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This article by Iván Sánchez originally appeared in the March 8, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Residents of Pajapan, who live around the Ostion Lagoon, are demanding prompt intervention from the authorities to resolve the hydrocarbon spill in the southern part of the state of Veracruz.

They pointed out that their way of life has been affected, as the tar has reached the lagoon where they fish for their personal consumption and for the sale of some products.

They stated that the authorities have promised to solve this problem, however so far there has been no real response to the problem.

One of those affected said they would give the authorities a chance to prove they are true to their word and that support for those affected would be forthcoming, but warned that if this did not happen, the residents could take other measures.

“If they don’t take responsibility, we’re going to have to resort to other measures to get them to listen to us, (…) if the government doesn’t do it willingly, it’s going to have to be by force,” the fisherman commented.

The oil spill has affected fishing for family consumption by the residents of Pajapan, Veracruz.

Veracruz Government Doesn’t Know the Origin of the Spill

For her part, the Governor of the State of Veracruz, Rocío Nahle García, said that although a week has passed since the first sighting of crude oil on the Veracruz coast, they still do not know its origin.

A few days ago, the governor asserted that Pemex has no responsibility for the pollution of the beaches in the south of the state; however, this Sunday she assured that the search for the origin of the spilled hydrocarbon continues.

He noted that Pemex and other companies are conducting analyses in their oil field exploration projects to see if the contamination originates from there.

He added that Pemex is already working with residents of some areas to begin the cleanup efforts, despite residents of various beaches accusing the state-owned company of not showing up at the affected sites.

“Pemex and companies that are in exploration are checking where the spill is coming from, (…) Pemex and the residents agreed to clean it up,” he said.

The post Veracruz: Oil Spill Victims Complain Of Insufficient Action by State Government appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.


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This article by Jared Laureles and Alexia Villaseñor originally appeared in the March 11, 2026 edition of La Jornada.

The Independent Union of Goodyear Mexico Workers (SITGM) has called a strike against the tire manufacturer for March 23, due to the company’s “intransigence” and refusal to continue negotiations for a 2026 wage increase.

Julio César Flores López, general secretary of the union that is part of the Mexican Workers’ Union League (LSOM), pointed out that 1,100 workers at the plant located in San Luis Potosí – which produces 15,000 tires daily – face a loss of purchasing power, due to years of salary increases below inflation.

Currently, while the general minimum wage has had a real increase of 116 percent in the last seven years, in contractual wages it has been only 15.2 percent in the same period, he indicated.

Therefore, he reiterated that the demand of the LSOM-Goodyear section is for a 15 percent salary increase for all categories of the pay scale; but the representatives of the American tire company initially offered only one percent, and later increased their offer to 4.7 percent.

This contrasts, he added, with the previous two years in which the Union League – administrator of the Collective Bargaining Agreement at Goodyear – had managed to negotiate this wage recovery, but now this dynamic is “broken”.

Flores López insisted that the salary scale must be reviewed, since there is a gap; for example, while an operator earns 630 pesos a day, a technician can earn up to 1,280 pesos.

The leader of SITGM pointed out that “the company unilaterally declared the negotiations concluded,” despite the commitment by the parties to continue the talks before the Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registration (CFCRL).

He reiterated that “there has been a situation of indifference” from the company’s representatives in Mexico and said that this situation has already been communicated to Mark Stewart, president of Goodyear, the third largest tire producer in the world.

“This protest aims to secure fair compensation, as salaries have not been updated since 2026; we made a proposal to the company, but they have not responded with a serious offer,” he emphasized.

Francisco Retama, political advisor to the LSOM, pointed out that the salary negotiation for the pay scale is part of a “unique agreement” signed by the company and the union, within the Collective Bargaining Agreement at Goodyear.

He mentioned that this Wednesday they will have a conciliation hearing at the CFCRL and tomorrow another one before the Federal Labor Court of Collective Affairs, in order to reach an agreement that avoids the strike scheduled for March 23 at 7:00 a.m.

The post San Luis Potosí Goodyear Workers Threatens Strike After Salary Increase Refusal appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.


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This article by Alejandro Calvillo originally appeared in the March 7, 2026 edition of Sin Embargo. The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect those ofMexico Solidarity Mediaor theMexico Solidarity Project*.*

The trophy was received at Felipe Ángeles International Airport by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, as if it were a cabinet minister. But in reality, the trophy was merely a pretext; what was actually being received was the mother of all advertising campaigns. The trophy, a small object just 35 centimeters tall, arrived in Mexico on a plane painted in Coca-Cola’s signature red, emblazoned with the brand’s logo in enormous letters. Government and company representatives, along with FIFA representatives and a former football player, posed next to the small trophy, with the large red plane bearing the soft drink company’s logo as a backdrop—perfectly positioned for the photo. The same logo was also displayed on the table where the trophy was placed and on the backdrop behind the smiling entourage. If you compare the size of the cup with that of the Coca-Cola advertisement, it is clear that the cup is the pretext for the advertising campaign, the mother of all advertising campaigns, in which the authorities of a Government that calls for a reduction in the consumption of the product that surrounds the Cup and the event are involved.

The association of the product’s brand with the World Cup is so strong that Coca-Cola must be present at every event where the Cup is featured, as was the case with the President’s morning press conference. The World Cup in Mexico is a legacy of an agreement between then-President Peña Nieto and FIFA, an agreement whose full extent regarding tax exemptions remains unclear. It should be noted that health officials from Peña Nieto’s own administration now work for Coca-Cola or represent Mexican football before FIFA and the World Cup.

The dystopia, in its global, planetary dimension, is such that it becomes clear that the most-watched sporting event on the planet is embroiled in the biggest advertising campaign for a product that is one of the main causes of the obesity and diabetes pandemic afflicting humanity. How can a product with such harmful effects sponsor this sporting event, and in this case, the one most followed by the world’s population? Dystopia is defined as an undesirable future society where political and/or technological powers act against humanity.

And this dystopia becomes dystopian horror when it comes to the case of Mexico, where, conservatively and based on a recently published scientific document, we estimate that the consumption of Coca-Cola and its soft drink brands is responsible for at least 115,000 new cases of diabetes and cardiovascular disease each year. This estimate of 115,000 new annual cases of these diseases in Mexico, solely due to the consumption of Coca-Cola and its other soft drink brands, is based on the assumption that half of the sugary drinks consumed in Mexico are from this company. Therefore, they would represent half of the cases of these diseases reported in the scientific article Burdens of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases attributable to sugar -sweetened beverages in 184 countries , published in the journal Nature Medicine in February 2025. In other words, if we consider the cases of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases accumulated in Mexico over the last four years, between the World Cup in Qatar and the one to be held in our country, we are talking about nearly half a million cases due to the consumption of products from this brand.

Mexico has the highest consumption of Coca-Cola products and one of the highest consumption rates of sugary drinks. It can also be estimated, by subtracting the health impacts of other brands of sugary drinks and homemade beverages, that approximately 20,000 people die each year in Mexico due to the consumption of Coca-Cola products.

The photograph of the World Cup’s arrival in Mexico is a stark illustration of the absurdity of the world we’ve reached thanks to the power of large corporations; of the crisis of our current civilization, of a society trapped in a power economy, a society manipulated by addictions. Associating the consumption of this beverage with sports, with youth, with joy and happiness is the result of multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns, but primarily, it stems from the impact of its sweet taste on the brain and the dopamine rush it generates—that release of the so-called pleasure hormone. This pleasure and addiction is amplified by the combination of the sweet taste with the caffeine also present in the drink.

By taking a closer look at the product’s characteristics, its composition, its impact on health, the addiction it generates, its advertising association with a series of emotions and values, and its capture of this sporting spectacle, we can get an idea of ​​the dimension of what we must now call the Cola Cup.


In June 2023, I recorded the video column The Coca- Cola Addiction: Why We Are Addicted to Coca-Cola. The response to that piece on SinEmbargo clearly demonstrated the extent of addiction to this product in our country, with over 600,000 views and more than 1,600 comments . I ​​invited the audience to comment on this addiction, and many of the testimonies were heartbreaking, describing the situation of friends and family members, and even my own, about the harm suffered from high consumption of this product, and how I couldn’t stop consuming it despite the serious situation I was in. The consumption of this product undoubtedly causes a human tragedy, the full extent of which is still not fully recognized.

Addiction can have two origins: physiological and psychological. The first is related to the activation of the reward mechanism, dopamine, and the second to the association that advertising creates with values, situations, and aspirations when consuming the product. Coca-Cola exhibits both of these aspects of addiction—physiological and psychological—which reinforce each other.

The Coca-Cola Cup, the mother of all advertising campaigns, will destroy efforts aimed at reducing consumption of these products through taxes, labeling , and regulations in schools. These are all very important efforts that must be reinforced and expanded; however, the Coca-Cola Cup will severely damage them due to the invasive advertising we already experience from this company, which will become significantly more intense . It’s important to remember that Coca-Cola’s business model is very different from many others, especially because of the enormous amount of resources it dedicates to advertising, to creating this psychological addiction intimately linked to the physiological one, this association with everything that the product itself is not: with values, with family, with happiness, with environmental care, with respect for communities, women, and so on.

Coca-Cola has found an excellent ally in FIFA, an organization mired in deep corruption that has turned sport into a big business, to the point of transforming the World Cup into a publicity stunt. It’s a marriage between a corporation that preys on health and the environment and a gangster-like “sporting” organization.

The current government has implemented important , albeit hesitant, policies to reduce the consumption of these products, as recommended by international organizations that recognize the damage they cause exceeds the capacity of governments to address it. We, as a society, bear the brunt of the damage while corporations reap the profits. Given the damage that the Cola Cup will leave behind, the government will have to strengthen its policies, stop hesitating, and take decisive action, following the best practices already in place in other countries.

Alejandro Calvillo is Director of El Poder del Consumidor and a sociologist, with degrees in philosophy from University of Barcelona, and in environment and sustainable development from El Colegio de México.

The post FIFA’s Cola Cup & Dystopian Horror appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.


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By Peiman Salehi  –  Mar 9, 2026

Wars involving large and diverse states often produce a familiar assumption among outside observers: sustained military pressure will eventually expose internal fractures. Since the launch of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, similar expectations have circulated across policy commentary and media analysis.

Many analysts predicted the war might activate Iran’s ethnic fault lines, particularly in the western provinces where Kurdish communities live near the Iraqi border and where several armed Kurdish opposition groups operate.

Yet developments inside Iran have so far defied that assumption.

Rather than triggering centrifugal pressure, the attacks appear to have reinforced a broader sense of national cohesion across many parts of the country – including regions that foreign analysts frequently portray as vulnerable to separatist unrest.

The misreading of Iran’s diversity
Iran’s ethnic composition has long been interpreted through an overly mechanical framework. The country is not a homogeneous nation-state. Large AzeriKurdish, Arab, Baluch, and Turkmen communities live across the country, and several provinces also contain substantial Sunni populations.

Yet diversity in Iran has never automatically translated into separatism. Ethnicity and national identity overlap in more complex ways than many foreign analyses suggest.

Azeris, for example, have long been deeply embedded in the political and military core of the state, while Kurdish regions, despite periods of tension, have also maintained economic and social integration with the wider Iranian political system. Even members of Iran’s highest leadership, including newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, come from families with Azeri roots.

These overlapping identities complicate the narrative that ethnic difference alone constitutes a structural weakness.

Nevertheless, the strategic focus on Iran’s Kurdish west during the current war reflects a longstanding belief among some policymakers that ethnic divisions can be activated during moments of crisis. According to data cited by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), drawing on figures from the conflict monitoring organization ACLED, roughly one-fifth of US and Israeli strikes in Iran during the opening phase of the conflict were concentrated in Kurdish-majority provinces in the country’s west.

