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The decree stipulates that the Syrian state will protect cultural and linguistic diversity, guaranteeing Kurds the right to preserve their heritage and promote their mother tongue within the framework of national sovereignty.

Among the decree’s main provisions is the official recognition of Kurdish as a national language, which will allow its teaching in public and private schools in areas with a significant Kurdish population.

Furthermore, laws stemming from the 1962 census in Hasakah province will be repealed, and Syrian citizenship will be granted to Kurds who were previously considered “unregistered.”

The decree also recognizes Nowruz, celebrated on March 21, as a national holiday, symbolizing brotherhood and the arrival of spring.

In a televised address, Al-Shara called on Syrian Kurds not to believe narratives that seek to sow discord and urged them to return to their homes to participate in the reconstruction and unification of the country.

This move comes amid tensions in northern Syria, where the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Arab Army continue to clash.

jdt/mem/fm

The post Syria officially recognizes the language and culture of Syrian Kurds first appeared on Prensa Latina.


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Under the artistic direction of Helson Hernandez, the tenor’s performance will take place as part of the preparatory stage for the 41st Jazz Plaza Festival and will feature soprano Isabel Torres, baritone Carlos Manuel Gonzalez, and pianist Vilma Garriga.

The special presentation will include a Russian romance, arias from French and Italian operas, and works by prominent composers of French chanson, according to national media.

In addition, students and young singers will meet the renowned artist at the National Museum of Music next January 19, where he will give a masterclass

The program is supported by the National Center for Concert Music, the Cuban Ministry of Culture, the City Historian’s Office, CMBF Classical Music Radio of Cuba, and the Cuban Institute of Music.

Ismael Billy, known for his powerful voice and interpretive sensitivity, has performed Italian and French repertoire, including works such as Tosca, La Traviata, Turandot, Faust, and Werther, sharing the stage with international stars like Philippe Jaroussky and Benjamin Bernheim.

jdt/jcm/vnl

The post French tenor Ismael Billy arrives in Havana with Grand Recital first appeared on Prensa Latina.


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submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by rss@news.abolish.capital to c/latam@news.abolish.capital
 
 

The US invasion of Venezuela on January 3 and the subsequent abduction of President Maduro marked a significant shift in American foreign policy, reflecting a return to the interventionist tactics of the past.


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By William Serafino  –  Jan 15, 2026

Following the overwhelming and patently illegal US military aggression against Venezuela on January 3, which culminated in the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, National Assembly Deputy Cilia Flores, and left a catastrophic toll of 100 dead (so far), US President Donald Trump has been investing a great deal of narrative resources to claim that he is in charge of Venezuela.

Trump’s explicitly colonial language has also included the use of bullying as a tactic of provocation, as he recently proclaimed himself “interim president” of Venezuela in a post on Truth Social.

In parallel, his contrasting comments about Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president, and far-right leader María Corina Machado complement the framing of his narrative. Regarding Rodríguez, he highlights her “cooperation” and how well they have been working together. Meanwhile, he continues to pour cold water on Machado, arguing that she lacks respect in her country.

Based on these two premises, Trump is constructing the artifice of what he seeks to sell as a US colonial regency or protectorate in Venezuela, grounded in his supposed “selection” of Rodríguez.

This approach cannot be sustained by facts. Despite cover-up efforts by the hegemonic media, its fragile seams are plain for all to see.

A calculation with a counterproductive outcome
Let us go back to the bitter early morning of January 3. Evaluating the US calculations dispassionately, it would be very naive to consider that the ultimate objective of the aggression was merely to abduct President Maduro. Similarly, it would be naive to think that removing a country’s top political authority from the game is not part of a broader strategic effort to dismantle and destabilize the state that the person governs.

The psychological, social, and political shock caused by the bombings in Caracas and other Venezuelan cities was the concrete measure of that aspiration, which was not formally declared as part of “Operation Absolute Resolve.” Most likely, the powers in Washington—intellectually colonized for years by recycled narratives about internal divisions within Chavismo—expected a rapid, house-of-cards collapse in Venezuela.

Following the projected collapse—first political and then institutional—the US would play at managing the chaos, following the model of the looting of Iraq after the 2003 military invasion. A weak and fragmented government, unable to control the territory and maintain the cohesion of the country, would create an optimal scenario for an occupation focused on seizing oil fields, while simultaneously arbitrating the internal conflict between military and political forces in favor of the most pro-US factions.

One could try to refute this approach by arguing that Venezuela is not Iraq, and that Trump, unlike Bush Jr.’s neoconservative approach, leans toward limited military operations to mitigate reputational and electoral costs.

Although this is partly true, it does not fill the explanatory gaps after the bombing.

Trump has not achieved any positive outcomes that are equivalent in impact and benefit to the risk of militarily attacking a South American country and kidnapping its head of state. US public opinion condemns his decision, he has not seen a significant boost in the polls, frictions within isolationist factions of the MAGA world have intensified, and the recent meeting with executives of major Western oil companies—at which he had hoped to secure a major domestic economic victory—concluded without any investment commitments.

Considering the projected returns after the aggression, the continuity of the Venezuelan government under Delcy Rodríguez does not fit within the triumphant position in which Trump had hoped to be nearly two weeks after the riskiest geopolitical move of his entire political career.

It is evident that the rise of Maduro’s vice president in extraordinary conditions was not part of the operation’s design, nor was it the product of supposed behind-the-scenes negotiations or an election, but rather an unforeseen consequence that Trump has had to ride out on the fly.

With Rodríguez at the helm of Venezuela, Trump faces the complex task of reconciling politically explosive variables: the electoral frenzy of the midterms, the risks stemming from a new escalation, and the time and resources he must invest in negotiations to secure political and economic gains on which to draw in the domestic elections.

In short, Trump’s supposed “choice” of Rodríguez does not seem to make sense if the outcome of that decision is facing the same obstacles he had faced with Maduro: securing a greater oil presence through negotiations with Marco Rubio’s enemies. The amount of risk taken for a “Pyrrhic victory,” as Argentinian historian Lautaro Rivara points out, is solid evidence that the current acting president of Venezuela was never part of Trump’s plans, nor was Machado.

Standing Tall: Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez Condemns US Aggression While Machado-Trump Meeting Ends in Fiasco

Dismantling Trump’s “we are in charge”
Despite Trump’s declarative insistence on his fictitious government in Venezuela, colonial mandates, protectorates, or tutelages are implemented through practical legal and institutional actions. It is precisely this condition that makes it unnecessary to constantly reaffirm that one is in charge of a country. In this logic, Trump’s reaffirmations do not bring him closer to his goal; they take him further away.

In the broad US imperial-colonial tradition, these forms of external control have been embodied in formulas such as the 1901 Platt Amendment for Cuba and the 1902 Philippine Organic Act applied to the Philippines. These two formalized US control over these island nations once the US war with the Spanish Empire concluded. These countries had been part of the Spanish Empire until the US military victory.

Nothing like these mechanisms is being applied to Venezuela, no matter how hard one tries to force historical logic by presenting the ongoing US energy and geopolitical blackmail against Venezuela as a sui generis variant of a US protectorate or tutelage.

Since national sovereignty is an indivisible concept, the implementation of intermediate protectorates is not possible. The current pressure exerted by Trump against Venezuela, amplified by a military aggression that has undoubtedly strengthened the United States’ advantages in imposing its will, is not automatically an unequivocal sign of tutelage.

Proof that there is no such thing as a Trump government in Venezuela recently came from ExxonMobil, whose CEO, Darren Woods, refused to invest in Venezuela during a meeting between Big Oil executives and the US president. Subsequently, Trump stated that he was considering excluding ExxonMobil from his energy strategy in Venezuela, acknowledging that he could not fulfilll the oil company’s request during the meeting: a structural change to Venezuela’s legal framework.

What would be the difficulty in achieving it if he is indeed governing Venezuela, and a protectorate has already been established?

Paraphrasing the Brazilian essayist Antônio Cândido, who stated that “literature is the daydreaming of civilizations,” the notion of a protectorate is the daydreaming of the US empire in Venezuela.

The declaration of intent in this regard is a dangerous sign that the neocons, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, salivating for an Iraq in the Caribbean, are not entirely satisfied with the current post-Maduro scenario and are plotting a new offensive, because the ultimate prize of the Bolivarian Republic’s collapse has once again slipped through their fingers.

(Diario Red)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/SC/SF


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

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Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated that Cuba remains willing to engage in dialogue with the United States, provided it takes place on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect. He made these statements during the tribute ceremony for the 32 Cuban combatants killed in the January 3 US military attack on Venezuela, held at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune in Havana on Friday, January 16.

In his remarks, the Cuban president underscored that there is no possibility of reaching an understanding under conditions of pressure, threats, or political impositions. This has been Cuba’s position for over six decades of bilateral relations with the US, marked by diplomatic tensions due to imperialist hostility and the blockade.

President Díaz-Canel emphasized that Cuba will not accept negotiations based on blackmail or preconditions, reaffirming the country’s willingness to move toward a more stable bilateral relationship with the United States, provided that the principles of national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs are respected.

“Dialogue is possible, but it must take place between sovereign states on an equal footing,” he said.

🇨🇺| Presidente @DiazCanelB

“Nuestros bravos combatientes, con armas convencionales y sin más chalecos que su moral y su lealtad al compromiso con la misión que cumplían, pelearon hasta morir y golpearon a sus adversarios”.#HonorYGloria pic.twitter.com/DZv8uCehf2

— Presidencia Cuba 🇨🇺 (@PresidenciaCuba) January 16, 2026

Díaz-Canel: “Imperialism made us anti-imperialists”
Miguel Díaz-Canel stated that the anti-imperialist character of the Cuban people is not based on theoretical slogans or artificial ideological constructs, but on a historical experience marked by aggression, interventionism, and external pressure policies.

At the Anti-Imperialist Tribune in Havana, the president stressed that Cuba’s anti-imperialist stance is the direct result of decades of confrontation with hostile policies promoted by Washington, and is part of the historical memory of national resistance.

He highlighted that the Cuban people have built their political awareness through concrete experiences that include the economic blockade, covert operations, military aggressions, and attempts at international isolation.

“Imperialism made us anti-imperialists,” he said, underscoring that the defense of national sovereignty has been a constant for Cuba from the 19th-century wars of independence to the present day.

He added that each historical stage has reinforced the Cuban people’s sense of collective resistance and the need for unity in the face of external pressures.

The president also emphasized that defending Venezuela is part of defending Latin American dignity and sovereignty.

