Staff (2021-12-30). Venezuela Mourns Death of US Activist Chuck Kaufman. orinocotribune.com This Wednesday, December 29, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Félix Plasencia, mourned the death of US activist and organizer Chuck Kaufman, who consistently supported social movements in Latin American countries. Kaufman's involvement in solidarity actions spanned several decades, first focused on Central America and Nicaragua, and later expanded to include activism for Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras, and many other Latin American countries. | "We express our deepest sadness at the tragic passing of Chuck Kaufman," wrote Plasencia through his Twitter account, "a US activist, defender of…

Editor (2021-12-30). Cuba eyes cooperation with China on clean energy. mronline.org Facing the challenges of an aging energy infrastructure, Cuba is looking to new energy sources with help from the Belt and Road Initiative to strengthen its power production capacity and move away from fossil fuels.

teleSUR (2021-12-30). Cuba Remembers Revolutionary Heroine Haydee Santamaria. telesurenglish.net On Dec. 30, Cubans celebrate the birthday of Haydee Santamaria, a woman whose life was marked by episodes of intense revolutionary struggle. Among them is her participation in the assault on the Moncada Barracks, a milestone in the revolutionary war. | RELATED: | Santamaria was born in 1922 in Las Villas province, where she got involved with social causes from her early youth. Besides being editor of the undergrou…

Staff (2021-12-30). Venezuela's National Assembly Passed Almost 40 New Laws in 2021. orinocotribune.com A total of 38 laws were passed by the National Assembly (AN) of Venezuela since its installation on January 5. At all times, the national parliament acted in compliance with the 7+7 scheme and all biosafety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. | Since its passing of the Interior and Debate Regulations at the beginning of the year, the Legislative Power has gone on to pass numerous laws leading up to the draft law on the Commission for the Guarantee of Justice and Reparation of Victims of Crimes Against Human Rights, passed on December 15. | The laws passed were: | 1) Interior and Debate Regulations of the…

teleSUR (2021-12-30). Venezuelan Congress To Debate Reform To Supreme Court. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, Venezuela's National Assembly will debate a bill to reform the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ). | RELATED: | "In recent days, the TSJ President Maikel Moreno sent to the Commission for Dialogue and National Reconciliation a proposal for the reform of the Supreme Court law," National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said. | During the discussion of this proposal, the Venezuelan lawmakers will evalu…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-29). Mexico Authorizes Emergency Use of Cuba's Abdala Vaccine. libya360.wordpress.com Kawsachun News Cuba's Abdala vaccine has been granted emergency use authorization by Mexico, which joins Nicaragua, Venezuela, Iran, Vietnam and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in authorizing the use of Cuban-developed vaccines, produced by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. The Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) reports that "specialized personnel…

teleSUR (2021-12-29). Mexico Authorizes Use of Cuban Vaccine Abdala Against COVID-19. telesurenglish.net The Cofepris "ruled that the authorization for emergency use of the Abdala vaccine, with the distinctive denomination: recombinant protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus receptor binding domain," the agency stated in a communiqué published on its web page. | RELATED: | It also states that the authorizations issued by this commission "are part of the National Health Regulation Strategy that allows reviewing and providing access…

Staff (2021-12-29). Venezuela Booster Shot Campaign Begins Next Week. orinocotribune.com Venezuelan Minister for Health Carlos Alvarado provided details about the National Plan for COVID-19 booster vaccination schedule starting next week, on Monday January 3. He reported that "more than 18 million vaccines are guaranteed." Likewise, he specified that as of the second quarter of the year Venezuela will be producing the Abdala vaccine domestically, via an agreement with Cuba, which "guarantees the booster vaccine in Venezuela for the year 2022." | The statements were issued during a briefing on the vaccination plan and the fight against COVID-19, led by President Nicolás Maduro and broadcast by public…

Editor (2021-12-29). Cuba seeks more equality and inclusion with the new Code of Families. mronline.org Roxanne Castellano, professor at the Psychology Faculty of the University of Havana, explained that this is a Code based on paradigms of non-discrimination that creates spaces for all, seeks solutions to conflicts, and is consistent with the conception of our socialist state of law and social justice.

