment of writing, nearly 3 million people have been confirmed to have COVID-19 across the world, and over 200,000 people have died. | It is in a crisis like this that society is tested, that the strength of human organization must prove itself. And if there is one thing that every American can see, it is that our society has failed this test. "American exceptionalism" means that our economy and our way of life is superior, that it…

teleSUR (2020-04-28). Venezuela Leads Region in COVID-19 Tests Per Million People. telesurenglish.net Venezuela has become the country with most screening tests for COVID-19 per million inhabitants in Latin America and the Caribbean, Minister of Communication and Information Jorge Rodriguez announced Tuesday. | RELATED: | "Venezuela is the country in Latin America and the Caribbean that has carried out the most tests per million inhabitants. Today we are above 15,500 tests per million inhabitants," Rodriguez said duri…

Venezuelanalysis (2020-04-27). Venezuela Rolls out Cabinet Change, Economic Measures to Combat Inflation. venezuelanalysis.com Measures include a 60 percent wage increase and a push to bring food prices under control.

Pablo Cox, Rodrigo Riveros, Camila Leiva, Yuri Carvajal, Pablo Fuentes, Jaime Recasens, Alvaro Covarrubias, Francisco Torres, Daniel Ramírez, Marcelo Verdugo, Pablo Muñoz (2020-04-25). [Correspondence] Bodily distribution of projectile injuries in Chilean protests. thelancet.com On Oct 14, 2019, a series of protests began in Chile after the Ministry of Transport introduced a fare increase for riding in the Metropolitan Public Transport Network, which led to an escalation of confrontations between local police, military forces, and protestors, in turn leading to a record number of patients with projectile-related injuries and severe ocular trauma.

Francisca Crispi, Avi Cherla, Ennio A Vivaldi, Elias Mossialos (2020-04-25). [Correspondence] Rebuilding the broken health contract in Chile. thelancet.com Many Chileans think that their country has lost its way. Massive protests highlight the need for a political reform to prioritise universal health care. The uncritical worship of the most extreme version of the free market by the Pinochet dictatorship led to the dismantling of the social contract and privatisation of the social security system. A system of personal retirement accounts was mandatory for new workers whereas the current workforce could opt out from the existing government-managed schemes.

Lucas Koerner (2020-04-23). Venezuela: Guaido to Use Funds Frozen in US to Pay Loyalists $5000 Monthly Salaries. venezuelanalysis.com Pro-Guaido lawmakers and diplomats will take nearly a third of an $80 million "Liberation Fund."

Staff (2020-04-22). Chileans Who Took to Streets Against Inequality & Climate Crisis Say Virus Lockdowns Won't Stop Them. democracynow.org Months ago, the streets of Santiago and other Chilean cities were alive with a vibrant mass protest movement that drew hundreds of thousands and even led the U.N. climate summit to be relocated to Madrid, Spain, last December. Now the public spaces of Santiago are largely empty as citizens shelter in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But the protest movement against austerity and right-wing President Sebastián Piñera lives on as activists find new ways to organize online. We go to Santiago, Chile, to speak with Angela Valenzuela, a 350.org organizer who has been active both in the country's uprising and in…

Lucas Koerner and Ricardo Vaz (2020-04-22). Trump Administration Orders Chevron to Shutter Venezuela Operations. venezuelanalysis.com The latest measures followed reports of fresh dialogue between the government and the opposition.

Susan Price (2020-04-28). Venezuela: Bolivarian Revolution stopping COVID-19 in its tracks. greenleft.org.au

Ben Norton (2020-04-20). Human Rights Watch cabildea por sanciones letales contra Nicaragua y Venezuela, mientras arrecia la crisis de Covid-19. thegrayzone.com Human Rights Watch está orgullosamente asumiendo el crédito por sanciones devastadoras contra Nicaragua, mientras busca escalar la guerra económica en…

Paul Dobson (2020-04-20). US 'Plunders' $342m of Venezuelan Funds as COVID-19 Hotspot Breaks Out at Baseball Academy. venezuelanalysis.com The money has been transferred from a Venezuelan Central Bank account at Citibank to an account at the US Federal Reserve.

Ben Norton (2020-04-16). Bolivian coup leader freaks out on The Grayzone for 'fascist' label in complaint to OAS 'human rights' arm. thegrayzone.com The director of far-right Bolivian coup leader Camacho's presidential campaign threw a slander-laced tantrum against The Grayzone in a letter…

Ricardo Vaz (2020-04-16). Venezuelan Crude Production Falls amid Coronavirus Crisis. venezuelanalysis.com The Caribbean country has seen worsening gasoline shortages as the US ramps up secondary sanctions.