Cuba Honors 32 Martyrs in the US Military Attack on Venezuela

He reiterated that the 32 martyrs “defended not only Venezuelan sovereignty but also regional peace and Cuba’s honor,” calling their sacrifice an expression of Cuban internationalism.

The president noted that Cuba has actively promoted the declaration of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, approved at the CELAC Summit held in Havana in 2014, highlighting the country’s historical commitment to diplomatic solutions to international conflicts.

However, he clarified that this peaceful vocation does not imply renouncing the legitimate right to self-defense. “Peace does not mean weakness,” he said, reaffirming that Cuba will respond firmly to any external aggression.

During the event, Díaz-Canel also referred to the current international context, marked by geopolitical tensions and armed conflicts, stating that national unity constitutes the country’s main shield against external pressures.

He concluded his remarks by reiterating that Cuba remains open to diplomatic dialogue with the United States. However, he warned that Cuba will not accept any condition that would entail renouncing its political project, its sovereignty, or its independence.

(Telesur)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/SC/SF


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

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Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—On Friday, Venezuela received 199 repatriated nationals from the US through the Return to the Homeland Plan, marking the operation’s first arrival in 2026. The flight landed at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, La Guaira state.

Flight 99 arrived on Friday, January 16, 2026, from the state of Arizona. The operation, conducted by the US-based Eastern Airlines, brought 181 men and 18 women back to their country.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ministerio Relaciones Interiores, Justicia y Paz (@minjusticia_ve)

This arrival represents the first repatriation flight to Venezuela this year, occurring in the wake of the January 3 attack perpetrated by the US regime against Venezuela. The US military attack included the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, along with the assassination of over 100 people and a similar number of injuries.

Since January 2025, Venezuela and the US have maintained a consistent, mutually agreed-upon repatriation program. However, Donald Trump’s administration unilaterally suspended the agreement in mid-December 2025, with Flight 98 arriving on December 10.

Root causes of migration
The migration of most Venezuelans began after they were impacted by the profound economic crisis between 2015 and 2020, resulting directly from illegal US sanctions. This was followed by a sustained smear campaign and outbreaks of xenophobic violence within the US, which often included false allegations of criminality against migrants. Subsequently, the US government initiated mass detentions and deportations, frequently involving individuals who had no criminal histories and were awaiting the resolution of migration cases.

Venezuela Repatriates 1,000 Nationals in a Week as Flights Defy US Airspace Disruption Attempts

Comprehensive aid for returnees
Every Venezuelan migrant returning under the Return to the Homeland Plan is received with established protocols that include immediate medical care, psychological support, and legal and socioeconomic guidance to assist their reintegration. Since its inception in 2018, the program has worked to provide a safe and dignified homecoming for Venezuelans who have faced exploitation and xenophobia while living abroad.

Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff

OT/JRE/SF


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

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Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil condemned the military attack carried out by the US government against Venezuela, stating that it seriously endangers world peace. According to Gil, this action violates the very foundations upon which the United Nations (UN) was built.

During a meeting with the network of legal experts at the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas on Friday, the minister emphasized that the principles of dialogue and diplomacy had been systematically and flagrantly violated. “We are discussing the gravity of this situation and the urgency of restoring international law,” he stated firmly.

Gil pointed out that the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores constitutes a direct violation of the personal immunity of heads of state, a fundamental norm that does not depend on the recognition of foreign governments but on popular sovereignty.

He reiterated that allowing acts of this nature would destroy the world order, which must be based on the United Nations Charter rather than economic or military disparities between nations.

According to Minister Gil, the use of force against Venezuela is a matter that concerns the entire international community, as the political stability of the planet is at stake. He insisted that the current situation forces a choice between the law of the strongest and a future governed by diplomacy and dialogue. In this regard, he emphasized that President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores represent the banner of resistance in one of the most crucial struggles of the 21st century.

Venezuelan Teachers March in Caracas for the Release of President Maduro and Cilia Flores

Finally, Gil reaffirmed the commitment of Venezuelan institutions to fight the legal and diplomatic battles, following the position established by Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez. In recalling Simón Bolívar’s feat against the empires of the 19th century, the chancellor emphasized that truth and justice will prevail over the power of arms.

He added that the return of the kidnapped presidential couple will mark the definitive victory of legality and reason.

(Últimas Noticias) by Olys Guárate

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/SF


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

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Caracas, January 16, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez expressed her willingness to “continue shaping energy cooperation” with the United States while “respecting international legality.”

Rodríguez delivered the “Memoria y Cuenta” address to the nation before the National Assembly on Thursday, having taken office following the January 3 US military attacks and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

In her speech, Rodríguez highlighted some of the country’s recent economic achievements amidst wide-reaching US sanctions, including a reported 19 consecutive quarters of economic growth and an expected 8.5 percent GDP growth in 2025.

The acting president likewise stated that the Caribbean nation had eliminated gasoline imports last year. Rodríguez went on to announce a reform of Venezuela’s Hydrocarbon Law in order to promote foreign investment. The proposal seeks to incorporate mechanisms established under the 2020 Anti-Blockade Law to circumvent unilateral sanctions.

Rodríguez focused her speech on the importance of diplomacy, stressing that Venezuela “has the right” to maintain ties with China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, as well as the US.

With the US government reportedly administering Venezuelan oil sales and the Trump administration vowing to control the industry for an “indefinite” period, Rodríguez reiterated that Caracas remains open to energy relations in which “all parties benefit.”

She also reaffirmed her willingness to strengthen bilateral relations with Washington without subordination, urging legislators not to “fear” diplomatic initiatives.

“The acting president is afraid because she is threatened; Venezuela is threatened—Venezuela as a whole,” she said. “That is why I call for national unity, so that with sovereignty as our guiding principle, we can wage the diplomatic battle.”

Rodríguez went on to affirm that if, as acting president, she were to travel to Washington, she would do so “standing upright, walking—never groveling.”

Diplomatic rapprochement

The acting president’s diplomatic focus came days after the Venezuelan government announced the start of an exploratory process with the US aimed at reopening the respective embassies in Caracas and Washington, DC. Venezuelan officials have defended the diplomatic rapprochement with the need to denounce Maduro and Flores’ kidnapping and offer consular support during their upcoming trial.

Caracas also reported the arrival of a US State Department delegation last week to evaluate conditions for the embassy reopening. The Maduro government broke diplomatic ties with the first Trump administration in 2019 after the latter recognized the self-proclaimed “interim government” headed by Juan Guaidó.

Rodríguez further revealed that on January 14 she held a “long and courteous” phone call with Trump, during which they discussed “a working agenda for the benefit of both peoples.” The US president confirmed the exchange, describing the conversation as “great” and calling Rodríguez “a wonderful person” with whom “it is very easy to work.”

On Thursday, the Venezuelan leader reportedly held a meeting with CIA Director John Ratcliffe at Maiquetía airport. According to the New York Times, the two discussed intelligence cooperation, with Ratcliffe emphasizing that Venezuela should cease to be an alleged “safe haven for America’s adversaries, especially narco-traffickers.” The Rodríguez administration has yet to comment on the meeting.

Additionally, the interim president dispatched Félix Plasencia—former foreign minister and ambassador to the UK—to hold meetings with US officials in Washington.

Plasencia’s visit coincided with a trip by opposition figure María Corina Machado, who held what the BBC described as a “brief and atypical” encounter with Trump at the White House. The far-right leader handed the US president her Nobel Peace Prize medal.

The gesture drew criticism from Norwegian experts and media outlets, who labeled it “incredibly shameful” and “damaging” to the award. The Nobel Committee’s decision to grant Machado the prize had likewise come under fire due to the far-right leader’s history of involvement in violent coup plots and calls for foreign intervention.

Trump, however, thanked Machado for the “gesture of respect,” though the White House later stated that the visit was just a “courtesy” with no influence on administration policy. Following the January 3 attacks, the US president dismissed Machado’s prospects of leading Venezuela, adding that she “did not have respect within the country.”

Meanwhile, agreements between Caracas and Washington continue to move forward, including the resumption of deportation flights from the US on Friday. The first such flight, operated by Eastern Air Express, departed from Phoenix, Arizona, and landed at Simón Bolívar International Airport with 199 Venezuelan migrants onboard.

The previous deportation flight had taken place on December 10. Two days later, the Venezuelan government announced that the Trump administration had unilaterally suspended the migrant repatriation program.

Edited and with additional reporting by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

The post Venezuela: Rodríguez Touts US ‘Energy Cooperation,’ Diplomacy in Address to the Nation appeared first on Venezuelanalysis.


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The views expressed in this article are the authors’* own and do not necessarily reflect those ofMexico Solidarity Mediaor theMexico Solidarity Project.*

We were four. Four among, as one (unofficial) estimate puts it, 10,000 that Saturday. We met up between the Ángel de la Independencia and La Gloria de Las y Los Desaparecidos along Avenida Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City. We had gathered, we four and we ten thousand, to march against the US’s abduction of the Maduros and gringo imperialism—in Venezuela, but also in México, in América Latina, in Palestine, in the world. It was the kickoff of what was intended to (and hopefully will) be an extended campaign.

The march proceeded apace, terminating in the Plaza Palestina, where representatives of the organizing committees—grassroots collectives, unions, youth organizations, solidarity groups—gave speeches from a platform, while farther back a drum circle played to an impromptu audience of dancing protesters in their revelry. There was little incident in the course of the march aside from the usual and predictable light vandalism (graffiti and wheat-pasting; no broken windows, no clashes with police as far as I saw). Our little contingent was able to walk at a comfortable pace, maintain conversation, pause and chit-chat, and flirt with each other and half-formed political theories at leisure.

We occupied only one lane of the broad, multi-lane Reforma. We were enough that we could have taken the entire avenue. We didn’t. After about three-quarters of an hour listening to speeches full of rousing, passionate rebukes of U.S. intervention and needful if unspecific calls to action (coming together, yes, but coming together in what way? To what material end?), pacifistic affirmations of sovereignty made against the hypnotic, repetitive, strident droning of snare drums we peeled off, looking for a cantina to have lunch.


We headed south, then made a left on Independencia, where we saw maybe a squadron of 50-100 gendarmes and their shields massed and ready for deployment at the first word. We continued on to a bar, where we spent several hours drinking, throwing tarot, and discussing Vonnegutian coincidence, destiny, and interconnectedness.

