WTF is Going on in Latin America & The Caribbean

Guest: John Philpot, senior criminal litigation attorney. A member of the Barreau du Québec since 1984, he has practiced Criminal Law in Montreal since 1984 and International Criminal Law since 1998.

From “Alex Saab vs. Empire: How the US is Using Lawfare to Punish a Venezuelan Diplomat” By Roger Harris of broadcast partner Task Force on the Americas (MintPress May 24, 2021):

“Special Envoy and Ambassador to the African Union for Venezuela Alex Saab was on a humanitarian mission flying from Caracas to Iran to procure food and gasoline for the Venezuelan CLAP food assistance program. Saab was detained on a refueling stop in the African nation of Cabo Verde and has been held in custody ever since June 12, 2020.

Saab’s “crime” — according to the U.S. government, which ordered the imprisonment — was money laundering. That is, Saab conducted perfectly legal international trade. Still, his circumventing of the U.S. sanctions – which are designed to prevent relief to the Venezuelans – is considered by Washington to be money laundering.

After a two-year investigation into Saab’s transactions with Swiss banks, the Swiss government concluded on March 25 that there was no money laundering. Saab is being prosecuted because he is serving his country’s interest rather than that of the U.S. Saab was born in Colombia but now holds Venezuelan citizenship. The U.S. does not recognize Saab’s diplomatic status.”

Joining us this episode to discuss this case of Extra-Judicial Reach of the United States and to provide an update on the Alex Saab case is John Philpot. John is an experienced international defense attorney before international criminal courts (ICC, ICTR) and in Canada. He has been active in Africa, Latin America and Europe as well as in Canada.

Links referenced in this episode:

Registration for the Meng conference 22 September

http://hamiltoncoalitiontostopthewar.ca/event-release-meng/

An ongoing international appeal of over 15,000 signatures, sent to the US president and the president and prime minister of Cabo Verde: 

https://solidaritycenter.ourpowerbase.net/civicrm/petition/sign?sid=23&reset=1

An archive of articles, statements and reference materials on the developing case: 

https://afgj.org/free-alex-saab

May 19 webinar panel featuring two of Saab’s lawyers, Cabo Verde’s Geraldo da Cruz Almeida and Nigeria’s Femi Falana, in addition to activists William Camacaro, John Philpot, Stanfield Smith and Sara Flounders: 

https://youtu.be/TZXfO0dZXiQ

August 10 webinar hosted by Massachusetts Peace Action: 

https://youtu.be/dAjgIvhOrvQ

Social media campaign to #FreeAlexSaab:

https://afgj.org/urgent-call-alex-saab-social-media-campaign

We Don't Deserve This: the impact and consequences of US sanction

https://sanctionskill.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/SanctionsReport_v1.pdf

Guest: Yesenia Portillo, East Coast Coordinator for Committee In Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES).

On September 7, The New York Times reported: "El Salvador on Tuesday became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, allowing the cryptocurrency to be used in any transaction, from buying a cup of coffee to paying taxes. The bold move, largely celebrated by the international bitcoin community, has found a more skeptical reception at home and in the traditional financial world, amid concerns that it could bring instability and unnecessary risk to the Central American country’s fragile economy.

In El Salvador, many are viewing the move with confusion and distrust, afraid that the volatility inherent to using virtual tokens with no physical backing, which are apt to soar and crash in value, could be dangerous for the economy — and their own savings.

El Salvador’s move puts it at the forefront of a revolution in finance on the blockchain, where a parallel universe of crypto-based alternative banking services is booming and eliciting alarm from officials in Washington and beyond."

To talk more about this global first, we are joined by Yesenia Portillo of CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador)

With presidential elections in November, the U.S. is ramping up the pressure on the country. Congress is now considering the RENACER Act, which would mark a new phase in U.S. hybrid war against Nicaragua. Vijay Prashad of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, Alex Main of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) and Jill Clark-Gollub of Friends of Latin America will engage in a timely discussion of this proposed law and U.S. attempts at regime change. After the discussion, participants will contact their Representative and urge them to vote no on the RENACER Act.

In partnership with Friends of Latin America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas, original broadcasts of WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean can be viewed every Wednesday at 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET on CODEPINK YouTube Live

Guest: Nick Estes, journalist, historian and host of the Red Nation Podcast

Last month Progressive International received a letter from The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) calling for solidarity in their struggle for life and requesting a delegation to travel .to Brazil to witness Bolsonaro's assault on indigenous people and the environment.