Staff (2021-12-29). Poet Martín Espada on "Floaters," the Dehumanization of Refugees, Puerto Rico & His Father. democracynow.org Acclaimed poet Martín Espada recently won the National Book Award for Poetry for his anthology "Floaters." He became just the third Latinx poet to win the award. "Floaters" is titled after the photo of the Salvadoran father and daughter who drowned in the Rio Grande in June 2019 trying to cross into the United States, one that sparked outrage at the humanitarian crisis at the U.S. southern border. Espada discusses U.S. immigration policy and reads the poem "Letter to My Father: October 2017," which looks back at his father's native Puerto Rico.

Staff (2021-12-29). Venezuela's Science and Technology Minister Jiménez: 'Vaccine Geopolitics Has Endangered Life'. orinocotribune.com Venezuelan Minister for Science and Technology, Gabriela Jiménez, stated that "if equity in the vaccination process was real, we would have a greater distribution of vaccines amongst the poorest and hence the most vulnerable nations. Vaccine geopolitics has endangered life, and this must not happen. In January we will start vaccinating with boosters to protect our people [from COVID-19]." | The minister made this comment at a COVID-19 vaccination report session led by President Nicolás Maduro. "The virus will continue its evolutionary and mutational course," Jiménez stated during the meeting. "However, there will…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-29). Lima Cartel is Over: Peru Receives President Maduro's Ambassador. libya360.wordpress.com Kawsachun News The so-called Lima Group has been officially buried and Peru has normalized relations with Venezuela. Peru's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oscar Maúrtua de Romaña, received the credentials of Alexander Yánez Deleuze, which accredit him as the new Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Peru. El Ministro de Relaciones…

Eva Barlett (2021-12-29). Your $1.7 Billion of Gold is Now Ours, UK Tells Starving Venezuelans. orinocotribune.com By Eva Bartlett — Dec 26, 2021 | In its prolonged freezing of Venezuelan assets, the UK continues to withhold 31 tons of Venezuelan gold stored at the Bank of England, with a new Supreme Court ruling supporting the seizure. | The recent decision, CNN

teleSUR (2021-12-29). Colombian Constitutional Court Condemns Expulsion of Migrants. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, the Plenary Chamber of the Constitutional Court of Colombia concluded that due process was not observed during the expulsion of 59 Venezuelan migrants that took place amid the 2019 national strike. | RELATED: | The sentence will be published in January 2022. In the press release, however, the Court indicates that the Colombian police arbitrarily deprived the migrants of their liberty. Subsequently,…

_____ (2021-12-29). Chuck Kaufman: A Pillar Of Solidarity. popularresistance.org Chuck Kaufman, presente! A great comrade and friend to the peoples and just causes of Latin America and the Caribbean has passed on the torch. Chuck Kaufman died on Tuesday, December 28th, and is being remembered for the tremendous impact he made during his decades of anti-imperialist work, organizing to change US-Latin American foreign policy. | Chuck was known for his leadership among North American solidarity organizing with Latin American grassroots movements. It all began when he joined the staff of the Nicaragua Network in 1987, which in 1998 became the Alliance for Global Justice, for which he served as Na…

Staff (2021-12-29). Venezuela Booster Shot Campaign Begins Next Week. orinocotribune.com Venezuelan Minister for Health Carlos Alvarado provided details about the National Plan for COVID-19 booster vaccination schedule starting next week, on Monday January 3. He reported that "more than 18 million vaccines are guaranteed." Likewise, he specified that as of the second quarter of the year Venezuela will be producing the Abdala vaccine domestically, via an agreement with Cuba, which "guarantees the booster vaccine in Venezuela for the year 2022." | The statements were issued during a briefing on the vaccination plan and the fight against COVID-19, led by President Nicolás Maduro and broadcast by public…

Staff (2021-12-29). Poet Martín Espada on "Floaters," the Dehumanization of Refugees, Puerto Rico & His Father. democracynow.org Acclaimed poet Martín Espada recently won the National Book Award for Poetry for his anthology "Floaters." He became just the third Latinx poet to win the award. "Floaters" is titled after the photo of the Salvadoran father and daughter who drowned in the Rio Grande in June 2019 trying to cross into the United States, one that sparked outrage at the humanitarian crisis at the U.S. southern border. Espada discusses U.S. immigration policy and reads the poem "Letter to My Father: October 2017," which looks back at his father's native Puerto Rico.