Then we left and headed north, and soon found ourselves in another, this time unplanned, march—at times walking with, at other times against, the stream. This march was seemingly without origin and without terminus; it ran the length and width of 16 de Septiembre, a major commercial epicenter. It was the march of commerce, the march of consumerism, the march of gentrification, the march of tourism, the march of capitalism. Its constituent human elements brought to mind Sarraute’s elusive urban “They” who, following their tropismatic inclinations,

“seem… to spring up from nowhere, blossoming out in the slightly moist tepidity of the air, they flowed gently along as though they were seeping from the walls, from the boxed trees, the benches, the dirty sidewalks, the public squares… now and then, before the shop windows, [forming] more compact, motionless little knots, giving rise to occasional eddies, slight cloggings.”

Only less placid. This was almost a stampede of bargain-hunting shoppers sniffing out post-holiday rebates; a busload of unashamed English-speaking tourists recently arrived, rolling their compact bags over the clattering flagstones; families with strollers; blind buskers; indigent prophesiers; ironic flâneurs; and at least four souls taking a break from their careers in civil disobedience, to name a few. I was elbowed at least once for stepping out of my implicit lane.

“What an abrupt juxtaposition,” I commented to my fellow travelers, to go from one form of mass mobilization, intentional, anti-establishment, legitimate, to this grotesque confluence of proliferated individualism and single-minded avidity. The shift was enough to provoke in me a vertiginous, if manageable, panic attack, and after half an hour trying to endure it in public, I retired.

A significant similitude between the two marches began to crystallize, if not in their content then in their form. That symmetry was most obviously apparent in the way each mobilization was kept contained, such that neither posed a real threat to the state or capital: The march on Reforma was kept peaceful and uniform by protest marshals guiding the flow and discouraging violence, and by the understanding that the state could rear its repressive head at any moment; on 16 de Septiembre, police (both real and imagined, on the beat and internalized), video cameras, alarms, socialization, and neutralization kept the mass of passersby from looting the big brand stores and redistributing the fast food to all (or, as the late Joshua Clover would say, market regulation by other means).

In the quiet remove of my apartment, I was given to private reflection. I began to try to decipher the text that, as de Certeau says, we as pedestrians write on the palimpsest of the city “without being able to read it.” From that meditation two texts emerged, two texts with lots of crossover, and I began to question just how different the two “mobilizations” were.

True, each unfolded according to its own set of logics, internally originating and externally imposed. The march on Reforma was impelled, ostensibly, by an innate, righteous, incarnated condemnation of gross injustice—its motive force—felt in the hearts and minds of the marchers, roused by slogans, signs, and performances, and given shape, velocity, and direction by the organizers. The latter was spurred on by the euphoria of weekend pleasure-seeking, the inertia of casual hedonism, the pressure of check-in times and FOMO, and the very real gnawing of hunger in the belly.

That distinction notwithstanding, a significant similitude between the two marches began to crystallize, if not in their content then in their form. That symmetry was most obviously apparent in the way each mobilization was kept contained, such that neither posed a real threat to the state or capital: The march on Reforma was kept peaceful and uniform by protest marshals guiding the flow and discouraging violence, and by the understanding that the state could rear its repressive head at any moment; on 16 de Septiembre, police (both real and imagined, on the beat and internalized), video cameras, alarms, socialization, and neutralization kept the mass of passersby from looting the big brand stores and redistributing the fast food to all (or, as the late Joshua Clover would say, market regulation by other means).

Seen through the analytical lens of Canetti’s Crowds and Power, the two marches share another (negative) quality, in that neither rose to the categorical level of an open crowd, “the true crowd… abandoning itself freely to its natural urge for growth.” For Canetti,

“an open crowd has no clear feeling or idea of the size it may attain; it does not depend on a known building which it has to fill; its size is not determined; it wants to grow indefinitely and what it needs for this is more and more people.”

Store owners and street vendors, perhaps, would have been delighted to receive more customers, more bodies, on that saturated avenue on that chilly winter Saturday; but I’d bet if you asked any of the pedestrians in the crowd that day, you wouldn’t have found a single soul yearning for more moving targets to dodge.

Not so, at least in theory, for the march on Reforma and for the kind of march it represented. Numbers and turnout play important roles in how a political rally’s success and potential are perceived. Rhetorically, active participation is highly encouraged, and the integration of onlookers is considered a small triumph. This may very well have happened on a small scale.

Still, the structural realities of the two social formations made them both more akin to the closed, rather than the open, crowd.

“The first thing to be noticed about [the closed crowd] is that it has a boundary. It establishes itself by accepting its limitation. It creates a space for itself which it will fill. This space can be compared to a vessel into which liquid is being poured and whose capacity is known.”

We have already seen how both marches were subject to and respectful of their particular boundaries—geographical, psychical, proscriptive. The march on Reforma, before it even began, had delimited itself, had created its own vessel and had directed its contents thereto. The other, though convoked by no one in particular and not held together by any unifying message or ideology, respected its own boundaries to such a degree that if you put one block between yourself and 16 de Septiembre, the city felt like a graveyard by comparison.

It is fair to question whether an opening in the march on Reforma was ever intended, or even desirable. I, for one, believe it was not intended in any real way, but that it was very really desired. But, for argument’s sake, if it had taken on that quality, what would it have looked like? A riot? Is that the logical conclusion (or extension) of the open crowd? If so, Clover’s framing is illuminating/orienting. For Clover, “the riot is the form of collective action that… is unified by shared dispossession, and unfolds in the context of consumption.” Clover’s localization of the riot at the point of consumption is particularly and personally interesting given my dualistic experience that Saturday.

The locus of social reproduction, as Clover observes, is no longer in the realm of production but that of consumption. Assuming this is true, and without paying lip service to the obnoxious notion of conscious consumerism, perhaps there is yet more to parse in the enunciations, to borrow de Certeau’s term, made by the marches on 16 de Septiembre, not just a site but one of Mexico City’s Meccas of consumption.

I glimpsed the dance of the clinamen on 16 de Septiembre, with its atoms, although bound, enjoying a kind of freedom of expression that made me think of the idealistic potential for all closed crowds to transform into open ones, for all marches to become riots — real ones, that really interrupt commercial circulation.

How did the consumers on that human highway appropriate “the topographical system” and “impl[y] relations among differentiated positions” (de Certeau)? Easy: by pushing and shoving, by winding and evading, by criss-crossing and doubling back, by starting and stopping without warning. Routes were improvised and negotiated explicitly and implicitly, borders were drawn, circumvented, transgressed. What kind of exegesis can we arrive at from these utterances?

Well, for one, we certainly cannot read it as a riot, for far from “featuring the interruption of commercial circulation”—a central point to Clover’s definition—the march on 16 de Septiembre was facilitating circulation, not obstructing it. That said, there was a variety and diversity, a randomness, even an anarchy inscribed on that avenue that, at least for me, was absent in the march on Reforma. I glimpsed the dance of the clinamen on 16 de Septiembre, with its atoms, although bound, enjoying a kind of freedom of expression that made me think of the idealistic potential for all closed crowds to transform into open ones, for all marches to become riots — real ones, that really interrupt commercial circulation.

But for that, as Canetti reminds us, is required the eruption, the inflection from closed to open that happens in space-time as much as it does internally, emotionally and psychically. At the moment of eruption, and thereafter, “a crowd quite often seems to overflow from some well-guarded space into the squares and streets of a town where it can move about freely, exposed to everything and attracting everyone.” We have seen this motion played out in recent years (in Nepal, in Italy, in the George Floyd uprisings in the United States). And the calls for solidarity—with workers, with Venezuelans, with Latinoamérica—made that Saturday and at almost every political gathering would imply that this openness, this “passionate determination to reach all [people]” (Canetti) undoubtedly considered in the minds and felt in the hearts of the crowd members is characteristic of and key to the movement’s survival and success.

But that post-eruption openness will not be found in the marches on Reforma, impressive and populous as they may be, so long as their boundaries are neatly outlined and maintained. And they certainly will not be found in the weekend outings on 16 de Septiembre, so long as that impatient, jittery, frenetic energy remains subjugated and contributory to the forces of consumption. But perhaps a combination of the two energies, the two forms might foment that rupture.

In The Coming Insurrection, the Invisible Committee affirms that,

“Revolutionary movements do not spread by contamination but by resonance. Something that is constituted here resonates with the shock wave emitted by something constituted over there. A body that resonates does so according to its own mode. An insurrection is not like a plague or a forest fire – a linear process which spreads from place to place after an initial spark. It rather takes the shape of a music, whose focal points, though dispersed in time and space, succeed in imposing the rhythm of their own vibrations, always taking on more density.”

Could a winning (or at least viable) formula be: to take the feisty, impolite, stubborn resonance of the march on 16 de Septiembre, and infuse the march on Reform with it? And from that march, to impose that new compound rhythm beyond the banquetas and the weekends, into the side streets and societies, filtering through and dissolving those boundaries, extending in all directions without beginning and without end, such that the whole region, connected by various focal points that resist any kind of boundary, is pulsing with real, open, overflowing, uncontainable resistance?

All power to the people and their communes.

The post A Tale of Two Marches: Reflections on a Saturday Spent on Reforma and 16 de Septiembre appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.


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By Roger D. Harris  –  Jan 14, 2026

I am told that if I don’t like what “my government” is doing, I should write “my representative.” So I dropped Senator Adam Schiff a note about the US war on Venezuela. 

The senator’s reply, with my translations of his Washington-speak (in italics) provided in brackets, is as follows:

“I have been opposing the administration’s unlawful use of force against targets [a sovereign country] in the region…the U.S…conducted an operation [act of war] on January 2-3, 2026, to capture [kidnap] the illegitimate [lawful] leader [president] of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro. Maduro is a thug [not Trump] who has terrorized and oppressed [defended] the Venezuelan people for far too long [Trump should have done it sooner], and he will now face trial in a New York [foreign jurisdiction] court.”

The senator then criticized Trump’s “military action” – aggression, by any other name – for lacking congressional approval, noting that it was problematic because it “risks embroiling us in another war.” This concern, however, does not extend to US war actions in Palestine and Ukraine, which Schiff finds especially wonderful – along with Iran, Nigeria, Iraq, Somalia, etc.

Last year, Schiff sponsored a War Powers resolution to block US “boat strikes” without explicit congressional authorization. It failed. More recently, he joined Senators Tim Kaine and Rand Paul in advancing yet another War Powers resolution requiring congressional approval for future actions.

The resolution is purely symbolic. It must pass the Senate, the House, and then receive Trump’s signature. This theater allows Democrats to strike a pose of disapproval toward Trump while continuing to support bipartisan regime-change aggression against Venezuela. 

Schiff and company are not genuinely interested in international law. They fully support unilateral coercive measures designed to strangle (“pressure” in Washington-speak) the Venezuelan economy. This illegal form of collective punishment, euphemistically called “sanctions,” has resulted in more than 100,000 excess deaths in Venezuela, according to a UN special rapporteur. 

