By Arnold August on December 25, 2015
On December 7, 2015, after the December 6 elections, the White House indicated in a press briefing:
“What is clear is that the people of Venezuela have expressed their overwhelming desire for a change in direction. And what is necessary is for all of the parties involved to engage in a dialogue about the future of that country mindful of the election results. (more…)
By Arnold August
Under sharp questioning by reporters at a daily press briefing on March 10, 2015 – one day after Barack Obama’s Executive Order against Venezuela – U.S. Department of State spokesperson Jen Psaki declared, “The goal of these sanctions is to persuade the Government of Venezuela to change their behavior.” (more…)
By Arnold August on November 12, 2015
Photo: Bill Hackwell
In an online interview with an alternative US-based website published on January 7, 2015, I was asked about my take on the seeming rapprochement between the United States and Cuba. With regard to the December 17, 2014 announcement, I responded: (more…)
September 25, 2015
Photo: Ramon Frontera
After three days of intense activities, people coming from cities across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada, returned to their respective homes with the commitment to continue to fight for the end of the criminal U.S. blockade against Cuba. Also among those attending were Cubans residing in the United States. (more…)
By Arnold August ON September 9, 2015
At the August 14, 2015 flag-raising ceremony in Havana, Secretary of State John Kerry stated “we remain convinced the people of Cuba would be best served by genuine democracy.” This US promotion of democracy for Cuba is explicitly or implicitly referring to freedom of the press, among other features. (more…)
By Resumen Latinoamericano North America Bureau
June 2014, Photo: Bill Hackwell
Last June, 2014, the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5 organized the third “5 Days for the Cuban 5” in Washington D.C. At that time it would have been hard for the committee, or the solidarity movement as a whole, to imagine that six months later Antonio, Ramón and Gerardo would be back in Cuba (more…)
By Arnold August on July 18, 2015
Embassies in Havana and Washington on July 20
The re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US and the opening of embassies in Havana and Washington, DC is a victory for Cuba. Negotiations between the two countries had been taking place secretly for 18 months before being made public on December 17, 2014. (more…)
Thousands gather to hear the historic sentencing for crimes against humanity outside the federal court in Cordoba, Argentina.
August 25, 2016
Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo
An Argentine court sentenced former General Luciano Benjamin Menendez to life in prison Thursday for crimes against humanity committed at secret Dirty War-era detention centers in the late 1970s, making a landmark step in the struggle for justice for human rights abuses during one of the darkest chapters in the South American country’s history. (more…)