Over the course of 10 days, the delegation met with an incredible range of political actors in Brazil, including:

Indigenous leaders from APIB

Ki Lombola representatives

Members of congress from parties such as: PT, PSOL and PSB

Trade unions and social movements including the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST)

Members of the Panamazonic Social Forum; and,

Civil society actors

Nick was a member of the Progressive International emergency delegation and returned to the US from Brazil just prior to joining our conversation.

In partnership with Friends of Latin America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas, original broadcasts of WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean can be viewed every Wednesday at 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET on CODEPINK YouTube Live

Guest Co-Host:

Yoav Elinevsky, Latin America Working Group coordinator for Massachusetts Peace Action

Guests:

Pierre LaBossiere, Haitian born and from the region hit hardest by Saturday's earthquake. He is a veteran labor and human rights activist, a co-founder of Haiti Action Committee and a board member of the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund.

Robert Roth, co-founder of the Haiti Action Committee. Robert was a high school history teacher in San Francisco for 30 years and is now an instructional coach for new teachers. He was active in the Central America solidarity movement in the 1980s and 1990s and has worked for years to free political prisoners in the United States.

Background:

On Saturday, August 14 a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti in the southwest region of the country destroying more than 7,000 homes and damaging nearly 5,000 leaving about thirty thousand families homeless. Hospitals, schools, offices and churches also were demolished or badly damaged. The quake wiped out many of the sources of food and income upon which the population is dependent. The earthquake struck a nation still struggling with the corona virus, gang violence and the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

In partnership with Friends of Latin America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas, original broadcasts of WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean can be viewed every Wednesday at 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET on CODEPINK YouTube Live

Guest:

Diego Seguera of Mision Verdad. Diego is a writer, journalist, political analyst and researcher. He is a co-founder of Mision Verdad, as well, as a fellow with the Samuel Robinson Institute. Both organizations are based in Caracas, Venezuela.

Background:

On August 5th, Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that Mexico will host talks between representatives of Venezuela's elected government and members of the Venezuelan opposition in its capital this month with Norway serving as mediator. "It has been proposed that Mexico be the place to carry out these negotiations and we accept because what we are looking for is that there is dialogue and agreements between both parties. In talks between the government of Venezuela and the opposition, hopefully, an agreement will be reached," Lopez Obrador said at a press conference. Although he declined to say exactly when the talks will take place, they are expected to begin on August 13.

In July, Venezuela president Nicolas Maduro announced that he was willing to start a dialogue between the government and the opposition with National Assembly president Jorge Rodriguez and Hector Rodriguez governor of the State of Miranda representing him in the meeting. The mediation will be held ahead of regional and local elections in Venezuela on November 21. This follows failed negotiation attempts in 2019 that were held in Norway and Barbados 

In partnership with Friends of Latin America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas, original broadcasts of WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean can be viewed every Wednesday at 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET on CODEPINK YouTube Live

Guest:

Javier Gutierrez, Secretary of the Presidency of Nicaragua for Climate Change and Vice-Minister of Environment and Natural Resources

Background:

Under the slogan Uniting the world to tackle climate change, the forthcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), which will be held in Glasgow (UK) from 1 to 12 November 2021, will bring together representatives of some 200 governments with the aim of accelerating climate action to fulfill the Paris Agreement. The Presidency of the conference is already working with civil society and business to prepare the annual event and inspire climate action ahead of the event.

What is COP:

The Conference of the Parties or COP is the supreme body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a treaty that sets out the basic obligations of the 196 states (or parties) and the European Union to combat climate change. It was signed at the 1992 Earth Summit and came into force in 1994. Since then, a COP has been held every year to review the status of its implementation and to propose, evaluate and approve other instruments to support its establishment.

On 12 December 2015, in the framework of COP21, world leaders approved in Paris a historic agreement to slow down climate change. They committed to keeping the global average temperature increase to well below 2 ºC with respect to pre-industrial levels, and to work to limit this increase to 1.5 ºC. They also agreed to intensify efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change and to make funding flows consistent with the transition to a low-carbon economy and climate-resilient development.

Now, five years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, climate action has become a key part of the recovery plans for the COVID-19 pandemic. A green recovery that creates sustainable jobs and that addresses challenges linked to public health, climate change and loss of biodiversity in order to protect the environment for future generations.

 Many in the audience may know that Nicaragua did not sign the Paris Agreement because the Ortega Government did not believe the accord went far enough specifically regarding wealthy northern hemisphere countries to the detriment of the vulnerable countries of the global south. This is why we are so fortunate to hear from Vice-Minister Gutierrez today about Nicaragua’s impending proposals at COP26 and how these proposals emphasize the effects of climate change and the necessary response required for Nicaragua and all of Central America.

 In partnership with Friends of Latin America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas, original broadcasts of WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean can be viewed every Wednesday at 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET on CODEPINK YouTube Live