teleSUR (2021-12-28). Saint Vincent & The Grenadines To Use Cuba's Abdala Vaccine. telesurenglish.net On Monday, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG) became the first country in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to authorize the use of Abdala, a COVID-19 vaccine made in Cuba. | RELATED: | Previously, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves announced that Cuba had donated 300 Abdala doses to his country, which would be used immediately on teachers and other workers who are on the front lines of the fight against the pandemic. | "God and the Cuba…

teleSUR (2021-12-28). Haitians Witness a Bloody Attack on Two Minibuses. telesurenglish.net On Monday, Haitian gangs fired at two minibuses, leaving at least five people dead and four citizens injured in Port-au-Prince. | RELATED: | The attack occurred in Martissant, an area from which some 20,000 people were displaced due to clashes between urban gangs. So far the causes of the attack are unknown. | "The minibuses were in Gran Sur and preparing to return to Port-au-Prince. The thugs demanded the drivers to sto…

Editor2 (2021-12-28). Maduro to Al Mayadeen: We Will Not Abandon Palestine. orinocotribune.com Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro says, in an interview for Al Mayadeen, that the Venezuelan people resisted fierce attacks launched by US imperialism and its allies, and discusses relations with some countries, including Iran and Syria. | In an exclusive interview with Al Mayadeen, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro noted that 2021 was the first year in which Venezuela registered economic growth since "the beginning of the criminal imperialist US sanctions," adding that this growth was the result of Venezuela's economy which produces food, goods, products, and services. The country has witnessed growth in i…

José Manuel Blanco Diaz (2021-12-28). María Corina Machado Speaks Out Against 'Interim Government'. orinocotribune.com Faced with the announcement of former deputy Juan Guaidó's clan and the fake National Assembly that Washington uses to provide some legitimacy to its actions, the Vente Venezuela party, led by María Corina Machado, rejected the recent steps to renew the "interim government" and announced that it will not support them in this new stage. | It should be remembered that next January 5 is the date that the US-led extreme opposition politicians consider as the deadline for the renewal of the pseudo-parliament that supports Guaidó, following the directions of the US government —despite countless corruption scandal…

José Manuel Blanco Diaz (2021-12-28). Screwed? Guaidó Extends 'Interim Government' into 2022. orinocotribune.com As 2021 comes to an end, the so-called interim government of Venezuela, appointed by former deputy Juan Guaidó two years ago, also reaches a crossroads. The puppet government, a legal mechanism created by the far-right to destabilize the constitutional government of President Nicolás Maduro and divert funds to Guaidó and his entourage, is continuing to unravel. | In this regard, the pseudo-parliament, which still includes former deputies to Venezuela's National Assembly who had been in office during the 2015-2020 legislative period, has undertaken a new maneuver that, according to them, will enable them to procla…

teleSUR (2021-12-28). This Is How Venezuela Celebrates the 'Holy Innocents Day'. telesurenglish.net On Dec. 28, Latin American peoples commemorate the "Holy Innocents Day," which recalls that baby Jesus escaped the massacre of children ordered by Herod I, the King of Judea. | RELATED: | Venezuelans celebrate these holidays by making jokes amid artistic expressions that melt symbols from various cultures. | In Sanare town, in the state of Lara, people say prayers and dance "Las Zaragozas," while musical groups play songs in Tamunangue rythm. In t…

teleSUR (2021-12-28). US-Backed Opposition Continues to Loot Venezuelan Assets. telesurenglish.net On Monday, Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister Felix Plasencia accused the US-backed opposition of continuing with the looting of resources belonging to the Bolivarian people. | RELATED: | "Unscrupulous politicians, who are divorced from national interests, intend to continue with the shameless plundering of the resources of all Venezuelans. Justice will be imposed sooner rather than later and they will have to render accounts before our people," h…

teleSUR (2021-12-28). Venezuela Aims To Be Free of Colombian Irregular Groups by 2022. telesurenglish.net "I set a big goal, but I know that you (the Armed Forces) will make it possible, 2022 must be the year in which Venezuela achieves a territory 100 percent free (…) of Colombian Armed Drug Trafficking Terrorists (Tancol)", said the President in statements to the state channel Venezolana de Televisión. | RELATED: | During the end of the year ceremony of the military forces, the President said that during 2021 the Venezuelan m…

teleSUR (2021-12-28). PM Mia Mottley Calls Snap Elections in Barbados. telesurenglish.net On Monday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley called for early elections for next January 19, in what will be the first elections of Barbados as a republic after cutting ties with the British monarchy. | RELATED: | In a speech given to the nation, Mottley shared that she had met earlier in the day with President Sandra Mason and had advised that Parliament be dissolved with immediate effect. The Prime Minister added that Mason had also been advised to issue writs for t…