The victories that followed the American civil war and the 1960s civil rights era are once again under attack, echoing earlier efforts to roll back equality and redefine democracy, says JOE SIMS
A TERRITORIAL dispute between Venezuela and Guyana over the Essequibo region, a century old but recently resurrected, has just been jointly agreed to be settled peacefully and in accordance with international treaties.
The agreement was reached through a diplomatic initiative by Ralph Gonsalves, the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines PM and president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), with the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and Brazil’s President Lula also being involved.
But both the United States and Britain seized on the opportunity afforded by the dispute to stoke up hostility towards Venezuela. The US Southern Command (USSouthCom), which has long been battle-ready to attack Venezuela if required, initiated “flight operations” within Guyana on December 7, in collaboration with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
International solidarity can ensure that Trump and his machine cannot prevail without a level of political and economic cost that he will not want to pay, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
The global left must be unwavering in it is support for Venezuela as Washington increases its aggression, and clear-eyed about the West’s cynical motives for targeting it, says CLAUDIA WEBBE
To defend Puerto Rico’s right to peace is to defend Venezuela’s right to exist, argues MICHELLE ELLNER
US baseless accusations of drug trafficking and the outrageous putting of a bounty on a president of a sovereign country do not bode well, reports PABLO MERIGUET