But Venezuelan deaths, like Palestinian ones, remain invisible to respectable lawmakers. 

Schiff’s letter lauds “US service members [who] conducted the operation with great skill and courage.” Yet the senator does not acknowledge the bravery – let alone the supreme sacrifice – of the roughly 100 killed in Venezuela defending against a military force orders of magnitude greater than their own. 

The “targeted” bombing killed civilians along with Venezuelan and Cuban military personnel. According to reports from Venezuela, the sites targeted included dialysis medication warehouses of the Venezuelan Social Security Institute, scientific facilities at the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research, key power plants supplying Caracas, and residential neighborhoods.

What Schiff and his colleagues are really upset about is that Trump committed a splendid act of war and didn’t let them share in the glory. Both parties demonize Nicolás Maduro with moral fervor, justifying his kidnapping. Never mind that, under international law, a sitting head of state enjoys immunity regardless of how unpleasant Washington finds him.

US Colonialism Back With a Vengeance

The partisan charade boils down to a question of appearances. For Democrats, Trump is not guilty of war crimes so much as bad manners, crassly admitting that he is after the oil. Better to put lipstick on the pig and claim the empire is “promoting democracy.”

All the whining is about Congress being left out of the action. Democrats are apoplectic about not getting to see the unedited snuff videos of the US blowing up small boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. 

Adding insult to injury, Trump boasted that he notified oil company executives but not the people’s so-called representatives in Congress before attacking Venezuela. And that makes perfect sense in a system dedicated to serving corporate interests rather than voters. 

Once upon a time, there existed a species in Congress known as a “liberal,” who favored peace over endless wars of imperial domination. Dennis Kucinich was one of the last of that breed. Before losing his seat in 2013 for insufficient bloodlust, he challenged presidents Clinton over Serbia, Bush over Iraq, and Obama over Libya. 

Kucinich deserves recognition though not commendation. He simply reflected public opinion, which opposed these imperial adventures. Today, roughly 70% oppose the US war on Venezuela. Congress does not. 

Now relegated to posting on Substack, Kucinich warns: “The long-term consequences of US actions in Venezuela demolish laws which hold together the United States, and the International legal order. This is not academic. The US Constitution and the UN Charter must not become confetti showering an authoritarian fantasy victory parade.”

His remedy is simple: cut funding for unauthorized wars and enforce the law in court. If we had an actual two-party system, this might happen. Instead, as Kucinich puts it, the US empire has “set the stage for a war of all against all.”

RDH/OT


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

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On the occasion of Teachers’ Day in Venezuela, commemorated every January 15th, the national education sector mobilized this Thursday in the capital city of Caracas to express its rejection of the military attack and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores by U.S. military forces on January 3rd.

The mobilization, part of a continuous day of popular protest across Venezuela, proceeded along Avenida Universidad until gathering in front of the Federal Legislative Palace.

The teachers’ demonstration, which demanded the release of the Bolivarian leaders, seeks to reaffirm their commitment to institutional stability and the defense of national sovereignty, violated after the imperialist aggression of January 3rd.

#ENVIDEO | Venezolanos se movilizan en respaldo a la liberación del presidente Nicolás Maduro y su esposa Cilia Flores. pic.twitter.com/SbYjvjnqFn

— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) January 15, 2026

During the gathering, Education Minister Héctor Rodríguez praised the resilience of the teaching profession, highlighting that even in the face of international threats, Venezuelan teachers have managed to expand school enrollment through outreach efforts to bring children and young people back into the classroom.

“Venezuela has one of the highest school enrollment rates in the region thanks to the efforts of teachers who search, street by street, for those who are outside the system,” Rodríguez stated, emphasizing that education is a shared responsibility between school, family, and community.

The Minister of Popular Power for Education urged professionals to support and provide the necessary tools so that students can understand the current political situation.

Delcy Rodríguez Calls for National Unity Among Workers at Massive Chavista Rally

For her part, the Acting President of the Republic, Delcy Rodríguez, sent a congratulatory message to the teachers through her official channels. Rodríguez described the teachers as “heroes and heroines” who are building an educational legacy under any circumstances.

The dignitary emphasized that Venezuela’s development depends on transformative education and reaffirmed her commitment to the fair recognition of teachers’ work, linking the pedagogical struggle to the historical memory of a free and sovereign nation.

https://core.telegram.org/widgets

These voices were joined by that of Nahum Fernández, Vice President of Mobilization for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), who highlighted that this march has a dual purpose: the defense of territorial integrity and the unwavering commitment to maintaining a quality education system for future generations.

“The teachers of the nation stand with the Bolivarian Revolution. Tomorrow we will march to demonstrate our loyalty and demand the immediate release of our authorities,” Fernández stated last Wednesday, January 14, via his social media accounts.

Following the bombing carried out by US forces in the early hours of January 3rd in Caracas and several areas of the states of Aragua, Miranda, and La Guaira—which left more than a hundred dead, both civilians and military personnel—the Venezuelan people have remained in the streets without interruption.

During that attack, US commandos from Delta Force kidnapped President Maduro and the First Lady. The presidential couple was illegally taken to New York, where they remain imprisoned in a maximum-security prison.

(teleSUR)


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At the solemn ceremony honoring the heroes and heroines following the treacherous attack by the United States on the South American nation, Perez emphasized the brotherhood and commitment to the defense of sovereignty that unites both peoples and highlighted the friendship that characterized the relationship between Commander Hugo Chavez and the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro.

In his remarks, the diplomat stressed that millions of Cubans mourn the loss of 32 compatriots. “The Anti-Imperialist Tribune of Cuba is the stage for an act of commitment and loyalty from Cubans to their beloved children, to the Revolution, and to Socialism.

Honor and Glory to the fallen. Ever Onward to Victory. Homeland or Death, We Shall Overcome,” the statement emphasizes.

For his part, Chavez highlighted that tribute is being paid to the dignity and courage of the fighters for freedom and the just causes of Socialism.

The book of honor was also signed by representatives of both diplomatic missions and figures such as the former Panamanian ambassador to Caracas, Elixsandro Ballester.

jdt/arc/ga

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As part of the ceremony, a floral offering in honor of the martyrs was placed before the bust of Cuba’s national hero, Jose Marti, in the patriotic corner of the Embassy.

The offering, in the colors of the Cuban flag, consisted of 32 red carnations, one for each fallen Cuban, as well as blue and white roses.

The Cuban ambassador, on behalf of his country, expressed his gratitude for this beautiful gesture of solidarity from the delegation of the National Association of Cuban Journalists (ANAIC), headed by its national president, Marco Papacci.

The delegation represented the sentiments of those in this European nation who support and defend the most just causes.

The thousands of members of this association, founded in 1961 and organized into hundreds of chapters throughout Italy, sent a message of solidarity to the Cuban people.

“Let us raise our fists in a sign of eternal respect!” “With their supreme sacrifice, they showed the courage of those who do not fear confronting the enemy,” the members of that organization stated in their condolence note, representing the Italian people who support the Cuban Revolution.

“Their death has not been in vain: it is a beacon illuminating the path of the anti-imperialist struggle,” and of “internationalism, the glorious fruit of the Cuban Revolution,” to which “we reiterate our unwavering solidarity,” the statement reads.

“Eternal honor and glory to the fallen,” the members of ANAIC expressed in the document, assuring that “other combatants will take their place, continuing the battle for sovereignty and justice, faithful to the principles embodied in the revolutionary slogan ‘Homeland or Death!

We shall overcome!

jdt/arc/ort

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The works are part of the “Urgent Poster” initiative, a non-profit project created to express pressing and troubling issues in today’s world, according to the Facebook page of the Higher Institute of Design (ISDi)

The platform features posters by Roberto Perez (Potto), Pepe Menendez, Ana Beatriz Pena, Ana Gabriela Crespo, Roberto Chavez, and many others.

Urgent Poster for Venezuela (Vol. 1 and 2) offers internet users the opportunity to reflect—through graphic design—on the complex situation facing the sister Bolivarian nation, following the attack that resulted in the kidnapping of constitutional president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

“Your House is My House,” “Hands Off Venezuela,” “Thirst for Black Gold,” and “Pirate of the Caribbean” are some of the titles accompanying this visual proposal.

Through this initiative, Cuban designers express their support for Venezuela and its right to sovereignty.

It is also another way to condemn the imperialist invasion. Since the news of the attack broke, which claimed the lives of 32 Cubans and other Venezuelan combatants, the international community has publicly condemned an act described as state terrorism.

jdt/ro/amr

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On its social media, the creators’ organization explained that the Ramiro Guerra Scholarship is a tribute to the Cuban choreographer and educator, a leading figure in contemporary dance in the country.

The award was presented to both male and female representatives in the categories of folk dance, contemporary dance, Special Prize, and Fernando Alonso Prize.

This year’s recipients were Viviana Silva, a member of Camaguey Contemporary Ballet; Luis Orlando Abreu, a dancer from Raices Profundas Company; Yoanna Miranda, Principal Dancer of the Ban-Rarra Company; and Alex Poey, Principal Dancer of Contemporary Dance of Cuba.

The eponymous Special Prize was awarded to Caridad Doris Cabrera, principal dancer of the NC Dance Company, while Dennis Lennier Perez, from the Camaguey Contemporary Ballet, received a Special Mention.

Additionally, the jury presented the Fernando Alonso Prize to Yankiel Vazquez, principal dancer of the National Ballet of Cuba.

“We wish them a fruitful path in the development of their projects, with the certainty that this scholarship will contribute to strengthening the contemporary artistic and cultural landscape,” concluded the AHS.

jdt/ro/vnl

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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 Frank. Previous press conference summaries are available here.

Edomex: The 4T Security Strategy Delivers Results

Coordination between the federal government and states and municipalities made it possible to inflict blows against organized crime and detain those generating violence. In the State of Mexico, intentional homicides are down 54% and vehicle theft has decreased 55%, with declines also in femicides, kidnapping, and extortion. This translates into less violence and more peace for the population.

Eastern Zone of Edomex: Investment and Wellbeing Underway

In 2025, over 180 million pesos (US$10.17 million) were invested in public transportation and 2.60 billion pesos (US$150 million) in water and drainage and sewage lines, with projects such as the Ixtapaluca Trolleybus and 101 hydraulic measures. In addition, six new high schools were built, and all hospitals and health centers in the region were renovated.