The same report noted that several targeted sites included police facilities, border guard posts, and regional security infrastructure. In practice, this pattern suggests that military planners believed pressure on these areas might generate not only security disruption but political fragmentation as well.

Militancy without mass traction
Reports surrounding Kurdish opposition movements reinforced this expectation. A syndicated AP dispatch noted that several Iranian Kurdish dissident groups based in Iraq’s Kurdistan region had indicated they were preparing for possible operations if the conflict expanded.

At the same time, reporting from Erbil described how Iranian strikes targeted camps belonging to exiled Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq.

Iranian officials warned that any attempt by separatist factions to exploit the war would be met with decisive retaliation. Iraqi federal authorities and officials in the Kurdistan Regional Government also stressed that Iraqi territory should not become a launchpad for attacks against neighboring states.

Regional actors clearly understand the stakes. A destabilized frontier could quickly drag neighboring states into a wider confrontation.

Even Turkiye’s Defense Ministry publicly acknowledged it was closely monitoring developments involving PJAK and other Kurdish militant organizations and warned that any escalation of separatist activity could threaten broader regional stability.

These statements show how seriously multiple governments have treated the possibility that the conflict might trigger unrest across Iran’s western borderlands.

Yet the presence of armed groups does not automatically translate into a viable insurgent opening.

The analytical mistake lies in confusing organizational existence with political traction. Groups such as PJAK, Komala, and the Kurdistan Freedom Party do exist, and some have attempted to reorganize their networks during periods of regional tension.

But the social base required for a sustained uprising inside Iran is another matter. Iranian Kurdish society is politically diverse. It includes nationalists, reformists, religious movements, leftist activists, and communities that are critical of the central government yet remain wary of militant strategies backed by foreign powers. Armed organizations can exploit instability. They cannot manufacture broad social legitimacy.

War, memory, and national cohesion
Foreign military pressure has also altered the political environment in ways that many outside observers underestimated. Iran entered the war amid significant economic strain linked to sanctions inflation and earlier protests.

However, external military attacks tend to reshape the relationship between state and society. Even citizens who criticize the government often distinguish between domestic political disputes and foreign intervention.

The US attack on a girls’ school in the southern Iranian city of Minab became a powerful symbol in this context. AP reporting indicated that the strike on the school triggered condemnation and calls for investigations into possible violations of international humanitarian law. Images of schoolchildren killed during bombardment quickly circulated across Iranian social media.

Whatever Washington’s stated narrative about weakening the Iranian state, the perception that civilians, especially children, had become victims of the conflict dramatically shifted the emotional tone of the war inside Iran.

When war is framed internationally as pressure on a government but experienced locally as violence against society, political reactions can change quickly.

Rather than generating support for external intervention, such incidents often reinforce national solidarity.

In Iran, this reaction has been shaped by historical memory and cultural narratives. The eight-year Iran-Iraq war, from 1980 to 1988, remains one of the most powerful collective memories in the country’s modern political culture.

During that conflict, volunteers from different ethnic and religious communities mobilized to defend the country against what was widely perceived as foreign aggression.

This legacy continues to influence how many Iranians interpret external military pressure today. Cultural symbolism also plays a role. In Shia historical tradition, the story of Imam Hussein’s stand against injustice in the Battle of Karbala remains a powerful moral reference point. Although rooted in religious history, the narrative has long been integrated into broader political language about sacrifice, resistance, and endurance.

Iranian officials have framed the current conflict in similar terms.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, recently warned Kurdish opposition factions not to treat the war as an opportunity to pursue separatist ambitions.

He suggested that projects aimed at fragmenting Iran – particularly ideas about detaching Kurdish regions from the country – have collapsed under the realities of the conflict.

US-Israeli War on Iran Is Not About Nuclear Weapons. It’s About Imperialism.

The limits of fragmentation strategies
None of this means the danger of unrest has disappeared.

Kurdish militant organizations remain active across the border, and external actors may still view them as potential instruments of pressure. A prolonged war could reshape local dynamics in unpredictable ways. Yet the opening phase of the conflict has already demonstrated the limits of strategies built on the assumption that ethnic diversity alone can fracture the Iranian state.

If anything, the opposite dynamic may be unfolding.

External military pressure has temporarily reinforced the perception of a shared national frame across Iran’s diverse communities. The first week of war has shown how poorly the political sociology of Iran is still understood in many external analyses.

A country can be ethnically diverse without being politically fragile in the way outsiders imagine. Local grievances do not automatically translate into separatist revolt, and militant organizations do not necessarily represent the political will of the communities they claim to defend.

In the early days of the war, the concentration of strikes in Iran’s west appeared designed to test whether the country could be fractured along its ethnic seams.

So far, the outcome has been the opposite. Pressure intended to activate Iran’s internal divisions has instead reinforced the broader national frame that many observers expected would fracture under sustained external attack.

(The Cradle)


From Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond via This RSS Feed.

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By Anthony Ballas and Sudip Bhattacharya  –  Mar 9, 2026

If U.S. progressives are serious about combating the expansion of fascism domestically, demanding both the release of Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, and first lady Celia Flores, as well as the immediate cessation of any further U.S. military incursion into Latin America, must be a top priority. In an interview on Black Liberation Media’s morning show, Chris Gilbert, a political economist in Venezuela who experienced the U.S.’s January bombardment of Caracas firsthand, stated that Donald J. Trump and his allies, “don’t recognize nations. They don’t recognize peoples. They think the world is a bunch of guys like them. And they think by bending these guys, they can make them do whatever they want.” Maduro himself has refused the devil’s bargain with the Trump regime, proclaiming defiantly in his arraignment before a U.S. judge on the spurious charges of drug trafficking and weapons possession, “I am a prisoner of war!”

Progressive forces internationally have bore witness to these acts of desperation on the part of the Trump regime and their attempt to stem the tide of a weakening U.S. imperialism in the hemisphere. Oil and defense—two of the most vile capitalist industries—are the direct benefactors of this latest imperialist incursion. While oil executives rebuffed Trump’s $100 billion plan to invest in Venezuela’s oil sector, with the ExxonMobil executive labeling the country “uninvestible” due to security and legal risks, the energy sector reaped historic gains as a result of the so-called “Venezuelan shock.” Companies like Chevron, for instance, which was, until recently, the only major oil venture legally sanctioned to drill and trade in Venezuela, closed at an all-time high in early February.

According to the Brennan Center, the oil industry itself spent “lavishly to elect Trump, giving at least $75 million to his campaign and affiliated PACs, thereby making them a top corporate backer of his reelection bid…Several oil tycoons gave millions on their own and hosted fundraisers with Trump and his associates.” While both industries have directly funded Donald Trump’s campaigns for president, this is hardly an aberration from the norm of U.S. politics, which draws sustenance from the sale, manufacture, and dropping of bombs around the globe while “corporate giants like Chevron enjoy… lavish [single-digit] tax breaks” which are “lower than what many nurses or firefighters pay.”

Immediately after Maduro and Flores were snatched from their beds and humiliated before the U.S. press, Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted that their goal in Venezuela was “to take between thirty and fifty million barrels of oil,” promising, “to sell it in the marketplace at market rates, not at the discounts Venezuela was getting.” At the White House, during an open press conference featuring major oil executives, Trump, stated that U.S. oil should make “tons of money” in Venezuela. In much the same way that companies knee-deep in death have had an intimate relationship with the worst of the worst in American politics, among Democrat and Republican alike, those who will not stand in the way of the constantly expanding military budget, which far outstrips the military budget for the next top ten countries, including that of Russia and China— the “bogeymen” of our present era.

As reported in Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, “of the top 40 companies that have given the most to the Sedition Caucus—the 147 members of Congress who voted,” at Trump’s behest, “against certifying the 2020 election… as well as those who have since been elected to Congress” who have promoted the so-called Big Lie, ”ten belong to the defense industry.” “Collectively,” the report added, “Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Honeywell, RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon), Northrop Grumman, L3Harris Technologies, BAE Systems, General Atomics, and Leidos have given more than $6 million to seditionist lawmakers since January 6th.” These are the same lawmakers whose knee-jerk impulse is to vehemently defend any criticism of Trump in support of the false reality his administration pushes forward. Indeed, these are many of the same lawmakers who forward xenophobic rhetoric directed at Somali immigrants as though they were part of an Islamic army invading the U.S.—the same lawmakers currently endorsing each and every lie to protect and preserve vicious thugs in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) running rampant in Minnesota.

From a historical point of view, none of this ought to be that surprising. In his 1932 classic, Social Revolution and Fascism, the British Marxist R. Palme Dutt exposed the way capitalists generously granted largesse to fascists in order to suppress socialists, communists, labor unions, and anticolonial forces. “Unlimited funds,” he wrote, “not only from German bourgeois, but also from foreign bourgeois sources, were poured into the National Socialist coffers.” Such a dangerous pattern repeats itself through the plunder and extortion of Venezuela, as well as Iran, Haiti, Cuba, and numerous other countries that have been under attack from U.S.-led sanctions and coupmongering.

With the abduction of Maduro and Flores, as well as the recent seizures of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, some of which were sailing under the Russian Flag, and the U.S. Dept of War’s extrajudicial and extraterritorial slayings of Trinidadian fishermen in the Caribbean basin, the fears that Venezuela might be invaded are not at all irrational or unwarranted. Keeping in mind as well that the Trump regime supported Juan Guaidó’s illegitimate and ignominious claim to the Venezuelan presidency in 2019—an event which witnessed bipartisan support in the halls of the U.S. Capitol building in 2020, with U.S. politicians collaborating across the aisle in a gushing display of servile support giving Guaidó a standing ovation during Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address. 2020 was also the year of the ill-fated “Operation Gideon,” or, as some commentators now refer to it, the “Bay of Piglets,” which saw U.S. privateers and ex-Green Berets in collaboration with Colombian mercenaries and other anti-Maduro forces unsuccessfully launch a coup against Caracas (the plans for which Maduro had seemingly been aware since at least 2019). Not even one year later, the very same halls of the Capitol building which rang out maniacally in support of Guaidó became the site of the attempted coup of January 6, 2021 fomented by Trump and carried out by his supporters, including right wing extremist groups such as the Proud Boys and the Oathkeepers—whose members, it should be recalled, were pardoned by Trump in 2025.

Brooklyn March To Free Cilia Flores: Solidarity With Venezuelan Women!

While it is evident that the bipartisan support for U.S. coups abroad has not resulted in anything positive for the Democrats or anti-Trump Republicans, it should be equally obvious that the forces of capital are aligned in support of agents of extremism with little shame or regard for the consequences. Support for the dismantlement of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela in a bid to weaken Venezuela’s nationalized oil industry recalls the echoes of CIA-backed Operation Condor in Chile and the violent installation of Augusto Pinochet in September 1973. Lest we are wilfully committed to political naivete in the face of this current mayhem in 2026, progressive forces must keep these lessons from history close at hand and remain ever-vigilant of the various tactics used to suppress and deny freedom of speech and dissent when challenging the Trump regime’s illegal invasion of Venezuela or any other sovereign nation for that matter. As the U.S. lashes out against the specter of its retreat from the position of global hegemon as though afraid of its own shadow, we would also be wise also to keep the lessons in mind with regard to the U.S.-Israeli aligned forces which have collaborated to defame, attack, dox, and deport anti-genocide activists domestically, many of whom havesuffered significant economic backlash as well as physical and psychological harm as a result.

If Venezuela were to fall under further U.S. neo-colonial schemes, one could expect oil and defense, especially as it sells armaments and military contracts to its fascist allies in Caracas, to accrue evermore political power and clout. The same forces that would stand against even now moderate demands to preserve some inkling of humanity within our own domestic system of governance, whether that’s getting rid of ICE or simply raising taxes on major corporations

Hugo Chavez, the founder of the modern Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela, had said once at the UN following NATO’s invasion of Libya: “The future of a multi-polar world, in peace, resides in us, in the organization of the majority of the people on earth to defend ourselves against the new colonialism, in order to achieve a balance in the universe that is capable of neutralizing imperialism and arrogance.”

