This is a speech I gave to a rally in Melbourne. Chris Slee
*** End US attacks on Venezuela! Free Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores! On January 3 this year, US aircraft bombed Venezuela, killing more than 100 people. US forces kidnapped Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and took them to New York, planning to put them on trial for alleged "narco-terrorism". A preliminary hearing was held on March 26. The trial date is unknown. Maduro and Flores remain in prison. This attack followed several months of escalating US attacks on Venezuela. The US navy was sent into the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, where it sank numerous small boats and killed their crews, claiming (with no evidence) that they were smuggling drugs. The US also began imposing a naval blockade on Venezuela, taking over at least 9 oil tankers and stealing the oil. President Maduro called this an act of "piracy". Trump has claimed that Venezuela's oil belongs to the US. Today the US continues its naval blockade. It bans the export of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, China, Russia, Iran or North Korea. China was previously the main destination for Venezuelan oil exports. Cuba, which is itself subject to a US economic blockade, relied on Venezuelan oil for transport and other needs. Meanwhile US companies, and other companies approved by the US government, are allowed to buy Venezuelan oil. However, the money they pay goes into a bank account controlled by the US government. The US uses military force, in the form of the naval blockade, to steal Venezuela's money. These latest attacks follow 25 years in which the US has tried to overthrow the Venezuelan government, led by former president Hugo Chavez and current president Nicolas Maduro, through attempted coups and economic warfare. Chavez and Maduro used Venezuela's oil wealth to fund health, education, housing etc. The US tried to sabotage these policies by imposing an economic blockade that caused a lot of hardship for the Venezuelan people. The US used its economic power to intimidate foreign companies from trading with Venezuelan government bodies such as PDVSA, the state oil company. The naval blockade is an escalation of this economic warfare. It aims to deprive the Venezuelan government of resources, and pressure it into granting concessions to US companies. End the blockade of Cuba! The US has also stepped up its economic warfare against Cuba, which has been subject to an embargo for more than six decades. Trump has threatened to punish countries that export oil to Cuba. There is also a danger that the US will launch military attacks on Cuba. Oppose US threats to Latin America! Cuba and Venezuela have been particular targets, because of their left-wing governments which have criticised US foreign policy, including its support for Israel's genocide against the Palestinians. But Trump has also threatened other Latin American countries such as Colombia and Mexico. The US wants to control their natural resources, and also wants governments that will be subservient to the US and support its wars. End the US alliance! End AUKUS! We call on the Australian government to condemn the blockades of Venezuela and Cuba, and the kidnapping of Maduro and Flores. However, the Albanese government has been very reluctant to criticise the US on any issue. Australia should break its alliance with the US, which involves us in US wars and also wastes money that should be spent on health, education, housing etc. The AUKUS submarine deal is just one example. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#41308): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/41308 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/118624949/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
