As Colombia approaches presidential elections next year, the US decision to decertify the country in the war on drugs plays into the hands of its allies on the political right, writes NICK MacWILLIAM

SINCE he took power in a military coup back in 1989, Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir has ruled Sudan with a combination of corruption and repression.
Up to now, he has fended off armed rebellions, massive labour and other protests, and international attempts to prosecute him for genocide and other horrific crimes.
The Trump administration had helped him out in 2017 by ending sanctions on his regime, and he had allies in the region: Sudanese troops (including child soldiers) have been participating in the Saudi-led, US-supported rape of Yemen.

The plan is to stigmatise and destabilise South Africa in preparation for breaking it up while creating a confused and highly racialised atmosphere around immigration in the US to aid in denying rights to non-white refugees, explains EMILE SCHEPERS