He had faith in his people as well as the people of the world, including the U.S., to do what is right. In this case, that is for the American people as a united force, assuring the safe return of Maduro and Flores to Venezuela. It means progressive people inside the U.S. joining sides with Venezuelans, Cubans, and Palestinians vying for the right to thrive and for self-determination in what is a global struggle against the U.S. empire, the bedrock of fascism.

Either we recognize the strategic linkages between our own situation and the situation in places like Venezuela and Cuba, or we restrict ourselves to a concept of politics that is purely domestic and politically naive. Much like Chavez and heroes before him, we have faith that progressives will peer through the smog of domestic propaganda and realize that so long as Maduro and Flores remain behind bars, we all risk the same fate.

(Counterpunch)


From Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond via This RSS Feed.

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This article originally appeared in the March 11, 2026 edition of El Sol de México.

The Mexican Embassy in Iran, which also serves Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, announced on Tuesday the closure of its diplomatic headquarters in the country due to the escalation of the armed conflict in the Middle East and will therefore operate “remotely ” from Azerbaijan.

“Due to the current situation in the country, the Embassy will remain closed and will temporarily operate remotely,” the diplomatic mission said in a message on X.

In addition, the account indicated that the consular section will continue to provide assistance and protection to Mexicans through the telephone number +98 912 122 4463 and the email address consularesirn@sre.gob.mx.

The Embassy also stated that due to the physical relocation of the Embassy from Tehran, where bombing by the United States and Israel continues, in-person consular services are temporarily suspended. The Mexican Embassy will operate temporarily from Azerbaijan, with support from the representation in Baku.

In recent days, israel has deepened a ground invasion in Lebanon, where it maintains military positions near the dividing line despite the ceasefire reached in 2024, which has increased tension and risk to civilians and foreigners in several countries in the region after the start of US and Israeli attacks on Iran ten days ago.

The post Mexico Closes Embassy in Iran appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.


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By Caitlin Johnstone  –  Mar 11, 2026

“You grew up wanting so bad to be Luke Skywalker, but you realize that you were basically a Stormtrooper.” ~ Daniel Crimmins

Reading by Tim Foley:

Nobody wants to believe they’re the villain in the story. Nobody wants to believe their government is run by psychopaths who are inflicting unfathomable evils upon populations around the globe in order to rule the world.

It’s much nicer to believe you’re the Good Guys. Much easier to sit with the idea that your government might make an innocent mistake here and there, but overall is a driving force for the good of humankind, and is certainly superior to the villains it makes war with.

That’s a fiction, though. It’s a comfortable lie. A fairy tale that westerners tell themselves to avoid a profoundly uncomfortable truth.

The truth is that we are the villains.

We are the terrorists.

We are the tyrants.

We are the evil regime.

The Invention of ‘Venezuela Drugs’

Our soldiers aren’t out there defending our country, they’re out there murdering people for defending their country. They’re not fighting for freedom and democracy, they’re fighting for money and power.

Daniel Crimmins from the US Army 3rd Infantry Division wrote the following about the Iraq War in 2015:

“Then you realize you haven’t seen anything to support the idea that these poor fuckers are a threat to your home. You look around and you see all the contractors making six figure salaries to fix your shit, train Iraqis, maintain the ridiculous SUVs the KBR dicks ride around in. You consider the fact that every 25mm shell costs about forty bucks, and your company has been handing those fuckers out like shrapnel flavored parade candies. You think about all the fuel you’re going through, all the ammo and missiles and grenades. You think about every time you lose a vehicle, the Army buys a new one. Maybe you start to see a lot of people making a lot of money on huge amounts of human suffering.

“Then you go on leave, and realize that Ayn Rand has no idea what the fuck she’s talking about. You realize that Fox News and Limbaugh and John McCain don’t respect you or your buddies. They don’t give a fuck if you get a parade or a box when you get home, you’re nothing to them but a prop.

“Then you get out, and you hate the news. You hate the apathy, and you hate the murder being carried out in your name. You grew up wanting so bad to be Luke Skywalker, but you realize that you were basically a Stormtrooper, a faceless, nameless rifleman, carrying a spear for empire, and you start to accept the startlingly obvious truth that these are people like you.”

That’s the reality right there, folks. We can wake up and start living in reality, or we can remain asleep in the fiction.

It’s time to wake up to the reality that western civilization is a depraved dystopia where most people are sleepwalking in a propaganda-addled stupor under an empire that is fueled by human blood. And it’s time to awaken to the fact that as westerners it is our duty to tear that empire down brick by brick, for the sake of our children and grandchildren, and for the sake of our fellow man.

(Caitlin Johnstone)


From Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond via This RSS Feed.

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By Melinda Butterfield  –  Mar 9, 2026

On International Women’s Day, March 8, a crowd marched to MDC Brooklyn, a federal detention center in the Sunset Park neighborhood, to demand freedom for Venezuelan First Combatant Cilia Flores and President Nicolás Maduro, as well as more than 200 ICE detainees held captive there. Flores and Maduro were illegally kidnapped by the Trump regime in early January.

The action was organized by Brooklyn Against War and supported by New York Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, Black Alliance for Peace, Struggle for Socialism Party, Students for a Democratic Society, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, December 12 Movement, Code Pink, Workers World Party and others. Members of a Baltimore solidarity caravan for Maduro and Flores also joined the march.

IWD2026 MDC 1a

SLL photo: Melinda Butterfield

Following are remarks given by Melinda Butterfield of the Struggle for Socialism Party and Women in Struggle-Mujeres en Lucha:

The Bolivarian Revolution opened up new opportunities for Venezuelan women and queer people to struggle for bodily autonomy, equality, and their rightful place as members and leaders of the people’s movement. These struggles have seen great advances as well as setbacks during this decades-long process of transformation.

We all know that the Trump regime and U.S. imperialism want to control Venezuela’s oil and its oil profits, which Comandante Hugo Chávez put at the service of the Venezuelan people. But it’s not the only thing they want.

They want to foreclose the opportunities for struggle by Afro-Venezuelan women, Indigenous women, trans women, lesbian women, and all Venezuelan women, just as they are trying to crush our bodily autonomy here. They want to snuff out the Bolivarian Revolution as an example for women, queers, and all working people in Latin America.

Jessica Dos Santos: Venezuela’s Major Developments Since Jan. 3 Attacks

The prisoners of war held here at MDC Brooklyn, First Combatant Cilia Flores and President Nicolás Maduro, represent the Bolivarian revolutionary process that the Republican fascists and their Democratic collaborators want to destroy. That makes their kidnapping and imprisonment a matter of highest importance for women all over the world, including women here in Brooklyn.

The Bolivarian Revolution is a true expression of democracy for the people, not the capitalists. The “democracy” U.S. imperialism wants to bring to Venezuela is the sort that murders school girls in Iran, kidnaps immigrant students off the streets of Minneapolis, starves Palestinian kids in Gaza, and strips trans youth in Brooklyn of their right to life-saving health care. That “democracy” is not worth a damn to women in Venezuela or here!

As Trump’s regime attempts to consolidate fascism, its frontal attacks on all of our rights show how our futures are bound together. From Iran to Minneapolis, and from Gaza to Brooklyn, we are all facing the same enemy.

And we all have the same weapon to fight back and win: unity. We must unite our struggles, first to survive – and then to win power and ensure U.S. imperialism, the greatest enemy of the world’s people, can never raise its ugly head again.

Long live the revolutionary women of Venezuela and Cuba!

Free Cilia Flores and Nicolás Maduro!

Free them all!

Tear down the walls!

(Struggle La Lucha)


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This article by Lilian Hernández Osorio originally appeared in the March 10, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

The crisis of enforced disappearances and the support for affected families is “extremely serious. The country is bleeding, it is falling apart,” because impunity persists and authorities at all three levels of government downplay what happens daily, lamented activist Tita Radilla, who has fought for justice for victims of enforced disappearance and their families.

“It is very sad that nothing has been able to stop this situation,” she added, after stating that, instead of decreasing, there are more disappearances than 50 years ago, when she began searching for his father Rosendo Radilla, a social leader who disappeared during the so-called Dirty War.

During a tribute to Tita Radilla, organized at the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM), Iztapalapa, the vice president of the Association of Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared and Victims of Human Rights Violations lamented that the situation in the country has worsened.

Academics and searchers joined in, highlighting the activism led by Rosendo Radilla’s daughter and the courage she has given them to not give up.

They criticized the fact that finding clandestine graves is becoming more and more common and that it is no longer considered an “outrage,” because the population is normalizing a tragic situation, without reflecting that it is not a number, but lives.

Days after the recent disappearance and femicide of two students from the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos, Margarita del Carmen Zárate Vidal, a professor specializing in forced displacement issues at the UAM, recalled the events for which Rosendo Radilla was detained more than 50 years ago when he was traveling by bus from Chilpancingo to Atoyac, in Guerrero, and after that nothing is known of his whereabouts.

Following his disappearance, the teacher Zárate recalled that her daughter Tita Radilla dedicated herself to searching for him and, after more than five decades without knowing for sure what happened to her father, she has become a human rights advocate, in addition to leading different movements such as marches, hunger strikes and complaints.

Therefore, she considered that “for Tita it has been a constant struggle and resistance,” who stopped seeing her father because of the cries for justice and because he was considered a threat to the government.

The post Tita Radilla: More Disappearances Today Than During Mexico’s Dirty War appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.


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This article by Gloria Leticia Díaz originally appeared in the March 10, 2026 edition of Proceso.

Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano, three-time presidential candidate and founder of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), warned that there is a “risk” of a US intervention in Mexico, due to recent statements against Mexico by US President Donald Trump.

Cárdenas Solórzano issued the warning during his participation in an interview conducted by historian, professor and analyst Sergio Aguayo Quesada, coordinator of the Seminar on Violence and Peace at the College of Mexico (COLMEX), who with this participation began a new cycle called Conversations, intended to talk with figures from the public life of Mexico.

Cárdenas Solórzano, a researcher at COLMEX, was asked for his opinion on the dangers facing Mexico in light of President Donald Trump’s statements that Mexico is the “epicenter” of continental violence and that it is run by cartels, as he reiterated in his weekend meeting in Miami with 12 leaders from the continent.

“At this Miami meeting, what the media has clearly reflected is a very clear anti-Mexican stance, very disrespectful, even on the part of President Trump in his remarks. And well, I think the risk exists,” said the founder of the PRD.

He added that “this is not about being alarmist, the risk exists,” but that he is unclear about “how that intervention could happen, I have no idea what the country’s reaction might be, official, unofficial, from different sectors.”

The three-time presidential candidate from a faction of the Mexican left maintained that, despite not having a public life and not belonging to any party, “in the face of any undue interference I would go out into the street and express myself in every way I could, that much I have no doubt about.”

From his point of view, a US intervention in Mexico would generate reactions against the US government, not only from Mexicans but also from their northern neighbors.

“Actually, we would have to sit down very calmly and see what might happen and what the reactions might be in the event of an intervention that is not consented to, I would say, not consented to by the government, not foreseen by military forces, specifically by the United States, as happened in Venezuela, as is currently happening in Iran.”

“I don’t know exactly how it could happen, and it would be very unfortunate if that were to happen, both for us and for the United States. I think there could be many reactions both here and there in the event of an intervention by the U.S. government in Mexico.”

Cárdenas Solórzano explained that it would be expected that Mexicans living in the northern country would react, as well as “the United States in the face of a totally undue, totally illegal aggression by its own government in the neighboring country, with which we share many things along a 3,000-kilometer border.”

Cárdenas Solórzano Endorses Sheinbaum’s Actions Against Drug Trafficking

He acknowledged that “the issue most felt by the people” in recent times has to do with the security crisis, and without mentioning the six-year term of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whose security policy was based on the slogan “hugs and not bullets”, Cárdenas Solórzano endorsed the actions taken by the government of Claudia Sheinbaum.

