2020-06-24: News Headlines

W. T. Whitney Jr. (2020-06-24). U.S. must return political prisoner Simón Trinidad to Colombia. peoplesworld.org Murderous violence and oligarchy were at the center of Colombian political life during the 20th century. Colombians by the millions were marginalized, impoverished, and/or displaced from small land holdings. Violence and the failings of liberal democracy turned Simón Trinidad into a revolutionary. Few in the United States and Europe know about him. Colombia's allies in …

Leonardo Flores (2020-06-24). Bolton weaves a tall tale in his Venezuela chapter. peoplesdispatch.org Per Bolton, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro remains in power only because the Trump administration lacked the determination to keep the pressure on. He argues that sanctions were neither strict nor swiftly applied. Yet during Bolton's tenure, the Trump administration blocked Venezuela's ability to trade gold, froze the assets of state oil company PDVSA (including US based subsidiary Citgo Petroleum), sanctioned Venezuela's Central Bank, and imposed an economic embargo. All of this occurred between November 2018 and August 2019, during Bolton's tenure as Trump's National Security Advisor. | Four major sanction…

yenisafak (2020-06-24). US sanctions five Iranian ship captains for bringing oil to Venezuela. yenisafak.com Speaking to reporters, Pompeo also said the United States continues to support Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido. Washington, which seeks the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and most other Western governments have recognized Guaido as the legitimate leader of the OPEC nation.

Staff (2020-06-24). Headlines for June 24, 2020. democracynow.org Dr. Anthony Fauci Warns of "Disturbing Surge" of U.S. COVID-19 Cases, Trump on Claim He Tried to Slow Coronavirus Testing: "I Don't Kid", Latin America Tops 100,000 Coronavirus Deaths as Brazilian President Ordered to Wear Mask in Public, Kentucky Slashes Polling Places by 95%, Causing Election Day Chaos, Progressive Challenger Jamaal Bowman Poised to Upset 16-Term Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel, 3,000 Pack Indoor Trump Rally in Arizona as COVID-19 Cases Surge to Record High, Student-Led March in Oakland Calls for End to Police in Schools, Louisville Police Department Fires Officer Who Shot Breonna Taylor, Two New Y…

Alan Macleod (2020-06-24). A US Navy Destroyer Just Entered Venezuelan Waters. Is Trump Trying to Start a War? mintpressnews.com The USS Nitze is conducting what the US military is calling a "freedom of navigation operation… contesting an excessive maritime claim by Venezuela."

Lucas Koerner and Ricardo Vaz (2020-06-24). US Sanctions Iranian Ship Captains as Russia Hosts Venezuelan FM. venezuelanalysis.com Russian FM Sergei Lavrov reiterated his opposition to US aggression in Venezuela.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-24). Jessy Dayane: "Bolsonaro has never tried to hide his authoritarian project" peoplesdispatch.org The coup d'état in 2016 which overthrew Dilma Rouseff of the Workers' Party of Brazil, marked a new period in Brazil characterized by the attack on democracy. The illegal maneuvering to eliminate popular leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from the 2018 elections and effectively solidify the election of far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro was another step in this process. | Under the leadership of Bolsonaro, Brazilian state institutions and programs have been systematically dismantled, funding for public education and health has been cut, and tensions within Brazilian society have been heightened. | In this context, the…

Stansfield Smith (2020-06-24). The Wasp Network Highlights Our Lack of Freedom to Tell the Truth on the Cuban Five Case. dissidentvoice.org The film Wasp Network, based on the book The Last Soldiers of the Cold War, The Story of the Cuban Five by Fernando Morais, is a co-production between France, Spain, Belgium and Brazil. It was shown in Cuba last December, soon after it came out. You can now watch it on Netflix. It is not a …