Whitney Webb (2020-04-14). Driven By The Dramatic Collapse Of US Shale, The Trump Administration Takes Aim At Venezuela. thelastamericanvagabond.com President Trump has claimed that the U.S. no longer needs foreign oil and is "energy independent." Yet, now the U.S. shale oil industry faces near total ruin, meaning that another "war for oil" could be in our future. With Trump again taking aim at Venezuela, we may be closer to war than we think. On …

Paul Dobson (2020-04-13). Venezuela Extends COVID-19 Quarantine as Pope Criticizes Sanctions. venezuelanalysis.com This is the first time the Pontiff has spoken out against the measures.

Irene Torres, Fernando Sacoto (2020-04-08). [Correspondence] Localising an asset-based COVID-19 response in Ecuador. thelancet.com With 10 ∑93 deaths per million people from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as of April 6, 2020, Ecuador has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 mortality in Latin America (figure; appendix).1 With only 7 ∑46 PCR tests per 10‚Äà000 people,1 the government is in critical need of a systematic mechanism to bolster self-reporting, contact tracing, and effective isolation of suspected cases. The Ministry of Health has focused on closing gaps in medical resources by increasing availability of personal protective equipment and hospital beds and attempting to remedy overburden of health-car…

Lucas Koerner (2020-04-08). European Left Slams EU Support for Trump's Venezuela 'Transition' Plan. venezuelanalysis.com The European Union took "positive note" of Washington's initiative.

Paul Dobson (2020-04-06). Venezuela Braces for Migrant Return as Coronavirus Rattles Latin America. venezuelanalysis.com The Caribbean country's 159 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 7 deaths is considerably lower than its neighbours' tallies.

Ricardo Vaz and Lucas Koerner (2020-04-02). US Sends Navy Ships to Caribbean in 'Anti-Drug' Mission Targeting Venezuela. venezuelanalysis.com Venezuela denounced an attack on one of its naval vessels in recent days.

Lucas Koerner (2020-03-31). Venezuela Blasts US 'Transition' Plan as 'Tutelage'. venezuelanalysis.com Washington has threatened to "increase" crippling sanctions until Caracas accepts the deal.

Paul Dobson (2020-03-30). Rosneft Dodges US Sanctions by Transferring Venezuela Operations to Russian State Firm. venezuelanalysis.com Moscow insists that its support for the Venezuelan government and role in its oil industry will remain unchanged.

Ricardo Vaz (2020-03-29). Former Venezuelan General Hands Himself over to US Authorities. venezuelanalysis.com Cliver Alcala had recently confessed to plotting a coup against the Venezuelan government.

Ricardo Vaz (2020-03-27). [UPDATED] Venezuela Registers First Coronavirus Deaths. venezuelanalysis.com There are 113 diagnosed cases as of Friday evening.

Lucas Koerner and Ricardo Vaz (2020-03-26). Venezuela Dismisses US Justice Department 'Narco-terrorism' Accusations. venezuelanalysis.com Cliver Alcala, also indicted, confessed to organizing a coup plot against the Maduro government.

Lucas Koerner and Ricardo Vaz (2020-03-25). UN, EU Urge Venezuela Sanctions Relief as Coronavirus Outbreak Intensifies. venezuelanalysis.com The South American nation has 91 reported COVID-19 cases so far.

Paul Dobson (2020-03-23). Venezuela Suspends Rent Payments, Protects Wages as Coronavirus Cases Rise to 77. venezuelanalysis.com The economic measures come as the country enters its seventh day of national lockdown.

Ashleigh R Tuite, Victoria Ng, Erin Rees, David Fisman (2020-03-19). [Correspondence] Estimation of COVID-19 outbreak size in Italy. thelancet.com Italy is currently experiencing an epidemic of COVID-19 which emerged in the Lombardy region.1 During the interval between Feb 25—29, 2020, we identified 46 cases of COVID-19 reported in 21 countries in Europe, Africa, North America, and South America that were either in individuals with recent travel from Italy, or who had presumed infection by a traveller from Italy.2 In six cases, in four of the affected countries (Switzerland, France, Austria, and Croatia), land travel was a likely route of introduction, or was documented to have been the route of introduction.

Ricardo Vaz (2020-03-18). IMF Rejects Venezuela Emergency Fund Appeal. venezuelanalysis.com The Maduro government asked for a $5 billion loan to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

Paul Dobson (2020-03-17). [UPDATED] Venezuela Imposes Nationwide Lockdown to Combat Coronavirus. venezuelanalysis.com The rising number of cases has forced a full quarantine across the country.