Venezuela & ALBA News 6.2.2023: South America Advances Towards New Stage of Unity in Diversity

Venezuela & ALBA News 6.2.2023: South America Advances Towards New Stage of Unity in Diversity

Venezuela
Peoples Dispatch: Nicolás Maduro makes historic trip to Brazil for South American Presidents’ Summit  President Lula said, “I confronted fellow European social democrats, governments, and U.S. authorities for accepting that Juan Guaido was ‘Interim President’ of Venezuela. Maduro was elected by the people and to say otherwise is absurd. That’s how people who defend democracy think…“This is a historic moment. After eight years, President Nicolás Maduro is back to visiting Brazil and we have recovered our right to have a foreign policy with the seriousness we have always had, especially with the countries that border Brazil.” 

Summary of President Maduro’s Speech at Meeting of Presidents of the Countries of South America in Brazil He stressed that this meeting constitutes an extraordinary opportunity for reunion. “I have breathed a renewed spirit of integration and I believe that it is the impulse that we must give to our paths.” On UNASUR ( Union of South American Nations)he said, “A valid architecture was built that has strength, it had strength until the time came when all that stopped and we have had a setback, without a doubt, there has been a setback.” He added that the Brics seem to become the magnet for the most powerful emerging group aiming for a change in world geopolitics. Maduro’s speech in Spanish only.

Ultima Noticias: China and Russia welcome Venezuela’s interest in joining the Brics Both China and Russia welcomed Venezuela’s expression of interest in joining the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). President Lula Da Silva  also did. The Brics currently represent more than 20% of the global gross domestic product and 42% of the world population.

Orinoco Tribune: Washington Authorizes Four Oil Corporations to Pay Taxes in Venezuela The US Department of Treasury authorized these corporations operating in Venezuela to pay taxes to the Venezuelan government, an order which is in contrast to the declarations of the US of not paying the government of President Nicolás Maduro or giving resources to it.

Cuba
Hamptonthink.org: Biden Calls Cuba “Terrorist”  while the People demand an end to US Terrorism against Cuba While Biden doubles down on Cuba’s designation as a so-called “State Sponsor of Terrorism,” the US people are calling for an end to US terrorism and sanctions against Cuba. The Biden administration officially designates Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” – and Iran, Syria, and North Korea. Designating Cuba as “terrorist” exacerbates the already devastating impacts of the American blockade, which has stolen an estimated $144.4 billion from the Cuban economy from the early 1960s to 2020, according to the UN. On June 25th, we rally at the White House to demand Biden take Cuba off the list, lift all US sanctions, and end US terrorism against Cuba. 

Washington Post: Next pandemic, let Cuba vaccinate the world Op Ed piece: More than three years on, it’s obvious that the world reacted poorly to the onset of the coronavirus, that lives were unnecessarily lost. But there is time now to prepare for the next pandemic, to set a course toward a more equitable distribution of medical technologies. The United States’ age-old embargo is hurting not just Cuba. It’s hurting the world.