Philip Giraldi (2020-06-23). Victoria Nuland Alert. Her Ambition is Confront Russia to Deter Putin. globalresearch.ca It is difficult to find anything good to say about Donald Trump, but the reality is that he has not started any new wars, though he has come dangerously close in the cases of Venezuela and Iran and there …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-23). Bolivia's de-facto president enacts law to hold general elections on September 6. peoplesdispatch.org The decision was celebrated by diverse sectors in Bolivia that have been mobilizing against de-facto government's handling of the health and economic emergencies intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-23). Jessy Dayane: "Bolsonaro makes people choose between hunger and dying of coronavirus" peoplesdispatch.org Brazilian social leader Jessy Dayane discusses how Bolsonaro's position on coronavirus has undermined efforts to contain the spread of the virus and has resulted in the unnecessary sacrificing of lives…

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida (2020-06-23). Mexican Government Punishes Companies and Citizens that Supplied Food to Venezuela. globalresearch.ca Mexico and US are two countries that have a curious political history, alternating in long periods of rivalry and Mexican subordination. In fact, Mexico was the first country to suffer the consequences of American expansionist ideology, both for its policy …

yenisafak (2020-06-23). Trials with Oxford COVID-19 vaccine start in Brazil. yenisafak.com Trials will count on 2,000 health workers volunteers in Sao Paulo and 1,000 people in Rio de Janeiro.Brazil's health regulator Anvisa approved human clinical trials for this potential vaccine, developed by Oxford and supported by AstraZeneca Plc, earlier in June. Brazil, where the disease is still rife, is the first country outside the United Kingdom to start testing the Oxford vaccine.Researchers expect to launch the vaccine by year-end.

RT (2020-06-22). Trump walks back Maduro olive branch after Biden challenges his commitment to Venezuelan regime change. rt.com US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed support for his administration's regime change policy in Venezuela, reversing course on negotiation after Democratic rival Joe Biden attacked his "admiration" for "dictator" Nicolas Maduro. | Trump would "only meet with Maduro to discuss one thing: a peaceful exit from power!" the president tweeted on Monday, walking back comments he made in an Axios interview, where he hinted he would "maybe think about" meeting with the Venezuelan leader. | "Unlike the radical left, I will ALWAYS stand against socialism and with the people of Venezuela," Trump added, proclaiming his o…

Joe Emersberger (2020-06-22). Don't forget that Human Rights Watch, not only OAS Chief Luis Almagro, helped a US-backed military coup in Bolivia. zcomm.org On November 10 of 2019, Bolivian President Evo Morales was overthrown and barely escaped the country alive. The military publicly "suggested" that he resign. The military and police also made it clear that they would not protect him from vigilantes who wanted to lynch him. His house was ransacked by opposition supporters the night he

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-06-22). Trump Slams Guaidó While Expressing Openness in Speaking with Maduro. globalresearch.ca In what potentially could be a radical change in Washington's policy towards Venezuela, U.S. president Donald Trump confessed that he has had doubts about his decision to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaidó as president of the South American country. Trump …

Javier Sierra (2020-06-22). La Vorágine en la Que Todos Vivimos. peoplesworld.org En su obra maestra, el autor colombiano José Eustasio Rivera narra la extrema explotación laboral y violencia en el Amazonas de Colombia durante el boom del caucho a principios del siglo 20. La tituló La Vorágine, el gran tumulto. Hoy vivimos en Estados Unidos una vorágine sin precedentes, en la confluencia de un movimiento popular …

Lucas Koerner (2020-06-22). Biden Bashes Trump's Willingness to Meet with Venezuela's Maduro. venezuelanalysis.com The White House insisted that Trump "has not lost confidence" in opposition leader Guaido.

sputniknews (2020-06-22). US Air Force Dispatches Surveillance Planes to Island Off Venezuela's Coast. sputniknews.com The US Air Force has dispatched two surveillance aircraft to a base just off the Venezuelan coast for what it calls "counter-narcotics operations." The move comes as Washington looks to enhance its "maximum pressure" against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Paul Dobson (2020-06-22). Guaido Lauds Takeover of Venezuela's Bolivia Embassy. venezuelanalysis.com Venezuela's self-declared "interim president" Juan Guaido is said to share a "beam of light" relationship with Bolivia's de facto president.