“I want to express that this problem is being addressed better today than in previous years. I think this is evident and has nothing to do with being on one side or the other. I think we are acting in a better way, but I think we would have to do something—and it is not easy at all—(…) we would have to think of a plan that could, I would say, sweep the country and rescue the country so that there would be a permanent presence of society through various actions of society and the State.”

Considering that the country’s recovery could happen municipality by municipality, for example, Cárdenas Solórzano reiterated that the country’s salvation must be achieved “jointly by society and the State to clean up the country, to win the country fairly and sweep away all that is crime, but this requires planning, it requires resources, it requires international agreements, it requires fundamental political will and, as I say, improving education.”

Electoral Reform: Resources Allocated to Political Parties are Excessive

Regarding President Claudia Sheinbaum’s proposed political reform, the former presidential candidate agreed that the amount of public funds given to political parties is excessive, although he admitted that “it is important that there be public funding for the parties and that these are not resources whose origin we do not know, which ultimately end up being present in political campaigns.”

He added that “it is necessary, and today I would ask more than ever, to establish mechanisms to prevent illicit money from entering elections. I believe this is very, very important; we have to find ways to prevent dirty money from reaching elections, from municipal elections to the Presidency of the Republic.”

After maintaining that there was no illegal money in the financing of his three presidential campaigns, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas stressed the importance of taking measures to correct illegal actions, and recalled that after the 2006 presidential election, which recognized Felipe Calderón’s victory over Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Federal Electoral Tribunal did not dare to annul the election despite the irregularities.

“I believe that we still have a lot to do if we want to give real value to democracy, which begins precisely with equality.”

“In the ruling of the Electoral Tribunal to qualify the election, it must be that of 2006, it was argued, among other things, that there had been interference by the President of the Republic, in this case Vicente Fox, in the election, but the Tribunal did not dare, this is my very personal point of view, to rule that it was necessary to annul the election and call for a new election.

“I think this was very serious because there are two things we have to avoid in elections: the presence of dirty money and the interference of officials at any level to try to sway an election in favor of X or Z interests or people,” he pointed out.

By highlighting that Mexico is one of the countries “with one of the greatest material inequalities in living conditions of sectors of the population that are still far from minimum conditions”, the most important challenge for democratic life is to balance the social situation.

“I believe that we still have a lot to do if we want to give real value to democracy, which begins precisely with equality,” Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas pointed out.

The post Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas: There is a Risk of US Intervention in Mexico appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.


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Mexico’s Alianza Nacional Telefonista (National Telephone Workers Alliance) released a statement today outlining their hopes for a review of the Telmex concession, currently in the hands of billionaire Carlos Slim. Telmex is one of Mexico’s largest telecommunications companies, and was previously publicly owned. It has been identified by the Trump administration as a barrier to US entry into the Mexican market, whereas the Alianza Nacional Telefonista seeks to return Telmex to public hands in the context of communication as a human right and the urgent necessity of technological and network sovereignty.

The statement follows:

For the Comprehensive Review and Modification of the Teléfonos de México Concession Title
March 11, 2026

The National Telephone Workers Alliance expresses to the public, regulatory authorities, and the people of Mexico our firm and legitimate demand for a comprehensive, transparent review, with social participation, of the Teléfonos de México Concession Title, which will take effect on March 11, 2026.

The concession of a strategic asset such as telecommunications cannot continue to be managed under exclusively commercial criteria. The national telecommunications network is the patrimony of the people of Mexico, and its operation must guarantee universal access to quality service, technological sovereignty, and dignified working conditions for those who sustain it every day: the telephone workers

For decades, the concession has generated enormous economic benefits for business groups, while allowing the company’s structural weakening, reduced investment in strategic infrastructure, and deteriorating working conditions. The extension granted until 2056 now requires a thorough evaluation of the actual fulfillment of the established obligations and the social impact of this decision.

We demand that this review include:

  • The effective fulfillment of coverage and service quality obligations. Investment in technological modernization and network expansion.
  • The protection of employment and the unrestricted respect for labor rights.
  • The guarantee of communication as a human right, not as a market privilege. The incorporation of social oversight and accountability mechanisms.

Communication is a fundamental human right. It cannot be subordinated to financial interests that violate the public interest. The infrastructure built by generations of workers cannot be dismantled or made precarious.

We call upon regulatory authorities, the Legislative Branch, social organizations, and the people of Mexico to accompany this review process with historical responsibility and a vision for the future.

The National Telephone Workers Alliance reiterates that the defense of telecommunications sovereignty and labor rights is a legitimate and necessary cause.

For a concession at the service of the people, not profit! For the defense of labor rights and technological sovereignty! Communication is a right, not a commodity!

Alianza Nacional Telefonista, Mexico City, 2026

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In episode 99 of Soberanía: The Mexican Politics Podcast, hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth examine the so-called “Shield of the Americas” summit in Miami—a gathering of right-wing leaders representing barely a fifth of the region’s population. The hosts break down why Mexico wasn’t invited despite high levels of security cooperation, what the exclusion of Brazil and Colombia reveals, and why Under Secretary Christopher Landau’s comments in India about blocking development should worry every country in the Global South.

Next, they turn to a rare bright spot: Mexico’s ambitious housing program, which is refinancing predatory loans and building 1.8 million new homes with zero-interest mortgages for low-income families. The hosts discuss why this policy is finally getting international attention and what it says about building a welfare state from the ashes of neoliberalism.

Finally, they provide a security update following the death of El Mencho. Contrary to the apocalyptic predictions and disinformation campaigns that flooded social media, homicide numbers continue their downward trend—proof that intelligence and social policy can work better than sensationalism and fear. And as always, Loser and Haters, which looks at the worst take Trump’s sham summit.


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The Chamber of Deputies of the Paraguayan parliament approved a military cooperation agreement with the US, called the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), allowing the temporary presence of US military and civilian personnel in Paraguayan territory. According to the agreement, approved on Tuesday, March 10, the US military personnel would enjoy immunities similar to those afforded to diplomatic agents.

‘Ever-Increasing Alignment’: Paraguay Signs ‘Safe Third Country’ Agreement With US

The agreement, signed in December 2025 by Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, had already received Senate approval last week. Therefore, with this latest vote, the legislative process is completed, and the agreement will now go to the president for its enactment.

(RT)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JB/SC


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Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)— US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) reported a new lethal strike in the Eastern Pacific on Sunday, March 8, bringing the total number of deaths from “kinetic strikes” against small boats to 152. This latest aggression occurred just 24 hours before Trinidadian Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar visited SOUTHCOM headquarters in Doral, Florida, where she was celebrated as a key regional partner—a move analysts suggest earns her the title of “employee of the year” for her subservience to the US military bloody agenda.

In its statement on Monday, SOUTHCOM reported that Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a “successful kinetic strike” on March 8 against a small boat, resulting in six deaths with zero survivors.

❗️ 6 KILLED after US STRIKE on boat in the Eastern Pacific — US SOUTHCOM

The vessel was allegedly 'engaged in narco-trafficking operations' pic.twitter.com/WNYPj2OIZM

— RT (@RT_com) March 9, 2026

While the US military characterizes these actions as counter-narcotics measures, international legal experts continue to label the policy as a campaign of extrajudicial killings. Critics point out that the summary execution of individuals on civilian boats—often deliberately designated as “vessels” rather than small boats to circumvent maritime protections—violates international law and the right to due process, with SOUTHCOM acting as “judge, jury, and executioner” on the high seas.

Statistical analysis of the extrajudicial executions
According to the latest data tracked by Orinoco Tribune, the death toll from these maritime operations has reached a grim new milestone. Since the strikes began in September of last year, a total of 152 people have been assassinated in 44 separate strikes.

The statistical breakdown of the fatalities highlights the geographical expansion of the violence:

• Eastern Pacific: 95 deaths recorded in 30 strikes.
• Caribbean Sea: 57 deaths recorded in 14 strikes.

The data continues to show a “zero-survivor” trend. The most recent strike on March 8 in the Eastern Pacific claimed six lives, with search-and-rescue operations typically being terminated shortly after the “kinetic” engagement, leaving victims to be presumed dead without trial or formal identification.

Partnership or subservience?
The diplomatic smiles in Miami during Persad-Bissessar’s meeting with SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan on March 9 stand in sharp contrast to the carnage in regional waters, where Trinidadian citizens have been reported as victims. While Persad-Bissessar discussed “security cooperation” and “partnerships,” her host’s command was overseeing the aftermath of a strike that had killed six more individuals just a day prior.

Venezuela Repudiates US Senator’s Hostile Rhetoric, Calls for Respectful Dialogue

Analysts suggest that such high-level visits serve as a “bootlicking exercise”, providing diplomatic cover for a US military command that operates with total impunity. By endorsing the SOUTHCOM agenda so enthusiastically, Persad-Bissessar is viewed as a premier representative for the forces that have turned the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific into zones of extrajudicial violence, prioritizing imperialist “security” goals over the human rights and sovereignty of the region’s people.

Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff

OT/JRE/SH


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“We oppose any war, we are absolutely opposed to them.” This was the statement made Monday, March 9, by the Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez during a working session with communards in Ciudad Tiuna, Caracas. Surrounded by spokespeople for grassroots organizations, she reaffirmed that Venezuela’s message is one of peace.

Rodríguez, who made these remarks after referring to relations between Venezuela and the US, said that they “must be based on truth; they must be based on mutual respect, on shared benefit; they must adhere to international law. That is our ten-point code of international conduct, and we oppose any war.”

Minutes earlier she stated, “These are difficult times, but we are the people of Simón Bolívar, we are a people who have faced difficulties, and we are winning peace. Every day that passes, as we have said in our diplomatic relations with the US government, we are working to resolve differences and move forward on common ground.”

She recalled that Venezuela has a working agenda with the US regime that has been outlined in the areas of energy, mining, and combating drug trafficking.

Working agenda and drug trafficking cooperation
“Venezuela is not a drug-trafficking country, nor is it even relevant in terms of drug trafficking, but we do participate and cooperate with other countries in the world and in our region to combat drug trafficking, so that our youth are protected; so that our youth do not fall into drugs. And we want to share that message with all families in the world, with families in the region,” she stated, accompanied by spokespeople from the communal movement who had actively participated the previous day in the Popular Consultation—the first of 2026.

She emphasized that in this working agenda with the US, “we are proceeding with patience and determination. We want to build long-term relationships, but they must be based on truth.”

“The truth about Venezuela; let the truth about Venezuela be known, let it be known that we are not a country of drug traffickers, that Deputy Cilia Flores and President Nicolás Maduro are innocent, let the world know it. That we are a country of hard work, that we strive; through our own efforts. That we have many natural riches, but that the main wealth is the spiritual wealth of our people and that today we are telling the truth,” she added.

Venezuela Repudiates US Senator’s Hostile Rhetoric, Calls for Respectful Dialogue

On Jan. 3, 2026, US President Donald Trump ordered US troops to bomb populated areas of Caracas, Miranda, La Guaira, and Aragua, killing more than 100 people. The US invaders also kidnapped Deputy Cilia Flores and the constitutional president, Nicolás Maduro.

On Thursday, March 5, the Venezuelan government announced the restoration of diplomatic and consular relations between Venezuela and the US. A day later, the acting president recalled that on Jan. 8, the day they paid tribute to the heroes and heroines who fell in combat on Jan. 3 during the invasion and bombing carried out by US troops in parts of the country, she had stated that the government would resolve the historical differences with the US through diplomatic channels.

(Diario Vea) by Yuleidys Hernández Toledo

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/SH


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This article by Alexia Villaseñor and Jared Laureles originally appeared in the March 10, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. The Secretariat of Labour and Social Welfare (STPS) warned of the “direct and open” interference of “a foreign government” in union affairs in Mexico, through the Labor Rapid Response Mechanism (LRRM) of the USMCA.