Mexico–USA: Cooperation with Sovereignty and Shared Responsibility

Mexico cooperates only through information exchange, without accepting interventions and national security is a decision made by Mexicans. The strategy delivers results: 50% fewer fentanyl seizures at the border, 320 tons of drugs seized, and a 40% decline in homicides. President Claudia Sheinbaum was clear: Mexico meets its commitments, but the United States must address consumption and put an end to arms trafficking.

Electoral Reform: More Democracy and Fewer Privileges

The President clarified that the reform is still being drafted, but clear axes are already in place. The Electoral Reform seeks to reduce costs and transform proportional representation so that it no longer depends on decisions by party elites. The central aim is to deepen participatory democracy and give the people greater decision-making power.

The Transformation is a popular decision to change the regime of corruption and privileges. It is not a party. It means advancing toward a country with decent, dignified and fair conditions for all.


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This article by Arturo Daen originally appeared in the January 16, 2026 edition of Sin Embargo.

Mexico City. Guanajuato saw 30,000 murders in a decade. During those ten years, governments of the National Action Party (PAN) implemented failed policies and made unsuccessful appointments in key areas, leading to social deterioration and record levels of violence in the state.

SinEmbargo‘s Data Unit reviewed figures from the Executive Secretariat and found that Guanajuato ended 2025 with 2,539 victims of intentional homicide. This marks the first time since 2017 that the Bajío state had fewer than 3,000 murders. Compared to 2024, this represents a 19 percent decrease in these crimes.

However, as has been the case since 2018, Guanajuato appeared as the state with the most murders in the country , in absolute numbers, accounting for 10 percent of homicides nationwide. Chihuahua, another state governed by the PAN party, ranked second with 1,791 intentional homicides.

10 States with the Most Intentional Homicides

| State | Number of Homicides | |


|


| | Guanajuato | 2,539 | | Chihuahua | 1,791 | | Baja California | 1,714 | | Sinaloa | 1,663 | | Estado de México | 1,519 | | Guerrero | 1,312 | | Michoacán | 1,267 | | Jalisco | 1,198 | | Sonora | 1,138 | | Morelos | 1,119 |


And at what point did the situation break down in Guanajuato territory?

The following graph shows how in 2015 this state registered 975 murder victims. The following year there were 1,110, then 1,435 in 2017, and the number skyrocketed in 2018, with more than 3,000 homicides by the end of the administration of PAN party member Miguel Márquez Márquez:

Victims of Intentional Homicide in Guanajuato (2015-2025)


The rising trend of murders continued under the administration of Diego Sinhue Rodríguez Vallejo, also a member of the PAN party. During his term, Guanajuato experienced its bloodiest year in history, 2020, when, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the state recorded 4,490 victims of intentional homicide.

Regarding femicides in Guanajuato, the Executive Secretariat recorded 181 between 2017 and November 2025, with a peak in 2021 of 34 cases:

Victims of Femicide in Guanajuato (2017-2024)


The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) is another source of data for visualizing homicides in the country. This agency’s primary source of information is death certificates and records from forensic medical services, unlike the Secretariat, which relies solely on data submitted by state prosecutors in investigation files. Its figures tend to be higher for this reason, and also because it does not distinguish between intentional homicides and manslaughter, or femicides, as the Secretariat does.

According to the Institute’s count, Guanajuato recorded 33,124 homicides between 2015 and 2024 (INEGI does not yet have figures for 2025). If cases are considered since the PAN party took office in 1991, the total is 41,758 murders.

Homicides in Guanajuato During PAN Rule


Oliva, Márquez and Sinhue Responsible

When consulted by SinEmbargo, Saúl Arellano, a researcher and specialist in security and violence prevention, pointed out that the situation in Guanajuato began to deteriorate during the government of Juan Manuel Oliva (2006-2012), the problem worsened during the term of Miguel Márquez Márquez (2012-2018) and reached its worst point during the administration of Diego Sinuhe Rodríguez Vallejo (2018-2024).

“The breakdown was very gradual. In my opinion, it was a breakdown that generated cumulative negative effects. The real problem began with Juan Manuel Oliva, who started his term and appointed Zamarripa as Attorney General. At that time, Guanajuato had maintained a relatively stable average of 250 or 350 homicides for decades—and when I say decades, I mean from 1980 to 2000, up until 2005 in fact. When Juan Manuel Oliva took office, things started to fall apart. Because there wasn’t a single year after he took office in which Guanajuato didn’t register a sustained increase in intentional homicides in the state,” the researcher pointed out.

“If we think in terms of six-year periods, the government that ended just a year ago, of Diego Sinhue Rodríguez Vallejo, has been the worst governor in the country, in terms of absolute numbers of homicides.”

Governor Diego Sinhue Rodríguez Vallejo

“Diego Sinhue should at least be, if not investigated, then at least summoned to testify about what happened in the state. It’s unacceptable that the governor turned a blind eye the whole time, simply saying, ‘Well, that’s the security apparatus’s job, don’t even ask me.’ You can’t evade the enormous political responsibility of being the governor with the highest number of deaths in the country’s history. We’re not talking about minor matters, and in that sense, I think the former governor bears a tremendous responsibility,” he added.

Even with the deterioration in an entity they have governed for 34 years, and with the precedent that at the federal level one of their Secretaries of Security, Genaro García Luna, was sentenced for working for drug trafficking, the PAN has been a constant critic of the security strategy of the Morena administrations of Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Claudia Sheinbaum, even pointing to an alleged pact with organized crime, without presenting any evidence in this regard.

From the perspective of researcher Saúl Arellano, the PAN has no excuse and must assume responsibility for what happened in Guanajuato, since it allowed the growth of criminal organizations such as the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel.

“What we see is that the National Action Party is, of course, entirely responsible for this debacle in the state. Because not only does it govern the state, but it also governs the largest number of municipalities within it. It has historically governed them. And not just the municipalities in general, but the most populated ones. León, Salamanca, Irapuato. They have historically been governed by the National Action Party,” the researcher said.

“If it had been a state like Sinaloa, Jalisco, Michoacán, or Guerrero, where there has been a historical presence of cartels operating and controlling territories since the 1970s, then you would say it’s more of a federal problem than a state one. But here, I insist, a cartel literally sprang up right in front of you. So the PAN party has no excuse to say ‘I bear no responsibility,’” he added.

Among the shortcomings attributed to the PAN party in Guanajuato is having kept Carlos Zamaripa Aguirre as Attorney General for more than 15 years , and Alvar Cabeza de Vaca Appendini as Secretary of Security for 12 years between 2012 and 2024, despite their lack of results in ending impunity and curbing violence in the state.

The Guanajuato-based media outlet PopLab.mx reported in this article that Alvar Cabeza de Vaca Appendini’s administration was marked by a lack of results in security, abuses by local police that resulted in 363 complaint files with the State Human Rights Commission, infiltration of organized crime into security forces, and a lack of coordination with the federal government, which was necessary to confront cartels such as Santa Rosa de Lima, Jalisco New Generation, or the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as fuel trafficking networks known as huachicol.

A decade ago, in 2015, INEGI found that in Guanajuato, 60.7 percent of the population considered insecurity to be the main problem in the state, and by 2025, this indicator had risen to 71.5 percent.

The current governor of Guanajuato, Libia Denisse García, also a member of the PAN party, has highlighted the reduction in homicides in 2025; however, local media warned that at the beginning of this year there were incidents such as the discovery of at least five clandestine graves in municipalities of Guanajuato, and the murder of six people in Valle de Santiago, including two minors.

In 2020, 26 people were murdered at a drug rehab facility in Irapuato, Guanajuato.

Inequality and Deficiencies in Guanajuato

Among the 32 entities, Guanajuato is the fifth largest economy in the country, according to its contribution to Gross Domestic Product, only behind Mexico City, State of Mexico, Nuevo León and Jalisco.

It ranks among the top 10 states with the most foreign direct investment, and in 2024 it recorded exports to the United States exceeding $12 billion. Its main export products are auto parts and vehicle accessories, electrical cables, and footwear, according to data from the Ministry of Economy.

Guanajuato has wealth, industrial corridors, and tourism, but the benefits do not flow equitably. According to the most recent INEGI measurement, the percentage of the population living in poverty fell from 39.4 percent in 2016 to 26 percent, or a quarter, in 2024. Extreme poverty stands at 1.7 percent.

In comparison, Nuevo León had 10.6 percent of its population living in poverty, Jalisco had 18.6 percent, and Mexico City had 19.7 percent.

The lack of access to health services grew from 13.4 percent in 2016 to 33.7 percent – with Guanajuato refusing to accept the IMSS-Bienestar program for people without social security so far – and 46 percent of its population lacked access to social security in 2024.

Guanajuato has been governed for 33 years with the same neoliberal economic model implemented by the right wing, and the same authorities in charge of law enforcement and prosecution have remained in place for over a decade. As a result, inequality, crime, and drug use have increased.

The lack of job opportunities led this state to become the leading source of migrants nationwide, according to an analysis presented by the federal government. In 2020, according to data from Conapo (National Population Council), 8.75 percent of households in Guanajuato received remittances; in some municipalities, such as Tarandacuao, Ocampo, and Jerécuaro, this figure exceeded 20 percent.

Thus, Guanajuato ranked alongside Michoacán until 2024 as one of the two states with the highest income from remittances, exceeding 5.6 billion dollars, although at the cost that family members had to leave their country and move to the United States to earn income.

These social deficiencies and inequalities generated by the neoliberal model were highlighted in January 2025 by President Claudia Sheinbaum as causes of the violence in Guanajuato:

“It is also a product of a failed development model in the state of Guanajuato,” the President stated. “Therefore, it must be addressed from different perspectives; yes, from the Attorney General’s Office, the State Security Secretariat, and in coordination with federal forces and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of the Mexican government, but also by fundamentally addressing a development model that led to violence, poverty, and inequality. So, that is the starting point for addressing it.”

Previously, in September 2024, the then Secretary of Federal Security, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, also pointed out that the neoliberal economic model, the precariousness of working conditions and the concentration of wealth in an industrial corridor deteriorated the social fabric in Guanajuato, and facilitated the growth of crime.

“(Guanajuato) has been governed for 33 years with the same neoliberal economic model implemented by the right wing, and the same authorities in charge of law enforcement and prosecution have remained in place for over a decade. As a result, inequality, crime, and drug use have increased.”

“From 1991 to 2024 there have been seven local governments from the right that increased their alliances with the traditional leadership of conservatism and the extreme right represented by ‘El Yunque’,” the official said.

Guanajuato has wealth, industrial corridors, and tourism, but the benefits do not flow equitably, decades of neoliberalism have produced misery and violence for its working population.