Kit O'Connell (2020-06-22). School of the Americas: Training Torturers & Secret Police for US-Backed Dictators Since 1946. globalresearch.ca This article was originally published in December 2015. | For the past 69 years, many of the most notorious U.S.-backed South American dictators, along with their secret police and torturers, have learned their dark arts from a secretive American training facility….

teleSUR (2020-06-21). Another Social Leader Killed in Colombia, Tally at 138 in 2020. telesurenglish.net Another social leader was murdered in Colombia in the southwestern department of Cauca, local media informed Sunday, marking the 138th in 2020 alone according to the Institute for Development and Peace. | RELATED: | Gracelito Micolta was a member in the community council of Alto Guapi. Local reports said he was traveling in canoe to participate in a city meeting when he was intercepted by alleged irregular military g…

_____ (2020-06-21). The Struggle For Justice Continues In Post-Coup Bolivia. popularresistance.org History is in the veins of La Paz, Bolivia, in the archives of the streets, the stains left by burning barricades, the bullet holes that scar government buildings. It marks the city itself. | Indigenous rebel Túpac Katari launched his 1781 siege against the Spanish from what is now the hilltop K'illi K'illi park. President Villarroel was hung from a lamp post by an angry crowd in the Plaza Murillo in 1946. Machine gun fire rained down in the San Pedro neighborhood during a coup in 1979. Protesters pulled train cars from the tracks and onto a highway during an uprising in 2003, blocking the military from entering…

teleSUR (2020-06-21). Trump Having 2nd Thoughts on Guaido, Would Meet Maduro: Axios. telesurenglish.net United States President Donald Trump would consider meeting his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro after losing faith in Washington-backed Juan Guaido, an exclusive interview from Axios revealed Sunday. | RELATED: | Asked whether he would meet with Maduro, Trump said that he "would maybe think about that. … Maduro would like to meet. And I'm never opposed to meetings — you know, rarely opposed to meeting…

teleSUR (2020-06-21). Bolivia De-Facto Gov't Enacts Law, Elections Sept. 6. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's de facto President Jeanine Añez announced that she will enact the Elections Law, to be held on Sept. 6 without further delay, after being accused for several weeks of using the coronavirus pandemic as a pretext to grab power. | RELATED: | "I am going to enact the law," Añez said Sunday in a televised message to the country. | The announcement came hours after a meeting she held with the president of B…

teleSUR (2020-06-21). Bolivia: Hospitals Close Due to Staff Exposure With COVID-19. telesurenglish.net At least two hospitals in Bolivia closed Saturday as staff members had exposure with COVID-19 positive cases without proper protective gear and safety protocols. | RELATED: | "We closed the Viedma hospital because 90 people had contact with patients (who tested positive to the infections disease)," the Hospital Director Juan Jose Mendoza, told local media. | Viedma was designated to attend coronavirus cases but…

teleSUR (2020-06-21). Displaced Indigenous Community Maintains Camp in Bogota. telesurenglish.net At least 370 people from the Embera community, displaced from their places of origin due to violence in their territories, have been maintaining a camp in a park in Bogotá, Colombia for two weeks. | RELATED: | In the Third Millennium Park, located a few blocks from the Casa de Nariño, headquarters of the government, the indigenous people improvised camps with sticks and plastic, according to reports in the local press.

Ricardo Vaz (2020-06-20). Venezuelan oil output continues decline as refinery resumes operations. mronline.org Venezuelan crude exports on track for 70 year low as Washington continues to target tankers and shipping companies.

teleSUR (2020-06-20). Bolivia Reaches New Infection Record as Health System Collapses. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's Health Ministry reported 977 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total number of infections to 22,476 in a country whose death toll has reached 715 so far. | RELATED: | The situation is especially worrying in Santa Cruz, the most populated region of Bolivia with just over three million inhabitants, which concentrates the majority of cases (13,539) and the highest number of deaths (319). | The epidemiologic…