Gabriel Tamariz, head of the Labour Policy and Institutional Relations Unit at the agency, pointed out that this instrument is also being used to promote unions, “some founded and financed in dollars,” that don’t even have representation in companies. “The Mechanism should not be used for union proselytizing,” he emphasized.

While participating in the panel Transformations in Labour Law: Trends of Change & Strategies, the official considered, without mentioning the United States, that “a new type of government interference” is emerging in labour matters.

“Something that I find worrying is that, both the workers’ and employers’ sectors, we have been fighting against this employer interference in union matters and government interference in union matters. We know the history of corporatism well and have been trying to reduce it, but it seems that a new type of interference is emerging, which is the interference of a foreign government in union matters.”

“And I’m not referring to the letter of the treaty and Annex 31 (of the USMCA); Chapter 23 and Annex 31 are fine, but in practice, it’s a direct and open interference,” he said.

Tamariz also emphasized that not “a single comma” should be modified in the labour chapter if the “asymmetries” of the MLRR are not eliminated beforehand, since its application should not only be limited to Mexico, but also to the United States, in order to also seek the defense of the labour rights of our fellow citizens.

“It is absolutely essential to end the asymmetry of the Rapid Response Labour Mechanism. According to the treaty, the mechanism’s operation should not be limited to Mexican territory; it is very interesting because everyone who commented on labour issues in the consultations we held, as well as in the consultations with the United States, agreed that the asymmetry must end,” he stated.

Regarding the visit of labour attachés from the United States Embassy in Mexico to workplaces in the country to gather evidence of possible labour rights violations, the STPS official also suggested analyzing the regulation of existing legal instruments to ensure that this personnel from the neighboring country and Canada “do not overstep their bounds.”

In this regard, the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs for North America, Roberto Velasco, opined that labor attachés do not have the capacity to carry out inspections and stressed that their functions were “precisely defined”.

“No U.S. diplomatic envoy can override the powers of the Vienna Convention and therefore cannot perform inspection functions in our country, as stated by the Mexican Foreign Ministry. This has been taken as a principle in the accreditation granted to labour attachés,” he reiterated.

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Cuba has suspended airline refueling due to US-imposed sanctions and pressure that have disrupted the island’s oil supplies.


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Russia pledges to provide “all possible assistance” to Cuba as the United States intensifies its illegal blockade of oil supplies to the Caribbean country.


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Por Oliver Vargas – 7 de marzo de 2026

Mientras las fuerzas estadounidenses e israelíes continúan su guerra contra Irán, en un intento por reestructurar la región por la fuerza, el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump sigue impulsando una agenda colonial similar en Latinoamérica. Su resort Doral en Miami se prepara para la Cumbre del Escudo de las Américas, a la que solo están invitados los gobiernos conservadores de la región y cuyo propósito declarado es “expulsar a China” de Latinoamérica, en un intento por obligar a la región a reducir el comercio y la cooperación con Pekín, que hoy es el principal socio comercial de muchos países latinoamericanos. Fracasará.

Incapaz de competir con China en mercados abiertos, Estados Unidos recurre a tácticas coercitivas para mantener su dominio sobre una región únicamente mediante la fuerza bruta. Olvidan que las fuerzas materiales que impulsan la cooperación entre China y América Latina son mucho más poderosas que cualquier comunicado de una cumbre, y ninguna amenaza, por muchas que sean, puede revertir el curso de la historia.

Esta iniciativa llega poco después de la operación militar estadounidense para secuestrar al presidente venezolano Nicolás Maduro en enero, un acto que violó principios fundamentales del derecho internacional y envió un mensaje escalofriante a todo el hemisferio: renuncien a su soberanía o enfrenten las consecuencias.

La naturaleza coercitiva de la campaña de Washington en Latinoamérica, más allá de Venezuela, ya es plenamente evidente. En las últimas semanas, la administración Trump impuso restricciones de visado a tres funcionarios del gobierno chileno, incluido el ministro de Transportes y Telecomunicaciones, debido a la consideración por parte de Santiago de un cable submarino de 500 millones de dólares que conectará Chile con China. Brandon Judd, embajador de Estados Unidos en Santiago, fue más allá, advirtiendo que Chile podría perder por completo sus privilegios de exención de visado si no supervisa las inversiones chinas a satisfacción de Washington.

Consideremos la audacia de esta posición: una nación soberana está siendo castigada por tener relaciones normales con un tercer país, por el mero hecho de considerar un proyecto de infraestructura beneficioso.

Este patrón de interferencia se extiende mucho más allá de Chile. En Panamá, la Corte Suprema fue presionada por el Departamento de Estado de EE. UU. para que dictaminara que la concesión de CK Hutchison, con sede en la Región Administrativa Especial de Hong Kong, para operar puertos en ambos extremos del Canal de Panamá era inconstitucional. Desde entonces, el gobierno ha ordenado la ocupación de ambas terminales y ha entregado la gestión provisional a operadores europeos, mientras que CK Hutchison, que había invertido 1.800 millones de dólares durante casi tres décadas, ha iniciado un arbitraje internacional.

El ataque a la prosperidad común.
Lo que hace que esta campaña sea particularmente absurda es que le pide a América Latina que se suicide económicamente. Desde el año 2000, el comercio entre China y América Latina se ha multiplicado por 35. Esta enorme expansión del volumen comercial se ha producido casi al mismo ritmo en toda la región, independientemente de las inclinaciones ideológicas de cada gobierno.

El

The “Volga” cargo ship owned by COSCO Shipping berthed at the Phase II container terminal of Nansha Port, marking the official opening of COSCO Shipping’s new West South America Route 3 (WSA3), the first direct route from Guangzhou Port to Chancay Port, Peru, April 29, 2025. /CFP.

The benefits of this partnership are there for all to see in almost every country. Peru’s Chancay megaport, built with Chinese investment, has reduced shipping times to Asia by nearly two weeks and cut logistics costs by at least 20%, creating a new Pacific gateway for South American exports of manufactured goods, agricultural products and minerals. In Brazil, Chinese companies have invested billions in renewable energy, electric vehicles (EV) manufacturing and port modernization. Ironically, BYD has built a huge EV factory in the Brazilian state of Bahia, on the exact site that Ford abandoned during US industrial retrenchment.

Washington, by contrast, offers Latin America sticks without carrots. They do not offer alternative infrastructure investment, more favorable trade terms, or new development partnerships. They don’t offer this because they do not have the ability to do so. The only card they have to play is to simply demand that Latin American countries sever ties with their most important economic partner and threaten those who refuse with war and sanctions.

It’s important to understand this aggression as a symptom of its decline. As the US loses its ability to compete economically, it is trying to turn the clock back to the era of Western colonialism. At the Munich Security Conference in February, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a speech that laid bare the ideological foundations of the administration’s foreign policy. He lamented the decline of “great Western empires” in the face of “godless communists.” It was a call for the return of 19th-century imperialism and for the end of sovereignty, self-determination and decolonization. All colonizers have left is to look back on their past glory.

China’s vision for its relationship with Latin America and the Global South could not be more different. At the same Munich conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for adherence to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, emphasizing that all countries should be “equal in terms of rights, opportunities and rules.” The UN may not be perfect, but it still represents the sacred principles of peace, sovereignty and self-determination. Surrendering these principles is the path to chaos, war and colonialism.

Chile Caught Between US and China Over Submarine Cable Project

Sin vuelta atrás.
El intento de la administración Trump de hacer retroceder la historia en América Latina fracasará, por la sencilla razón de que va en contra de los intereses materiales de los pueblos de la región. La cooperación entre China y América Latina está creciendo porque es mutuamente beneficiosa. América Latina ha ganado mercados para sus materias primas, ha asegurado inversiones en infraestructuras urgentemente necesarias y ha accedido a tecnología asequible. Es este tipo de prosperidad común la que sobrevivirá a cualquier presidente o conflicto político.

Las naciones de América Latina han soportado siglos de intervención extranjera, desde el colonialismo hasta los golpes de Estado de la Guerra Fría y los programas de ajuste estructural que devastaron sus economías. Lo que Estados Unidos ofrece ahora bajo la “Doctrina Donroe” es más de lo mismo: dependencia, inestabilidad y subdesarrollo disfrazados con el lenguaje de la seguridad. Lo que China ofrece es algo genuinamente nuevo: comercio sin condiciones, inversión sin interferencias y respeto al derecho soberano de cada nación a elegir su propio camino de desarrollo.

La historia no retrocede. El “Escudo de las Américas” resultará ser solo una nota al pie en la historia irreversible de la cooperación Sur-Sur y la solidaridad del Sur Global.

( CGTN )


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On January 3, 2026, the United States carried out a military aggression against Venezuela that included the bombing of the capital, Caracas, and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, National Assembly member Cilia Flores. Despite the significance of this event, it should not be seen in isolation from broader regional history. It is necessary to begin with a wider analysis of the current historical period in Latin America, more than two decades after the rise of leftist and progressive forces in many countries of the southern continent, with Venezuela at the forefront. Where do these forces stand today? Do they still represent a living link in the global struggle against capitalism and imperialism? How has the Bolivarian Revolution navigated its difficult path to achieve successive gains? Where does it stand now in light of recent developments, and where is it heading? How can the peoples of South America resist U.S. imperialism today amid this ongoing and dangerous escalation? These questions become even more pressing in light of major transformations underway in the world system: the rise of new Eurasian powers, the intensification of hybrid wars, sanctions, and blockades, the escalating imperialist and Zionist war against Palestine, Arab resistance movements, and Iran, and the continued militarization of the Caribbean and the Western Hemisphere.

Marxist theorist and militant Chris Gilbert has been involved in the Bolivarian Revolution for two decades. In this interview, conducted on February 22, 2026, he offers an analytical reading that situates the recent escalation within the broader history of confrontation between Venezuela and U.S. hegemony, and examines its implications for the country and the region. Gilbert also discusses the Venezuelan communes as one of the most significant expressions of popular power and a practical attempt to build a socialist alternative, along with the possibilities and questions this experience opens up for other societies, including Arab and Islamic societies. Gilbert is a professor at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela in Caracas and a contributing editor at Monthly Review. He is the author of numerous articles and books, most notably Commune or Nothing! Venezuela’s Communal Movement and Its Socialist Project(2023), and has also conducted extensive field research on the transition to socialism and the communes in Venezuela.

This interview first appeared in Arabic, in Al-Mustaqbal Al-Arabi Journal no. 565 (March 2026), published by the Center for Arab Unity Studies in Beirut.

Ibrahem Younes: On January 3 of this year, the United States carried out a heinous nighttime attack on Venezuela that included the bombing of Caracas and the surrounding area and the kidnapping of its president. We will discuss this attack and the response to it more fully later in the interview. However, let’s begin with a wider historical perspective on Latin America and specifically its epoch of progressive victories that is sometimes called the Pink Tide. That term denotes the wave of leftist governments in many Latin American countries that reordered state priorities toward social justice and national sovereignty—by expanding social protection, reclaiming certain public resources, and building mechanisms of regional integration. What is your understanding of the Pink Tide? How, in practical terms, does it function as a link in the chain of struggle against capitalism and imperialism? What do the recent attacks mean for this epoch of change?

Chris Gilbert: The mass media does in quotidian fashion what postmodern theory did in its books: destroy historical understanding. It does so partly by focusing on allegedly singular and special “events”—that is, semi-messianic occurrences that supposedly mark a sharp “before and after,” a complete rupture from what came before. In that spirit, what occurred on January 3 in Venezuela is systematically presented in the mass media as “an event” without much historical context. This results in a great deal of confusion, including on the part of the left. So, your directing the discussion first to the recent history of Latin America and asking about the context of the Pink Tide is relevant and even essential.

