ISSN 2562-9948
With the passing of Manuel Noriega, I looked back 27 years to something I wrote for Excalibur, the York University newspaper. I was surprised to see how much I still agree with that article, but disappointed that I no longer share with my younger self the optimistic sentiments expressed at the end of the piece. […]
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“There is something unseemly about a nation conducting a foreign policy that involves it in the affairs of most of the nations of the world while its own domestic needs are neglected or postponed, just as there is something unseemly about an individual carrying all the burdens of the Community Chest and the PTA while […]
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The force multiplier mechanism is not just something envisioned in military writing, but is instead a cornerstone of US intervention, both overt and covert. The CIA uses the term “disruption” when referring to the covert support of allied agencies who aid the CIA in the capture of so-called “terrorists”—collaborating security forces in other countries then […]
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Much of what appears as “novel” thinking in US imperial strategies, masks deeper historical foundations. Numerous authors have already explained how Latin America and the Caribbean, from the early 1800s onward, have served as “laboratories” for incubating and developing strategies of destabilization, intervention, occupation, and counterinsurgency. More recently, counterinsurgency was being sold as a new […]
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This and previous issues have been archived on a dedicated site—please see: ENCIRCLING EMPIRE. For frequent updates, please “like” our Facebook page and/or follow on Twitter. “Operation Just Cause” “25 Years after US Invasion of Panama, Death Toll Still Unknown,” TeleSur, December 19, 2014: On December 20, 1989, over 27,000 U.S. soldiers invaded the small […]
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Review essay, Part 1 (see Part 2) Cuba and its Neighbours: Democracy in Motion. By Arnold August. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing; London: Zed Books. 2013. ISBN 978-1-55266-404-9. 267 pages (not including Preface and Acknowledgments) Arnold August’s Cuba and its Neighbours is a richly documented and thus very detailed description and analysis of the history, theory, and […]
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What follows are transcripts of the two speeches given today by Cuba’s President, Raúl Castro, and US President Barack Obama, on the establishment of diplomatic relations: STATEMENT BY THE CUBAN PRESIDENT (Havana, December 17, 2014) Fellow countrymen, Since my election as President of the State Council and Council of Ministers I have reiterated on many […]
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This is an Op-Ed by Nicolás Maduro, President of Venezuela, as published in the New York Times: CARACAS, Venezuela — THE recent protests in Venezuela have made international headlines. Much of the foreign media coverage has distorted the reality of my country and the facts surrounding the events. Venezuelans are proud of our democracy. We have […]
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This article originally appeared in the March 7-9, 2014, edition of CounterPunch, and was first published in Spanish on CubaDebate. It was released for the first anniversary of the passing of Hugo Chávez Frías, and is reproduced here given that it is a personal account from one who knew and travelled with Hugo Chávez. A Personal […]
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Remembering Hugo Chávez on the anniversary of his passing involved more than I imagined at first, making writing almost impossible for me. I therefore opted for something simple: just some of the brightest, most uplifting memories I have of this unique figure in Latin American history, whose courage and indefatigable commitment, whose vision and practice, […]
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This was a year of giant losses, especially with the passing of monumental figures such as Hugo Chávez (March 5) and then Nelson Mandela exactly nine months later (December 5). While Chávez’s successor seems to have rebounded successfully, lengthening his electoral lead in what is already the second election victory for Venezuela’s ruling PSUV since […]
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Today marks the 60th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s famous “History Will Absolve Me” speech, given in his defense during his trial following the unsuccessful guerrilla attack on the Moncada barracks on July 26 of that year. The complete speech, which was transcribed after the fact entirely from memory, is available here in English and aquí […]
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“A significant addition to research, Who Is an Indian? provides an extended examination and a clear picture of Indigenous identity issues in the Americas. Among the book’s important contributions are its examination of the site of interface between the modern state and Indigenous peoples, as well as its analysis of how state discourses of identities […]
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The supposed “irony” of whistle-blower Edward Snowden seeking asylum in countries such as Ecuador and Venezuela has become a media meme. Numerous articles, op-eds, reports and editorials in outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and MSNBC have hammered on this idea since the news first broke […]
Read More… With 99.12% of the votes counted, and a voter turnout of 78.71%, the numerical results of the Venezuelan presidential elections were much closer than anyone anticipated, though the final political result was as expected: Nicolás Maduro won 50.66% of the votes (or 7,505,338 votes), while the opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski lost with 49.07% of […]
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