“The neoliberal model is evident in the concentration of wealth without any impact on improving the living conditions of the population, since eight of its 46 municipalities, located in the industrial corridor, concentrate almost 60 percent of the poor in Guanajuato. Just to give one example, the thriving municipality of León is the municipality with the most poor people in the country and the second with the most people living in extreme poverty,” she added.

Rosa Icela Rodríguez also mentioned a special survey conducted by the National Commission for Mental Health and Addictions (Conasama) on the consumption of psychoactive substances applied to 1,066 workers at the entrances of factories in the Celaya-León industrial corridor.

With it, she said, it was possible to establish that 51 percent of the workers knew someone who used drugs.

“The negative impact of methamphetamine use is felt among workers seeking to improve their performance during long working hours… 26 percent of workers in this industrial corridor of the manufacturing industry have used substances at some point in their lives and 54 percent stated that obtaining drugs in their environment is very easy.”

According to researcher Saúl Arellano, while poverty and inequality can influence the level of insecurity in a state, other key factors in analyzing homicidal violence and the behavior of organized crime include the population size of different cities or municipalities within a state, their geographic location, and their economic activities. He also considers the effectiveness of security programs and actions implemented by governments, and their capacity to prevent corruption within their security forces.

According to the researcher’s studies, there is evidence that states like Guanajuato or Michoacán, with a high level of foreign investment, exports and remittances, are also the ones that suffer the most from the impact of organized crime.

“The states with the most foreign direct investment and the highest volume of exports are the states that concentrate the highest absolute number and the highest rates of homicides in the country. What does this mean? That death, and death associated with crime, follows money, not poverty,” he said.

The post The PAN’s “Trophy” in Guanajuato: 30,000 Murders in the Last Decade appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.


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We, the undersigned scholars, students, and academic workers, unequivocally condemn the Trump administration’s January 3 strikes against Venezuela and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. The attacks are a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter by a US president claiming, “I don’t need international law.”

The unilateral act of aggression is the culmination of a quarter-century of US hybrid warfare targeting the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, first under President Hugo Chávez and subsequently under Maduro. This regime change campaign has included draconian economic sanctions, repeated coup attempts, financing of anti-government NGOs, and corporate media disinformation.

As the Trump administration has evidenced in its invocation of the Monroe Doctrine and brazen threats against other left-led countries in the region, the egregious onslaught on Venezuela’s sovereignty constitutes an unprecedented kinetic escalation of Washington’s crusade to shore up its declining imperial hegemony across the hemisphere and around the globe. It moreover poses a serious menace to the regime of political sovereignty that was the lasting achievement of the Bandung era of national liberation, threatening to generalize across Latin America and the Caribbean the state dismemberment and semi-colonization visited upon Iraq, Haiti, DRC, Libya, Sudan, and Syria over the past three decades. Together with the ongoing genocide in Palestine, these wars of encroachment waged by the West represent an existential danger to humanity.

As such, we the undersigned demand the following:

  1. The immediate release and repatriation of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.
  2. The immediate and unconditional lifting of all US unilateral coercive measures against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, its officials, and associated entities; the return of all pilfered Venezuelan state assets, including CITGO.
  3. The immediate withdrawal of all US military assets and bases from the region, as consistent with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States’ (CELAC) 2014 declaration of the Americas a “zone of peace.”
  4. The payment of reparations to Venezuela for the destruction inflicted in the January 3 strikes as well as for the economic losses caused by US sanctions over the last decade; the UN General Assembly should appoint an independent commission of economists to calculate the total dollar amount owed to the Venezuelan state.
  5. The end of the US blockade against Cuba and payment of reparations likewise to be assessed by an independent UNGA-appointed commission.

As of January 16, 420 researchers and scholars have signed the statement.

Partial list of signatories (click here for the statement and full list in pdf form)

  1. Atilio A. Boron, Universidad Nacional de Avellaneda y Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA)
  2. Sandra Oblitas, Rectora de la Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela (UBV)
  3. Miguel Mazzeo, Universidad Nacional de Lanús y UBA
  4. Mariela Castro Espín, Miembro Titular de la Academia de Ciencias de Cuba
  5. Steve Ellner, Latin American Perspectives
  6. Omar Hurtado Rayugsen, Presidente del Centro Nacional de Estudios Históricos, Venezuela
  7. Elias Jaua Milano, Centros de Estudios para la Democracia Socialista (CEDES)
  8. Ramon Grosfoguel, Associate Professor of Chicanx Latinx Studies, University of California, Berkeley
  9. Alejandrina Reyes, Rectora Universidad Nacional Experimental Simón Rodríguez / Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales Simón Rodríguez IISSR Centro CLACSO
  10. Archana Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
  11. Juan Eduardo Romero, Historiador/Diputado Asamblea Nacional de Venezuela
  12. Claudio Katz, UBA/CONICET
  13. Fernando Buen Abad Domínguez, Universidad Internacional de las Comunicaciones/ Cátedra MacBride
  14. Néstor Kohan, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA)
  15. Paris Yeros, Federal University of ABC (UFABC), Brazil
  16. Carlota McAllister, York University
  17. David Kazanjian, University of Pennsylvania
  18. Max Ajl, University of Tunis & University of Ghent
  19. Lucas M. Koerner, Harvard University
  20. Reinaldo Iturriza López, Centros de Estudios para la Democracia Socialista (CEDES)
  21. Freedom Mazwi, University of Zambia
  22. Esther Lezra, University of California Santa Barbara
  23. Sarah Raymundo, University of the Philippines
  24. Francisca López Civeira, Universidad de la Habana
  25. Anna Zalik, York University
  26. Matteo Capasso, Northwest University, China
  27. Josefina Saldaña-Portillo, New York University
  28. Ilka Boaventura Leite, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
  29. Nazia Kazi, Stockton, Stockton University
  30. Javier Sánchez, Universidad de Antioquia
  31. Bikrum Gill, Virginia Tech
  32. Javier I. Echaide, University of Buenos Aires (UBA) / CONICET, Argentina
  33. Corinna Mullin, City University of New York
  34. Iván Pincheira, Universidad Academia Humanismo Cristiano, Chile
  35. Nina Farnia, Albany Law School
  36. Martha Prieto Valdés, Académica de Mérito de la ACC-Cuba
  37. Esteve Morera, York University
  38. Farwa Sial, SOAS
  39. Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome, Brooklyn College, CUNY
  40. Gabriel Rockhill, Villanova University
  41. Patrick Higgins, University of Houston
  42. Luccas Gissoni, Universidade Federal do ABC
  43. Edh Rodríguez, ANEP/CFE (Uruguay)
  44. Hilda Saladrigas Medina, Universidad de La Habana-ACC
  45. Jennifer Ponce de León, University of Pennsylvania
  46. Olmedo Beluche, Universidad de Panamá
  47. Maria Haro Sly, Johns Hopkins University
  48. Nidia Matilde Beltrán Prieto, Directora y docente UBV
  49. Pedro Lovera Parmo, Universidad de Santiago
  50. Immanuel Ness, Brooklyn College
  51. Sara Aldabe, UBA-CONICET
  52. José Romero Losacco, Instituto Venezolano de Investigación Científica (IVIC)
  53. Rosa Elizabeth Acevedo Marin, Universidade Federal do Pará, Brasil
  54. Ernesto Wong Maestre, CEEP UBV
  55. Ethel Tungohan, York University
  56. Adam Miyashiro, Stockton University
  57. José Antonio Hernández Macías, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
  58. Vicente Battista, Escritor/Argentina
  59. Jaime Caicedo Turriago, ASPU Asociación Sindical de Profesores Universitarios, Colombia
  60. Renate Bridenthal, Brooklyn College, CUNY
  61. Maribel Almaguer Rondón, Universidad de Camagüey, Cuba
  62. Maria Auxiliadora César, Universidade de Brasilia
  63. Claudia Chaufan, York University
  64. Arturo Guillén, Departamento de Economía de la UAM Iztapalapa
  65. Raul Kroeff Machado Carrion, Fundação Maurício Grabois – Brasil
  66. Olga Fernández Rios, Instituto de Filosofía y Vicepresidenta Academia de Ciencias de Cuba
  67. Paula Vidal, Universidad de Chile
  68. Stefan Kipfer, York University
  69. Alberto Quintero, IVIC
  70. Sandra Angeleri, Independent Scholar
  71. Douglas Marín, Universidad Central de Venezuela
  72. Ben Norton, Tsinghua University
  73. Christo El Morr, York University
  74. Cory Fischer-Hoffman, Independent Scholar
  75. Taylor R. Genovese, SUNY – Dutchess
  76. Ranu Basu, York University
  77. Disamis Arcia Muñoz, Universidad de La Habana
  78. Magnus S. Kjærgaard, Aarhus University, DK
  79. Jordan Corson, Stockton University
  80. Adrienne Pine, UC Riverside
  81. Jesús Peña, UNEARTE
  82. Ana Sáenz, Centro Marie Langer
  83. Greg Albo, York University
  84. ​​Mayda Álvarez Suárez, Academia de Ciencias de Cuba
  85. Alejandro Pedregal, Aalto University
  86. Jeannette Graulau, Lehman College
  87. Marcelo Colussi, Escritor / Guatemala
  88. Timothy Kerswell, Development Watch Centre
  89. Jaime Acosta Gonzalez, UC Riverside
  90. Christian Flores, UNEARTE
  91. Maria Luiza Pinho Pereira, Universidade de Brasília
  92. Marxlenin P. Valdés, IDEAS Multimedios
  93. Adrian Ortega Camara Lind, Beijing Normal University
  94. Harjeet Badwall, York University
  95. Tamara Lajtman, IEALC, UBA
  96. Jorge Luis Oviedo Castillo, REDH Honduras
  97. Joaquin Barrutia, Emory University
  98. Carlos San Vicente, UCV
  99. Michael Pelias, LIU Brooklyn
  100. Josefina Morales, UNAM

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By Alan Macleod – Jan 15, 2026

As waves of deadly demonstrations and counter-demonstrations hit Iran, MintPress examines the CIA-backed think tanks helping to stir the outrage and foment more violence.

One of these groups is Human Rights Activists In Iran, frequently referred to as HRA or HRAI in the media. The group, and its media arm, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) have become the go-to group of experts for Western media, and are the source of many of the most inflammatory claims and shockingly high casualty figures reported in the press. In the past week alone, their assertions have provided much of the basis for stories in CNNThe Wall Street JournalNPRABC NewsSky News, and The New York Post, among others. And in a passionate plea for leftists to support the protests, Owen Jones wrote in The Guardian Tuesday that HRAI are a “respected” group whose death toll proclamations are “probably significant underestimates.”