From the present, and in light of the attacks, I think it is important to look at the historical parameters of struggle in Latin America in the period following the fall of the Soviet Union. The 1990s were a period in which the United States enjoyed new levels of hegemony in the region. As evidence of their weakness, many of the counter-hegemonic movements in the 1990s in our continent explicitly turned away from the question of state power and focused instead on “social issues.” Hence there emerged a new focus of struggle: the “social movement,” which dominated much of the 1990s. It was called “movimentismo,” and expressed itself collectively in such spaces as the World Social Forum.

In Venezuela, at the dawn of the new century, Hugo Chávez took the struggle a step further in a groundbreaking way, demonstrating that it was possible, in Latin America, for popular left forces to take state power through mass mobilization and elections. This, in some sense, marked the birth of the wave of so-called Pink Tide governments, which could be described as the social forces of the 1990s entering or reentering power in countries such as Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Brazil, Honduras, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay by democratic and electoral means. In power, the Pink Tide governments exercised sovereignty over resources, expanded social programs, and sometimes took steps toward socialism. At the same time, the new progressive governments carried forward many of the participative forms that had developed from their origins in 1990s social movements, with an emphasis on popular power and grassroots democracy in their practices of governance.

The United States, since it is the epicenter of global reaction and the enemy of all peoples seeking self-determination, naturally began to move against such efforts. It used various methods. Sometimes it fostered old-style coups d’etat based on police and military forces. These could be unsuccessful (Venezuela 2002, 2019) or successful (Honduras 2009, Bolivia 2019). However, it also employed a relatively new parliamentary-lawfare kind of coup d’etat (Brazil, Paraguay, Peru). Additionally, it did not hesitate to apply unilateral coercive measures, or so-called sanctions. Even so, throughout this period U.S. strategy generally moved within the parameters of recognizing Latin American states as having some degree of (albeit limited) sovereignty. This meant that, with the exception of Colombia and Haiti, the United States mostly eschewed direct military intervention. Therefore, after the invasion of Panama in 1989 and excluding the United States’ kidnapping of Haiti’s president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004, the coups that it carried out were done without overt U.S. military intervention and were, at least on the surface, about putting in power endogenous forces more favorable to U.S. interests. This overall imperialist modus operandi as a form of regional control reflected the United States’ condition as the more or less unquestioned hegemon of the western hemisphere. Conversely, because of the relative absence of direct military intervention (except in Colombia, where the United States continued to fund a state-led war against the Colombian people, and in Haiti, where it was masked as “humanitarian” or “security” assistance), the idea of armed anti-imperialist struggle was also more or less out of the picture.

Now, in the past year or so, this overall situation, which was the historical condition of the Pink Tide’s emergence, has changed significantly. With the United States clearly losing global hegemony, and perceiving threats even to its regional hegemony, it now pursues more risky and direct interventions. These include: the overt blackmail of Argentinian voters last October to influence the legislative elections; the multi-level intervention in the 2025 Honduran presidential elections; the new and unprecedented tightening of the cruel blockade on Cuba (itself essentially an act of war); the repeated threats of military intervention in Mexico and Colombia; and the January 3 bombing of Caracas followed by the kidnapping of President Maduro. With these actions that amount to an explicit and often military trampling of national sovereignty, it is almost inevitable that the Latin American countries will also have to prepare for military struggle—armed struggle of some kind—against U.S. imperialism in a new way to defend themselves against this more erratic, direct, and dangerous form of imperialist intervention.

All this is to say that as the epoch of uncontested U.S. hegemony comes to a close, its project of hemispheric domination has become more explicitly aggressive. In the medium or long term, countries and peoples of the region will have to re-learn and re-invent forms of armed struggle against U.S. imperialism to both defend themselves from the United States and also to take advantage of its decadence. Here there are important opportunities to learn from the glorious tradition of West Asian resistance to imperialism and Zionism, such as the struggles now being carried out by Hamas, Hizbollah, and Ansar Allah, as well as by the Islamic Republic of Iran. I think that the need to prepare more fully for armed struggle against imperialism in Latin America will remain even if the fascist-MAGA forces that now rule in the United States were to be removed from power through impeachment or in the next election. My reason for saying that is that the current shift in imperialist strategy responds to the needs of a decadent imperialist system. That means that the Democratic Party would henceforth apply similarly direct and aggressive forms of intervention.

IY: Venezuela, of course, appears to be a unique case in the Latin American continent. How would you describe the Bolivarian experience in Venezuela—from Chávez to Maduro—and in your view, has it, over more than two decades, managed to overcome some of the problems of building socialism that other countries faced?

CG: In the heyday of the Pink Tide described above, with relatively fewer direct U.S. military interventions and the at least nominal respect for Latin American nations’ sovereignty that defined the epoch, Venezuela indeed became a vanguard of progressive forces. However, Venezuela’s condition of being in the vanguard of change during this period never meant that it did not need the support of other countries and peoples in the region. In a general sense, any meaningful construction of an alternative in Latin America will have a regional character. The more diversified economies of Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico; the power, discipline, and communal vision of the continent’s Indigenous movements; and the scientific, educational, and cultural development of Cuba and the Caribbean more generally are all important components of the Latin American revolution. All of these strengths need to come together in a process of regional integration that respects the diversity of our peoples and their cultural traditions. I might add that our region’s proximity to the center of imperialism—whose attempts to convert it into a “backyard” has resulted in important, hard-earned learning processes—assigns it a special role in the world anti-imperialist revolution.

In our continent, socialism has been a longstanding aspiration. The ideas of the October Revolution and before that those of the Paris communards, were seized upon by the Latin American people. Communism is a living tradition—”theory is gray,” Goethe said, “but green is the tree of life”—and communism must be understood in the latter sense: as a living project. Here in Venezuela, as in much of Latin America, Indigenous and African belief systems and the emancipatory elements of Christianity have made communism stronger and ironically more orthodox than it would have been otherwise, and possibly more than it has been elsewhere in the world. There is no shortage of Latin Americans who consider Marx, Engels, and Lenin as the family gods, as Latin American forefathers! While some might consider Latin America’s messianic attitude toward communism to be a weakness—and no doubt it has contributed to left-errors and overreach—it can also be a strength, if it is combined with what Marta Harnecker called a “pedagogy of limitations” and a sober assessment that those very ambitious and profound communist aspirations need to have a material base, which may be long in construction.

The Venezuelan revolutionary experience contains many lessons for socialists in other parts of the world. One important lesson that has been learned in Venezuela is that the project of socialist construction requires a dialectical but complementary relation between transformed state power—state power that has had a revolutionary command center introduced into it—and processes of grassroots construction. It is in the second area, the grassroots, that a new social metabolism can be developed, though always under the tutelage and coordination of a strong state, which is needed both to foster the grassroots transformations and to protect the country, organizing the defense against imperialist aggressions. The state must also take charge of the heavier side of industrialization and technological progress that is necessary for sovereignty but, of course, is beyond the capacities of the communities.

IY: In your reading of Karl Marx, the “alternative” to capitalism is not reducible to nationalizations or an expanded welfare state, but to a shift in the logic of value—from a commodified and marketized “exchange value” to a direct “use value”—alongside a reorganization of production, consumption, politics, governance, and planning, all on a grassroot level, grounded in cooperative productive institutions that are self-managed by members of the local community. If we translate that today—as it appears in your writings and fieldwork—into a concrete institutional and economic design at the levels of ownership, distribution, and political administration, it seems to us that Venezuela’s anti-imperialist socialist communes, supported by the state, have already come a long way. In your view, how can we define the Venezuelan commune? What are its strengths and its problems? And how can commune members ensure a complete exit from market society and capitalist exchange within a regional and international environment that is capitalist and imperialist and hostile?

CG: No revolutionary process—or rather, no successful revolutionary process—is linear. A truly revolutionary moment, which is what existed here in Venezuela at the beginning of the 21st century, by definition mobilizes the mass of people and therefore unleashes their most profound aspirations for all-around emancipation. This represents what we could call the “utopian” moment of a revolution. It certainly occurred here in Venezuela. I experienced it in full force when I arrived to the country 20 years ago: it was a moment of euphoria, and there was often the sense that everything belonged to everyone, even internationally. A slogan that appeared on state-run shops, billboards, and t-shirts was “Venezuela es de todos” (Venezuela is everybody’s), and it was meant honestly, with foreigners and visitors being included among the “todos.” One felt—conditioned partly, of course, by the commodity supercycle that was occurring at the time—that the world of universal abundance was just around the corner.

The subsequent trajectory of the revolution has involved negotiating between, on the one hand, these very ambitious aspirations—a maximalist project that is essentially communist—and, on the other hand, the real-world obstacles and pressures that the revolution faces, including the pressing needs for technological development and defense, and the necessary alliances and compromises that must be made. One of the paradoxes and tensions in every revolution carried out in a world dominated by U.S. imperialism is that you proclaim total emancipation, a world free from oppression and exploitation, overcoming gender oppression and racial oppression, and you announce the goal of establishing a harmonious relation to nature, but your daily work will be to build an effective army and make very pragmatic decisions and compromises. Good revolutionary leadership, which Venezuela has had in President Chávez, President Maduro, and now has in acting President Delcy Rodríguez, is about managing this situation, never losing sight of both poles of it: the utopian-strategic and the practical. I think that so far it has been done very well, though of course in ways that are necessarily going to be imperfect and uneven.

The Venezuelan socialist commune certainly belongs to the most ambitious and maximalist side of this equation—it expresses the desire to overcome the world of exploitation and all oppressions. Its immediate history is in the project of building socialism that Chávez declared in 2006, then tried to legislate in 2007 with the unsuccessful constitutional reform, and then finally found a different approach, the commune, in 2009. However, it should be noted that at the same time as Chávez pursued this very radical, very ambitious project, he was also doing more pragmatic “developmentalist” projects—such as the Orinoco Belt heavy-oil project, which involved extensive international participation—and large-scale welfare programs like the Great Venezuelan Housing Mission. So, the pursuit of the “utopian” and strategic goal was always combined with hard-headed realism. Chávez, Maduro, and the people have tried—and continue trying—to “take the sky by storm,” as Marx said of the Paris Communards, but they have always kept their feet firmly on the ground. I think that is what it means to be a revolutionary, not merely a romantic “beautiful soul” (to use Hegel’s term).

It should be pointed out that the tension involved in negotiating between the most ambitious, socialist side of the Bolivarian Revolution, on the one hand, and the practical issues of survival in the world, on the other, also exists inside the communes, since the communes proclaim the highest socialist ideals, but quite often their daily work will consist in solving problems such as those related to plumbing or garbage collection. Here, too, of course, managing this tension requires revolutionary leadership and the social base’s ability to see the glorious future of all-around emancipation and meaningful abundance in the humblest daily activities, even if it is a distant goal. The coexistence of these two dimensions is part of any successful revolutionary project. To take two examples, it was embodied in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, which fought fascism and the Japanese occupation while understanding its anti-fascist struggle as part of the broader communist project. It is also captured wonderfully in Fyodor Gladkov’s socialist-realist novel Cement (1925): the task of building the communist future is presented quite literally as figuring out how to get a cement factory running again—under gunfire from White Army forces and amid innumerable social and material difficulties.

All of this is to say that the “complete exit” from market society—not least because it will require defeating U.S. imperialism in a worldwide battle—is a distant goal. Getting there will not be an easy, short, or linear process. The challenge consists in holding the goal in sight, while building and experiencing parts of it in the present. That requires skillful and creative leadership, communicative skills, and human imagination. It is a challenge, but it can be done. We have examples of it in the past, as I was saying.

‘In Venezuela, the People Are Truly the Subject of the Revolution’: Interview With Thierry Deronne

IY: How, in your view, can Arab societies (most of which do not have political processes at the level seen in Latin America) benefit from the grassroots popular resistance—political, economic, and cultural—embodied in the Venezuelan commune experience?

