Immigrants from Latin America come here as a direct result of US coups, invasions, and economic warfare against their countries. Colombians came because the US armed death squad governments. So did Salvadorans and Guatemalans in the 1980s. Haitians come because the US repeatedly overthrows democratic governments and puts in US puppets. Chileans and Argentinians fled after US-backed brutal military coups in the 1970s. Mexicans came in the 1990s because the NAFTA trade agreement caused millions to lose their livelihood.
Today Cubans and Venezuelans come because US economic blockades wrecked their economies and killed thousands of civilians. The official US policy was “to bring about hunger, desperation and the overthrow of the government.”
Yet, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua are the “enemies of humanity.” In contrast to the US, these countries provide their people with free healthcare and education from preschool through university, and build housing and sanitation. And they invade no one.
The US blockade on Venezuela led to the deaths of over 100,000 Venezuelans by 2021. The US government cooked up its own president of Venezuela in 2019, put a $25 million bounty on democratically elected President Maduro, stole CITGO; froze US$30 billion of its funds overseas, blocked Venezuela from selling its oil, and attempted to overthrow the government several times. As a result, Venezuelan Gross Domestic Product shrank to less than one quarter its 2012 size. Back then only 3% of the population was malnourished. After years of the US blockade, by 2019 it had risen to 32%.
The blockade of Cuba has become so destructive that one in ten Cubans has left the country in the last three years. The blockade makes Cuba lose $13 million a day, $555,000 every hour. The cost of eight hours of blockade is equivalent to the cost of toys and teaching aids needed in all day-care centers of the country. The cost of 25 days of blockade would meet Cuba’s needs for medicines for one year. The cost of 5 months of blockade would meet the nation’s essential food needs for one year.
The US tried to crush Sandinista Nicaragua in the 1980s. Over 100,000 were killed fighting the US-installed Somoza regime and the US-backed contra terrorists. In 2018 the US tried to overthrow the Sandinistas again. Another 100,000 fled to escape the violence and economic damage. The US now blocks development aid from the IMF, World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
Constant US bullying in Latin America continue under both Democratic and Republican administrations. President Biden deported more immigrants than Trump ever did. The NY Times January 22 reported Biden deported four million, while Trump deported 1.9 million in his first term.
This immigration will continue until we make the US government stop what causes people to flee their countries: overthrowing their governments and waging economic warfare on these peoples. The US government has an obligation to support these immigrants who were forced to flee. And compensate these countries for the damage it has done.
Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement 
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