Yet what none of these reports mention is that Human Rights Activists In Iran is bankrolled by the Central Intelligence Agency, through its cutout organization, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

“Independent” NGOs, Brought to You By the CIA
Established in 2006, Human Rights Activists in Iran is based in Fairfax, Virginia, just a stone’s throw away from CIA headquarters in Langley. It describes itself as a “non-political” association of activists dedicated to advancing freedom and rights in Iran. On its website, it notes that, “because the organization seeks to remain independent, it doesn’t accept financial aid from neither political groups nor governments.” Yet, in the same paragraph, it notes that “HRAI has also been accepting donations from National Endowment for Democracy, a non-profit, non-governmental organization in the United States of America.” The level of NED investment into HRAI has been substantial, to say the least; journalist Michael Tracey found that, in 2024 alone, the NED had apportioned well over $900,000 towards the organization.

The huge death tolls in Iran being splashed all over the media are sourced to an outfit in Fairfax, VA called "Human Rights Activists in Iran" that is overwhelmingly funded by the US government. What is their methodology? Is it credible? Who cares? Just pump the big numbers out pic.twitter.com/9No2e7n1Dw

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) January 12, 2026

Another NGO widely cited in recent media reports on the protests is the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran (ABCHRI). The group has been quoted widely, including by The Washington PostPBS, and ABC News. Like with the HRAI, these reports also fail to disclose the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center’s proximity to the U.S. national security state.

Although it does not mention it in its funding disclaimer, the center is supported by the NED. Last year, the NED described the center as a “partner” organization, and awarded its director, Roya Boroumand, their 2024 Goler T. Butcher medal for democracy promotion.

“Roya and her organization have worked rigorously and objectively to document human rights violations committed by the regime in Iran,” said Amira Maaty, senior director for NED’s Middle East and North Africa programs. “The work of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center is an indispensable resource for victims to seek justice and hold perpetrators accountable under international law. NED is proud to support Roya and the center in their advocacy for human rights and tireless pursuit of a democratic future for Iran.”

In addition to this, sitting on the center’s board of directors is controversial academic, Francis Fukuyama, a former NED board member and an editor of its “Journal of Democracy” publication.

If anything, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has gone further than HRAI or the ABCHRI. Widely cited across Western media (e.g., The New York TimesThe GuardianUSA Today), the CHRI has been the source of many of the goriest and most lurid stories coming out of Iran. A Monday article in The Washington Post, for example, leaned on the CHRI’s expertise to report that Iranian hospitals were being overwhelmed and had even run out of blood to treat the victims of government repression. “A massacre is unfolding. The world must act now to prevent further loss of life,” a CHRI spokesperson said. Given President Trump’s recent threats about U.S. military attacks on Iran, the implications of the statement were clear.

And yet, like with the other NGOs profiled, none of the corporate media outlets citing the Center for Human Rights in Iran noted its close connections to the U.S. national security state. The CHRI – an Iranian human rights group based in New York City and Washington, D.C. – was identified by the government of China as directly funded by the NED.

The claim is far from outlandish, given that CHRI board member, Mehrangiz Kar, is a formerReagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at the NED. And in 2002 at a star-studded gala on Capitol Hill, First Lady Laura Bush and future president Joe Biden presented Kar with the NED’s annual Democracy Award.

A History of Regime Change Ops
The National Endowment for Democracy was created in 1983 by the Reagan administration, after a series of scandals had seriously damaged the image and reputation of the CIA. The Church Committee – a 1975 U.S. Senate investigation into CIA activities – found that the agency had masterminded the assassination of several foreign heads of state, was involved in a massive domestic surveillance campaign against progressive groups, had infiltrated and placed agents in hundreds of U.S. media outlets, and was carrying out shocking mind control experiments on unwilling American participants.

Technically a private entity, although receiving virtually all its funding from the federal government and being staffed by ex-removed, the NED was created as a way to outsource many of the agency’s most controversial activities, especially overseas regime change operations. “It would be terrible for democratic groups around the world to be seen as subsidized by the CIA,” Carl Gershman, the NED’s longtime president, said in 1986. NED co-founder Allen Weinstein agreed: “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA,” hetold The Washington Post.

Part of the CIA’s mission was to create a worldwide network of media outlets and NGOs that would parrot CIA talking points, passing it off as credible news. As former CIA taskforce leader John Stockwell admitted, “I had propagandists all over the world.” Stockwell went on to describe how he helped flood the world with fake news demonizing Cuba:

We pumped dozens of stories about Cuban atrocities, Cuban rapists [to the media]… We ran [faked] photographs that made almost every newspaper in the country… We didn’t know of one single atrocity committed by the Cubans. It was pure, raw, false propaganda to create an illusion of communists eating babies for breakfast.”

Mike Pompeo, former CIA director, alluded this being active CIA policy. At a 2019 talk at Texas A&M University, he said, “When I was a cadet, what’s the cadet motto at West Point? You will not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do. I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. We had entire training courses [on] it!”

One of the NED’s greatest successes came in 1996, when it successfully swung elections in Russia, spending vast amounts of money to ensure U.S. puppet ruler Boris Yeltsin would remain in power. Yeltsin, who came to power in a 1993 coup that dissolved parliament, was deeply unpopular, and it appeared that the Russian public were ready to vote for a return to Communism. The NED and other American agencies flooded Russia with money and propaganda, ensuring their man remained in power. The story was cataloged in a famous edition of Time magazine, whose title page was emblazoned with the words, “Yanks To The Rescue: the Secret Story of How American Advisors Helped Yeltsin Win.”

Six years later, the NED provided both the finances and the brains for a briefly successful coup d’état against Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez. The NED spent hundreds of thousands of dollars flying coup leaders (such as Marina Corina Machado) back and forth to Washington, D.C. After the coup was overturned and the plot was exposed, NED funding to Machado and her allies actually increased, and the organization has continued to fund her and her political organizations.

The NED would have more luck in Ukraine, playing a key role in the successful 2014 Maidan Revolution that toppled President Viktor Yanukovych and replaced him with a pro-U.S. successor. The Maidan affair followed a tried-and-tested formula, with large numbers of people coming out to protest, and a hardcore of trained paramilitaries carrying out acts of violence aimed at destabilizing the government and provoking a military response.

Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs (and future NED board member) Victoria Nuland flew to Kiev to signal the U.S. government’s full support of the movement to oust Yanukovych, even handing out cookies to protestors in the city’s main square. A leaked telephone call showed that the new Ukrainian prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, was directly chosen by Nuland. “Yats is the guy,” she can be heard telling U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, citing his experience and friendliness with Washington as key factors. The 2014 Maidan Revolution and its aftermath would lead to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine eight years later.

Just across the border in Belarus, the NED planned similar actions to overthrow President Alexander Lukashenko. At the time of the attempt (2020-2021), the NED was pursuing 40 active projects inside the country.

On a Zoom call infiltrated and covertly recorded by activists, the NED’s senior Europe Program officer, Nina Ognianova, boasted that the groups leading the nationwide demonstrations against Lukashenko were trained by her organization. “We don’t think that this movement that is so impressive and so inspiring came out of nowhere — that it just happened overnight,” shesaid, noting that the NED had made a “significant contribution” to the protests.

On the same call, NED President Gershman noted that “we support many, many groups, and we have a very, very active program throughout the country, and many of the groups obviously have their partners in exile,” boasting that the Belarusian government was powerless to stop them. “We’re not like Freedom House or NDI [the National Democratic Institute] and the IRI [International Republican Institute]; we don’t have offices. So if we’re not there, they can’t kick us out,” he said, comparing the NED to other U.S. regime change organizations.

The attempted Color Revolution did not succeed, however, as demonstrators were met with large counter-demonstrations, and Lukashenko remains in power to this day. The NED’s actions were a key factor in Lukashenko’s decision to abandon his relationship with the West, and ally Belarus with Russia.

Strangling Sanctions and Color Revolutions: How the West Has Stolen Iran’s Sovereignty for Centuries

Just months after their failure in Belarus, the NED fomented another regime change attempt, this time in Cuba. The agency spent millions of dollars infiltrating and buying off pliant musical artists, especially in the hip hop community, in an attempt to turn local popular culture against its revolution. Led by Cuban rappers, the U.S. attempted to rally the people into the streets, flooding social media with calls from celebrities and politicians alike to topple the government. This did not translate into boots on the ground, however, and the fiasco was written off sarcastically as the U.S.’ “Bay of Tweets.”

So many of the most visible protest movements the world over have been quietly masterminded by the NED. This includes the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests, wherein the agency funnelled millions to the movement’s leaders to keep people in the streets as long as possible. The NED continues to work with Uyghur and Tibetan separatist groups, in the hope of destabilizing China. Other known NED meddling projects include interfering with elections in France, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Poland.

It is precisely for these reasons, therefore, that accepting funding from the NED should be unthinkable for any serious NGO or human rights organization, as so many that do have been front groups for American power and clandestine regime change operations. It is also why the public should be extremely wary about any claims made by organizations on the payroll of a CIA cutout organization, especially those that attempt to hide the fact. Journalists, too, have a duty to scrutinize any statements made by these groups, and inform their readers and viewers about their inherent conflicts of interests.

Targeting Iran
Apart from funding the three U.S.-based human rights NGOs profiled here, the NED is spearheading a myriad of operations targeting the Islamic Republic. According to its 2025 grant listings, there are currently 18 active NED projects for Iran, although the agency does not divulge any of the groups they are working with.

It also refuses to divulge any hard details about these projects, beyond rather bland descriptions that include:

Empowering” a network of “frontline and exiled activists” inside Iran;

“Promoting independent journalism,” and “Establishing media platforms to influence the public;”

“Monitoring and promoting human rights;”

“Fostering internet freedom;”

“Training student leaders inside Iran;”

“Advancing policy analysis, debate, and collective actions on democracy,” and;

“Foster[ing] collaboration between Iranian civil society and political activists on a democratic vision and raise awareness on civic rights within the legal community, the organization will facilitate debate on transition models from authoritarianism to democracy.”

Reading between the lines, the NED is attempting to build up a widespread network of media outlets, NGOs, activists, intellectuals, student leaders and politicians who will all sing from the same hymn sheet, that of “transitioning” from “authoritarianism” (i.e., the current system of government” to “democracy,” (i.e., a U.S.-picked government). In other words: regime change.