CG: It is not for me to say, with regard to Arab societies, how they can benefit from the Venezuelan example of socialist communal construction, though I would point out that there has been a longstanding sharing of ideas between the Latin American region and the Arab countries, which goes on to this day. What I can say is that the strategic project of liberation from imperialism and initiating a march toward socialism has a universal character in our time, because the main enemy (the United States-led imperialist system) and many of the essential structures of domination are the same everywhere. This means that what is learned in one context is almost sure to have relevance in another—allowing, of course, for very important differences in terms of productive forces, history, political culture, traditions, and so on.

However, I would like to point out that cultural and societal differences should not be exaggerated in the way that postmodern, post-structuralist thought has encouraged us to do. Moreover, there have been serious errors due to the undialectical way the same body of thought has encouraged us to conceive our differences. Recognizing the existence of difference does not negate the universal but rather confirms and expresses its validity. (Put another way: The universal does not express itself through the negation of difference—to think so is to confuse the universal with the general or the homogeneous—but rather it expresses itself through the particular and individual phenomenon with its differences). For example, acknowledging the particularity of our past and living Indigenous societies in Latin America, which often embody already-existing socialist practices, does not negate but rather confirms the validity of Marx’s discoveries about the possibility of overcoming value production through free association of laborers and social property. In effect, we become more Marxist, more communist, not less Marxist and less communist, by recognizing and respecting the specific character of an Indigenous society. This is what the great Latin American Marxist thinker José Carlos Mariátegui demonstrated, who showed how analyzing what was then called “the Indigenous question” on the bases established by Indigenous peoples themselves would lead us to the most Marxist issue of all: the problem of the land (i.e. property relations). He also showed how the coming together of the modern socialist movement and the Indigenous peoples’ struggle to maintain their de facto socialist land-use in Peru could make both movements stronger on their own respective terms.

I would like to point out that the commune should not be converted into a fetish and a kind of socialist panacea for peoples and nations everywhere. In places where communal traditions exist it may be relevant. However, there are many communal projects that proclaim socialist ideals or claim to be leftist but are neither useful for socialism nor are they anti-imperialist, which is the sine qua non of any valuable undertaking today. (The most explicit example of the communal form serving the nefarious purposes of imperialism and Zionism is the Israeli kibbutz, which is an instrument for robbing Palestinians of their land, but there are other examples of communal projects that are functional to imperialism in other parts of the world.) Marx indeed saw value in many communal undertakings, but if you read Marx with any degree of rigor, you will be brought face to face with the fact that Marx did not “defend the commune in general” without considerations of context and content, neither the Paris Commune nor the Russian rural commune. He realized that, to be viable, the communes needed to be part of a wider context, a revolution of national emancipation. In our time, that wider context is an anti-imperialist (and anti-Zionist) revolution of national liberation that will be conducted by a vanguard party or other class-based organization. The need to be part of that larger revolutionary project is what Marxism teaches us, and it is reflected in Chávez’s thought. Chávez said, “The isolated commune is counterrevolutionary” and “The commune is a cell, but a cell needs a body.” He also insisted on the need to build a National Communal System. (For more exploration of these ideas, see my recent article, “Socialist Communes and Anti-Imperialism: The Marxist Approach,” published in Monthly Review this summer.)

Since I mentioned above the contribution of the emancipatory elements in Christianity to the Latin American revolutionary project, I want to say something about Islam, which is the dominant religion in the Arab countries. Of course, Islam like most other religions also has many emancipatory and humanly valuable elements, but its relevance to the revolutionary project of our times goes beyond these specific features. The most important thing is that, for the past few centuries, most Muslim-majority peoples have lived under forms of colonial or imperialist domination by Northern powers. As a result of this experience, the culture of Islam tends historically toward anticolonial and anti-imperialist positions. An indirect confirmation of this is that when Islam becomes the official religion of a pro-colonial, pro-imperialist state such as Saudi Arabia, it produces numerous fractures, contradictions, and dissident movements. This reminds us that, because of basic historical and geographical trajectories, Islam is fundamentally a religion of the oppressed and dominated.

Now, it would be profoundly absurd—and in fact contrary to every sociological and historical principle consistent with Marxism—to imagine that the culture and belief systems of the oppressed of the world are not revolutionary assets. Indeed, the two billion Muslims of the world are one of the main pillars of the global anti-imperialist struggle that defines our epoch.

IY: Beginning in the summer of 2025, the U.S. carried out a massive military deployment in the Caribbean. There have been drone and missile attacks on fishing boats, involving the extrajudicial killing of more than 130 people, and multiple violent seizures of oil tankers carrying Venezuelan crude. These actions culminated in the bombing of Caracas on January 3 of this year and the illegal kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife the national assembly member Cilia Flores. How do you understand these unprecedented attacks, and what do you think their medium- and long-term impact will be? You have mentioned the probable return of armed struggle as a form of resistance to this new kind of imperialist intervention. Beyond that, what other challenges do Venezuela and the countries in the region face in this new scenario?

CG: I began this interview pointing out the importance of considering January 3 within the historical continuum. In that same spirit, I want to point out that a correct, materialist perspective on the events of that day will recognize the heavy conditioning of U.S. imperialism’s actions both before and after it took the decision to do a Blitzkrieg attack on Venezuela and illegally kidnap President Nicolás Maduro and first combatant Cilia Flores. On the one hand, the unity of the revolutionary bloc within Venezuela, the unbroken loyalty of the military, and the armed character of the people put real limits on what imperialism could do in this context. It meant that the United States was unable to do a classic ground invasion and also unable to do regime change through a coup d’etat. For all of those reasons, the United States opted for a tightening of the blockade, by preventing oil tankers carrying Venezuelan crude from leaving the country, and it decided to kidnap the President.

In fact, the closest historical precedent for the illegal kidnapping of President Maduro and Cilia Flores on January 3 is the operation that murdered FARC leader Alfonso Cano in 2011 at the dawn of peace negotiations in Colombia, which left Timochenko (Rodrigo Londoño) at the head of that anti-imperialist guerrilla movement to complete a negotiation process that was already under way. In that sense—and looking once more at historical continuities—it is worth pointing out that acting President Delcy Rodríguez’s decisions after the January 3rd attack essentially follow the lines of the negotiation plan already laid out by Nicolás Maduro. Prior to his kidnapping, Maduro had already foreseen a possible revision of the Hydrocarbon Law and a controlled opening to U.S. oil interests. Notably, most oil experts do not predict a great change in the amount of oil being produced in Venezuela over the upcoming years, since investors are not enthusiastic. As a result, promises of a “new boom” that greatly benefits either the United States or Venezuela is very unlikely.

It is important to recognize that the new scenario following January 3 does involve a tactical retreat and significant challenges for the Bolivarian Revolution as well as for progressive forces in the region, most especially Cuba (whose revolution has been a socialist example and beacon of hope for revolutionaries around the world). The fact that the United States will control Venezuela’s oil sales in the near future indeed represents a blow to Venezuela’s sovereignty in one specific area. What the Venezuelan government has done, I must emphasize again, should be considered a tactical retreat. It was wise to do so. Controlled retreats and compromises are an important part of any revolutionary playbook. However, it will be important for the Venezuelan revolution—if it wishes to keep the retreat as a merely tactical one—to continue its anti-imperialist political stance and assert sovereignty in other areas, while it prepares to recover full control of its oil production and commercialization at a future date.

To maintain its strategic project in the difficult time that lies ahead, the Venezuelan revolution has some important assets. These include: (1) a powerful political party, the PSUV; (2) a loyal military that is allied with the people in what Chávez called “the civic-military alliance”; and (3) improved control over the financial sector, which developed in response to the United States blockade over the past decade. Over and above these three elements, Venezuela’s most decisive revolutionary “asset”—in fact, the very essence of the revolution—is the alliance between popular power and the revolutionary government. This must be maintained at all costs. Moreover, in the upcoming period, it will be the task of popular power, particularly as expressed in the communes, to maintain the highest socialist and anti-imperialist ideals of the revolution, just as the communal movement did during the blockade-induced crisis we experienced during the last decade. It will also fall upon this movement to attempt to maintain some of the more revolutionary international connections on a people-to-people, South-South basis that may not be so easy for the State to do now through overt diplomatic relations.

In fact, this has already been happening, inasmuch as communal forces have been working diligently on campaigns for the return of President Maduro and have been working to maintain some of the internationalist ties, such as that with the revolutionary forces among the Colombian people. In the difficult time we face in the future, it is important to maintain the impressive unity of Venezuela’s revolutionary forces, demonstrated both over the last decade and in the immediate responses to the January 3rd attack. That being said, within the unified revolutionary bloc in Venezuela, there have always coexisted tendencies that are more middle-class and technocratic, on the one hand, and others that are more working class and connected with the communes, on the other. The former have been strengthened over the past decade, because of policy decisions that were necessary to survive the imperialist blockade. Therefore, it will be important that the socialist-leaning forces of the revolution, especially those involved in the communes, demonstrate, by way of example—as they did in the last decade—their capacity and robustness in the economic, political, and cultural spheres. To be clear, this should not take the form of chest-beating and “critical” discourses, but patient concrete work of commune-building and ideological and practical formation of the masses: that is, a range of efforts that show by way of example that the communal sector is the most solid, most trustworthy and disciplined, and most antiimperialist pillar of the revolution.

One final observation. Fascism has advanced in the United States and actually seized power there, in a way that has become very explicit with Trump’s second presidency. Meanwhile, a fascist and more explicitly colonialist imperialism—MAGA imperialism—has scored some real victories in the Latin American region through its recourse to more violent actions and open intervention. This can provoke despair in the left, particularly since the response from the anti-imperialist, anti-fascist forces in the region has so far been slow, disorganized, and not decisive enough. However, people on the left should be patient. Fascism typically wins the first battles, while the response of the most profound anti-fascist forces is necessarily slower to take shape. This is partly because anti-fascism must mobilize the peace-loving majorities of the world and partly because its methods of internal organization are more democratic. However, once this force awakens, its power and creativity are immense, and its capacity to crush the enemies of social progress and human emancipation is resounding.

Ibrahem Younes is an Egyptian researcher and translator whose core interests include sociology, Marxism, and world-systems analysis. He regularly writes on Latin American affairs for the Al Mayadeen Network website and the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

(MRonline) by Ibrahem Younes


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This article originally appeared in the March 9, 2026 edition of almomento.

Alejandro Martínez Araiza, general secretary of the National Food and Commerce Union (SNAC), marks 295 days today in blatant defiance of the Federal Labor Law (LFT). Despite demands from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS), headed by Marath Bolaños, the union leader refuses to disclose the whereabouts of more than 500 million pesos belonging to the workers’ assets.

The conflict, which is escalating in tension as the months go by, stems from the systematic violation of Article 373 of the Federal Labor Law. This law requires union leadership to provide detailed accountings of their assets. However, union members from companies with a national presence, such as Mondelez, PepsiCo, Sabritas, Barcel, Mars, Sigma Alimentos, Alpura, and Pan Ideal, report that there is no record of how union dues accumulated over the past six years have been managed.

Mexican union leader Alejandro Martínez Araiza proudly uses a photograph of himself before the US Congress for some reason, probably not a good one. In September of last year, he posted an embarrassing eulogy to US racist Charlie Kirk on his Facebook account.

A Challenge to Transparency

Since May 19, 2025, the Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registration (CFCRL), under the direction of Alfredo Domínguez Marrufo, formally urged Martínez Araiza to submit a detailed report of the SNAC’s finances. Far from complying, the leader has openly refused, cynically arguing that “97 percent of the country’s unions do not report their assets.”

This stance has been interpreted by rank-and-file workers as a direct challenge to the anti-corruption policies implemented by President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration. Despite the legal challenges filed, the workers point out that Domínguez Marrufo has refused to cancel the union leader’s registration, which they describe as a “ratification of complicity.”

Re-election Irregularities

The history of irregularities doesn’t end with a lack of financial transparency. On April 15, 2025, Martínez Araiza secured his re-election in a process riddled with suspicion. According to reports, the leader moved the elections forward by seven months, holding them during Holy Week to minimize oversight.

Even more serious is the alleged intervention of CFCRL officials to validate the process. File CFCRL-MODMIEMBROS-20250415-25297-0817 reveals that, on the very day of the election, the union requested to modify its membership list. Just 24 hours later, Marco Antonio Magadán Ocampo, Deputy Director of Union Registration Verification, approved the request, updating the list to 17,161 members in an expedited manner.

The speed with which the CFCRL has processed the paperwork in favor of the SNAC contrasts sharply with the bureaucracy faced by workers’ complaints. Just three weeks after the election, Rafael Mendoza Mendoza, Technical and Registry Support Director, issued the certificate of modification of the board of directors under registration number 4232.

For the dissident workers, these actions confirm the existence of an institutional protection network that allows Martínez Araiza to operate above the law. While his 500 million peso fortune remains unaudited, the rank-and-file workers are demanding the President’s immediate intervention to stop what they consider a corruption scheme rooted in the old practices of opaque unionism.

The post 500 Million Pesos in Dues Missing; Workers Believe Mexico’s Federal Labour Regulator Complicit appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.


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Every day, President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a morning presidential press conference and Mexico Solidarity Media posts English language summaries, translated by Mexico Solidarity’s Pedro Gellert. Previous press conference summaries are available here.

Less violence and more opportunities: the security strategy delivers resultsThe National Security Strategy has reduced intentional homicides by 44% between September 2024 and February 2026, decreasing from 86.9 to 48.8 murders per day, making this the lowest figure for this month in at least ten years.

Authorities have made 46,400 arrests, seized 24,000 firearms, and confiscated 346 tons of drugs. In addition, through the strategy against extortion, 161,000 reports have been received, preventing 88% of extortion attempts. At the same time, the government announced the construction of 500 new upper-secondary schools, along with 487 peace fairs and he recovery of public spaces to strengthen the social fabric.

Strong public support: 75% presidential approval ratingsPresident Claudia Sheinbaum presented the results of the Enkoll opinion poll conducted for the daily El País, which shows 75% approval of her administration. She explained that the majority of the population supports the transformation project, affirming that the government’s true alliance is with the people of Mexico.

Electoral reform with popular supportThe President stated that more than 80% of the population supports the Electoral Reform, including proposals for proportional representation congressional deputies to be elected directly by voters and for reducing the public funding allocated to political parties and elections.

Mexico cooperates with the United States without subordinationIn relation to the group promoted by Trump, it was stated that Mexico does not need to be invited, since it maintains a direct agreement and monthly working groups with the United States on security matters. The President emphasized that the bilateral relationship is ongoing and producing results, particularly in decreasing the flow of fentanyl, independently of political statements or summits.

USMCA: Mexico seeks to reduce tariffs in renegotiationSheinbaum indicated that Mexico will seek to reduce tariffs on products that meet rules-of-origin requirements, especially steel, aluminum, and motor vehicles, during the review of the USMCA, whose first round of negotiations begins March 16. The President also reported that her government is in dialogue with producers and companies to regulate the corn market.

The post People’s Mañanera March 10 appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.


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The National Assembly of Venezuela approved with a qualified majority the Organic Law of Mines, aimed at strengthening the legal framework governing the country’s mineral resources.

The draft bill of the law was approved in its first discussion during the regular session of the parliament on Monday, March 9.

The discussion, held at 5:00 pm, was the sole item on the agenda of the plenary session at the Federal Legislative Palace.

This procedure was carried out in strict compliance with the provisions established in Article 104 of the Internal Regulations and Debates of the Venezuelan parliament.

The National Assembly thus formalized the processing of one of the priority initiatives of its strategic agenda for the 2026 parliamentary period.

Venezuela’s Acting President Rodríguez and US Secretary Burgum Outline Strategic Mining Partnership (+Diosdado Cabello)

The discussion of this law represents progress in the current legislative agenda, focused on regulating the country’s mineral resources.

During the debate, lawmakers presented the foundations of the proposal prior to its referral to the corresponding commission for the preparation of the report for the second discussion.

(Últimas Noticias) by Olys Guárate

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/CB/SC


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The foreign affairs minister of Venezuela, Yván Gil, repudiated the recent hostile remarks against Venezuela made by US Senator Markwayne Mullin, who has been designated to head the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Gil noted that such statements contrast with the constructive spirit with which the two governments are attempting to rebuild their bilateral relations.

Gil emphasized that it is imperative to protect the progress achieved in restoring diplomatic and consular ties, keeping them away from individual agendas that sabotage mutual understanding.

He stressed that the process of normalization between Caracas and Washington responds to a sovereign decision aimed at overcoming “microphone diplomacy,” which historically hindered progress between the countries.

According to Gil, Mullin’s disrespectful statements represent a setback in the path recently undertaken by the two countries to normalize their diplomatic relations. The Venezuelan government considers that respect for self-determination must be the fundamental pillar of any institutional rapprochement with the US administration.

Gil’s remarks came after the nominee for US Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, said that his country’s objective is for Venezuela to “return to democracy” through “free and fair elections.”

A call to move beyond rhetoric to guarantee coexistenceThe Venezuelan government urged political actors in the United States to abandon narratives that undermine international coexistence. Gil called for turning the page on aggressive rhetoric, arguing that such positions do not provide real benefits to relations between sovereign states.

Venezuela reaffirmed its willingness to maintain frank and respectful dialogue, as long as the nation’s dignity and independence are recognized—principles that the Foreign Ministry will defend with absolute firmness against any attempt at interference.

Canada Has Spent Decades Undermining Venezuelan Democracy

Gil reiterated that Venezuela wants to builds bridges for cooperation but will not tolerate disrespect that cloud the ambience of negotiations. Caracas’ call seeks to safeguard regional stability and ensure that official channels of communication prevail over the personal opinions of officials.

He underscored that the Venezuelan government hopes that diplomacy will prevail under protocols of mutual respect, preventing bellicose discourse from interfering with the shared interests of the peoples.

(Últimas Noticias) by Randolph Borges

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/CB/SC


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By Jessica Dos Santos  –  Mar 3, 2026

VA columnist Jessica Dos Santos walks readers through a flurry of major developments Venezuela has gone through since the Jan. 3 US attacks.

A couple of weeks ago, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright did not just visit Caracas. He was hosted at the presidential palace with a traditional joropo presentation before being taken on a tour of oilfields like the estate owner who comes to check in on his land and cattle. His statements were clear enough: Washington has sights set on oil, gas, and “critical minerals.”

The spectacle of a Trump administration official getting the red carpet treatment, six weeks after that same administration bombed Caracas and kidnapped the Venezuelan president, was puzzling for many of us, to put it mildly.

We are told that Delcy Rodríguez has a gun to her head, and I totally agree. But she smiles while this gun is cocked and I find it hard to completely ignore what I see and hear.

Days after Wright, it was the Southern Command chief, Francis Donovan, alongside Acting Assistant War Secretary Joseph Humire, to drop in to meet Rodríguez, alongside Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino. Both US officials were likewise heavily involved in the January 3 attacks that killed over 100 Venezuelans. Donovan promised to return “soon” because he is apparently involved in “stabilizing (Venezuelan) security and transition toward a new era.”

At the time, the Venezuelan government talked about a “cooperation agenda” with the US against drug trafficking and terrorism. Just a few months ago, Venezuelan leaders were denouncing the US as the main source of drug trafficking and terrorism in the hemisphere (and it’s true). Speaking about the meeting days later, the acting president said it wasn’t easy: “I had to sit face to face with those who murdered my father [leftist leader assassinated in 1976 while detained by the Venezuelan state] and with those responsible for killing our January 3 heroes […]. I did it for Venezuela.”

She did it for Venezuela? Are all these things being done for Venezuela? Many are quick to point out the Venezuelan forces’ underwhelming response against the US attack, though we have to wonder what the cost would have been otherwise, assuming it was actually possible to have done more. Maybe the reaction is due to having spent months listening to one leader after another praise the readiness of the defense forces and vowing that such an event would never happen. The armed forces have given no explanation about the January 3 events.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez gave an interview to NewsMax where he talked about implementing a “free market economy” and “adapting legislation” to attract US investment. At the same time, he ruled out elections in the near term, though he left the door open for far-right candidate María Corina Machado to eventually participate. Meanwhile, Machado has been announcing her return to the country for weeks but has faded from the spotlight. She clearly needs Trump’s approval for whatever she wants to do next.

In contrast, Trump surprised everyone by inviting former electoral rector and presidential candidate Enrique Márquez to his State of the Union address, showcasing him as one of the high-profile people recently released from the Helicoide prison. It’s already fueling speculation that the White House might choose to back a figure much more moderate than Machado as part of its announced “three-phase plan” for Venezuela.

Nevertheless, in the same speech, Trump praised his “new partner and friend, Venezuelan,” bragging about his “close relationship” with the acting president while accusing Maduro of being an “outlaw dictator” and honoring Eric Slover, a pilot who was injured in the January 3 operations against Venezuela. For its part, the government has stood by Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, but has framed the US attacks as a “stain” in the two countries’ relationship.

On the domestic front, authorities are releasing hundreds and hundreds of people, from opposition politicians to poor saps, whom we never knew why they were arrested in the first place. Some of the spokespeople who today praise the government’s gesture and commitment to peace with the Amnesty Law are the same ones who months ago would rail against anyone who questioned the detention of campesino or trade union activists, of young idiots who made TikTok videos criticizing Maduro, or pointed out the double standards in letting Guaidó and other confessed criminals walk free.

The cabinet has also seen some major changes, including the appointment of a career opposition politician, Oliver Blanco, as vice minister for Europe and North America. At the same time, Alex Saab’s middle name is now “unknown,” because there has been no official update since the rumors of his arrest. Additionally, some media speculated that former Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami was extradited to the US; others denied it, but we’ve only heard of him once since his arrest in early 2023.

Venezuelan foreign policy has changed dramatically as well. Gone are the references to imperialism, even to the highly touted “multipolar world.” It’s not just the express rapprochement with the US, thanking Trump officials for their “respect and courtesy” while they manage our oil revenues. Days ago, when the US and Israel launched the attack against Iran, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry published an unbelievable statement that even condemned Iran for retaliating against US bases in the region. In fact, the communiqué was taken down after a barrage of criticism.

Meanwhile, familiar problems persist… People are still waiting for the currency to stabilize and for some increase to their incomes, but that has yet to happen. Direct flights to the US are set to resume, and the deportation of Venezuelans also continues apace.

Nicolás Maduro Guerra, a deputy and the president’s son, has assured everyone that he talks to his father regularly and he “agrees with everything.” I find myself asking: does Maduro also agree with the US Treasury blocking the Venezuelan government from funding his legal defense?

Brazil’s Lula da Silva, trapped between his short memory and his desire to be friends with God and the Devil at the same time, says that Maduro’s arrest is a minor issue and that democracy is the main issue. How can you talk about democracy in a country where the president was just kidnapped and 100 people were killed? Colombia’s Gustavo Petro echoes this line, and we’re inevitably reminded of past Colombian treason against Venezuela.

Social media plays a crucial part in all this, hogging attention on everything from Bad Bunny to the “therian phenomenon” or the adorable monkey Punch in a Japanese zoo. Well… what about Trump’s deadly antics? Or the Epstein files? And Palestine? Venezuela suffered an unusual invasion, and the world is too numb to take note.

These two months have felt like five years. At some point we’ll be able to calmly take stock of how the pieces have fallen and think about the next steps. But first we need a chance to breathe. The struggle continues.

(Venezuelanalysis)


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