Iran, of course, has been in American crosshairs ever since the removal of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi during the Islamic Revolution of 1978-79. Pahlavi himself had been kept in place by the CIA, who engineered a coup against the democratically-elected government of Mohammad Mossadegh (1952-53). Mossadegh, a secular liberal reformer, had angered Washington by nationalizing the country’s oil industry, carrying out land reform, and refusing to crush the communist Tudeh Party.

The CIA (the NED’s parent organization), infiltrated Iranian media, paying them to run hysterical anti-Mossadegh content, carried out terror attacks inside Iran, bribed officials to turn against the president, cultivated ties with reactionary elements within the military, and paid protestors to flood the streets at anti-Mossadegh rallies.

The shah reigned for 26 bloody years between 1953 and 1979, until he was overthrown in the Islamic Revolution.

The U.S. supported Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, who almost immediately invaded Iran, leading to a bitter, eight-year long conflict that killed at least half a million people. Washington supplied Hussein with a wide range of weapons, including components for chemical weapons used on Iranians, as well as other weapons of mass destruction.

Since 1979, Iran has also been under restrictive American economic sanctions, measures that have severely hindered the country’s development. During his first term, Trump withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal and turned up the economic pressure. The result was a collapse in the value of the Iranian rial, mass unemployment, soaring rents and a doubling of the price of food. Ordinary people lost both their savings and their long-term security.

Throughout this, Trump has constantly threatened Iran with attack, finally following through in June, bombing a host of infrastructure projects inside the country.

A Legitimate Protest?
The current demonstrations began on December 28 as a protest against rising prices. Yet they quickly ballooned into something much bigger, with thousands calling for an overthrow of the government, and even the reinstatement of the monarchy under the son of the shah, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi.

They were quickly supported and signal boosted by the U.S. and Israeli national security states. “The Iranian regime is in trouble,” Pompeo announced. “Happy New Year to every Iranian in the streets. Also to every Mossad agent walking beside them…” he added. Israeli media are openly reporting that “foreign elements” (i.e., Israeli) are “arming the protesters in Iran with live weapons, and this is the reason for the hundreds of dead among the regime’s people.”

The Iranian regime is in trouble. Bringing in mercenaries is its last best hope.

Riots in dozens of cities and the Basij under siege — Mashed, Tehran, Zahedan. Next stop: Baluchistan.

47 years of this regime; POTUS 47. Coincidence?

Happy New Year to every Iranian in the…

— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) January 2, 2026

The Israeli intelligence services confirmed Pompeo’s not-so-cryptic assertion. “Go out together into the streets. The time has come,” the spying agency’s official social media accounts instructed Iranians: “We are with you. Not only from a distance and verbally. We are with you in the field.”

Trump echoed those words. “TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price,” he roaredadding that American “help is on the way.”

Any debate about what Trump meant by “American help” was ended on Monday, when he stated that “If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue… We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” He also attempted to place an all-out economic blockade, announcing that any country trading with Tehran would face an additional 25% tariff.

All of this, added to the increasing violence of the protests, makes it much harder for Iranians to express themselves politically. What started as a demonstration about the cost of living has spiralled into a huge, openly insurrectionist movement, backed and fomented by the U.S. and Israel. Iranians, of course, have every right to protest, but a wealth of factors have raised the very real possibility that much of the anti-government movement is an inorganic, U.S.-orchestrated attempt at regime change. While Iranians can argue about how they wish to express themselves and what sort of government they want, what is undebatable is that so many of the think tanks and NGOs called upon to provide supposed expert evidence and commentary about these protests are tools of the National Endowment for Democracy.

(MintPress News)


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Fattouh wished the group success and expressed his full willingness to provide support and assistance.

The Palestinian leader emphasized that the body was backed by all Palestinian parties and factions and is composed of specialists from several sectors.

The PNC chairman also welcomed the announcement of the entry into the second phase of the ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip, although Israel continues its daily strikes on the territory.

Fattouh underscored that Gaza is an integral part of the Palestinian state, and no just political solution is possible without it.

Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007, indicated that this body is an important step toward consolidating the ceasefire and preventing a return to the war, which has killed more than 71,000 people in Gaza.

jdt/iff/otf/rob

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Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, together with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, reaffirmed in a meeting at Villa Madama, a branch of the Foreign Ministry, that Italy supports Danish sovereignty over Greenland but opposes the deployment of Italian troops there.

Italy’s strategic plan for this northern region of the planet focuses on security, research, and development, according to a report published on the Sky TG24 news website. That document outlines Italian priorities.

Its development began in 2025, but it was recently updated with an additional 50 pages, in the context of the White House’s ambitions to seize Greenland, which represent a clear threat, the statement indicates.

For the time being, the Italian government is ruling out the possible participation of Italian troops in the military operation “Arctic Resistance,” proposed by Denmark in response to potential US actions in the region.

Several European countries, including France, have joined the operation, the text notes.

Italy acknowledges in this projection that the stability of the region “has direct implications for European security and the Atlantic Alliance.”

In this regard, Italy intends to contribute to the security and defense of the Arctic region, within the framework of its multilateral commitments as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union.

jdt/arm/mem/ort

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Yesterday, some fifteen French soldiers arrived in the Danish territory, considered the gateway to the Arctic and rich in natural resources.

French President Emmanuel Macron also promised to reinforce this presence in the coming days with naval, air, and land assets.

While the deployment is currently discreet and part of the European mission supporting Copenhagen, “Arctic Endurance,” scheduled to last until tomorrow, Alice Rufo, the second-in-command at the Ministry of Defense, dismissed the idea of ​​focusing Paris’s reaction on the numbers.

“It is the effect produced that counts in an exercise, not so much the figures,” the Minister Delegate and head of Veterans Affairs told Franceinfo on Friday.

Rufo stated that France’s objective is not to frighten anyone, but rather to demonstrate its commitment to defending European interests.

Since his return to the White House a year ago, US President Donald Trump has made the acquisition of Greenland a priority.

Toward achieving this goal, the president has escalated his pressure in recent days, citing justifications ranging from an alleged threat from China and Russia to the vast island to vital Washington interests, including early warning of enemy missiles in the event of war.

jdt/arm/mem/wmr

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SANA informed that a force composed of eight military vehicles and three tanks advanced from Tell al-Ahmar, west of Quneitra, to the villages of Ain al-Ziwan and Suwaisa.

The unit remained deployed for about one hour inside Suwaisa before heading to the small village of al-Dawaya, while the tanks entered the Tell Abu Qubays area.

Local sources reported that the force subsequently withdrew without any arrests being made.

Another Israeli unit advanced on Thursday toward Tell Abu Qubays, near Qudna city, a Syrian television correspondent informed, specifying the use of tanks in the nighttime incursion.

These actions are part of a series of similar operations in the region.

Since the Syrian Golan Heights was occupied in June 1967, Israel has maintained a sustained policy of violating the sovereignty and rights of the Syrian people.

jdt/iff/mem/fm

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Southern Command detailed that Marines and naval personnel from Joint Task Force Southern Spear departed from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to carry out the operation.

In blatant violation of all international legal frameworks, the United States Southern Command reported a new act of piracy in the Caribbean on Thursday, announcing the theft of the oil tanker Veronica, linked to Venezuela and accused by Washington of violating the unilateral blockade imposed on Venezuelan crude.

Through a message posted on social media, the military organization stated that the Veronica was the latest tanker operating “defying the quarantine” decreed by President Donald Trump against sanctioned vessels in the region, and asserted that the incident confirms the effectiveness of Operation Southern Spear.

Through #OpSouthernSpear, the Department of War is unwavering in its mission to crush illicit activity in the Western Hemisphere in partnership with @USCG through @DHSgov and @TheJusticeDept.

In another pre-dawn action, Marines and Sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear,… pic.twitter.com/brxO9xXUu3

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) January 15, 2026

According to the statement, the action was carried out by the U.S. Department of Defense in coordination with the Coast Guard, under the auspices of the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice.

Southern Command detailed that Marines and naval personnel from Joint Task Force Southern Spear departed from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to carry out the operation.

It also highlighted that the operation received support from the U.S. Navy’s Amphibious Group, with the participation of the ships USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), USS San Antonio (LPD 17), and USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28), whose capabilities were described by the organization as “lethal and permanently combat-ready.”

Trump Claims Impending Seizure of 50 Million Barrels of Venezuela’s Oil Amid Continued Maritime Piracy (+Greenland)

In the same statement, the organization maintained that “the only oil that will leave Venezuela will be that which is properly coordinated and legal,” a statement that reinforces Washington’s attempt to seize control over the resources of a sovereign nation.

These actions, carried out outside the framework of international law and without any threat to U.S. territory, demonstrate an imperialist policy based on the military occupation of foreign waters and spaces, as well as the use of force to impose a unilateral blockade and exert control over nations that do not submit to its interests.

The theft of the Veronica vessel occurred within a context of growing regional tension, after Washington launched, under the pretext of combating drug trafficking and terrorism, a military aggression first in Caribbean waters and later within Venezuelan territory, culminating in the kidnapping of the constitutional president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores.

#ENVIDEO | El Gobierno de Venezuela denuncia y rechaza categóricamente un nuevo acto de "robo y secuestro" de un buque petrolero por parte de militares estadounidenses en aguas internacionales, calificando el hecho como una "grosera violación" del derecho internacional.

Por su… pic.twitter.com/tFFLNFzALP

— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) December 22, 2025

In this context, the U.S. administration has repeatedly made accusations of drug trafficking against Venezuela without presenting evidence, using these allegations as justification for sanctions, blockades, and military actions.

However, reports from international organizations such as the United Nations have recognized that the South American nation is not a drug-producing country and has been certified as a territory free of illicit crops, in addition to having one of the strictest legal frameworks in the region in the fight against drug trafficking.

(Telesur)


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In statements to the Telecinco channel, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares stressed that the government will take a position on this matter once it has a “well-defined understanding of the situation,” based on ongoing contacts with other European countries.

According to the diplomat, the Greenlanders have made it clear that they want to remain part of Denmark and do not consider a “change of sovereignty” to the United States an option.

Defense Minister Margarita Robles had already expressed a similar sentiment, urging caution, although she hinted that the matter is under evaluation.

Albares, meanwhile, acknowledged that a series of contacts and meetings are underway with other European partners who share Spain’s concern about the situation in Greenland.

“We are exchanging information and getting a sense of the situation, and once we have all the elements, then the decisions will be made,” he noted.

The open intentions of US President Donald Trump to seize Greenland “one way or another” (by force or by purchase) have set off alarm bells in Europe, given what this would mean for the end of NATO as it currently exists.

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The post Spain considers sending troops to Greenland first appeared on Prensa Latina.


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