US funds ‘independent journalists’ in Cuba to spread propaganda, ex CIA spy admits

Former CIA analyst Fulton Armstrong told The Guardian that, in Cuba, “a lot of the so-called independent journalists are indirectly funded by the US”. They spread anti-government disinformation with the support of the NED.

US funds ‘independent journalists’ in Cuba to spread propaganda, ex CIA spy admits
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US Says Approach to Venezuela’s Maduro ‘Not Changing,’ Will Maintain Sanctions

US Says Approach to Venezuela’s Maduro ‘Not Changing,’ Will Maintain Sanctions

While Price insists it’s business as usual when it comes to Venezuela, the US has eased sanctions very slightly. After Maduro resumed talks with the opposition in November, the US granted a license to Chevron to resume pumping oil in Venezuela and agreed to release $3 billion in Venezuelan funds that were frozen by US and European banks. Under the deal, the funds will go toward humanitarian and economic development projects.

Previously:

Venezuela: Opposition Parties Oust Guaidó as ‘Interim President’

Venezuela: Opposition Parties Oust Guaidó as ‘Interim President’

Venezuela: Opposition Parties Oust Guaidó as ‘Interim President’

The parallel AN will appoint a five-person “Administration and Asset Protection Council” to manage resources. The “interim government” had recurring budgets assigned by the US Treasury Department, drawing funds from frozen accounts belonging to the Venezuelan state. Last week, the US Senate approved US $50 million for “democracy promotion” programs in Venezuela for 2023.

At the time of writing, the US has yet to comment on the reconfiguration of the opposition structures. However, the proposal was reportedly run by US officials during meetings with opposition representatives in Washington.

In the run-up to Thursday’s vote, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols stated in an interview that the Biden administration would follow whatever the anti-government majority decided. An anonymous spokesperson from the US National Security Council likewise told Reuters that the White House would continue recognizing the “interim government” “regardless of the form it takes.”

Next up: Leopoldo López or Henrique Capriles?!

Related:

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Colombia’s First Leftist President Charts a New Path on Venezuela + Government of Venezuela and Opposition Resume Mexico Talks

Colombia’s First Leftist President Charts a New Path on Venezuela

While critics derided the meeting as just another propaganda spectacle for Maduro, Petro has sent a signal to opposition parties in Colombia and the international community, particularly the United States, to rethink its approach if they hope to improve relations and achieve a successful political transition in Venezuela.

Related:

The recognition of Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela will end in 2023, according to two sources close to the opposition

Guaidó’s possible change of status occurs just as the opposition coalition establishes the rules to select the unitary candidate who will compete in the next presidential elections in 2024.

So Biden can support a new interim president for Venezuela.

Government of Venezuela and Opposition Resume Mexico Talks: What Is on the Table? (+Alex Saab)

Still skeptical of Gustavo Petro.

Call of Duty is a Government Psyop: These Documents Prove It

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II has been available for less than three weeks, but it is already making waves. Breaking records, within ten days, the first-person military shooter video game earned more than $1 billion in revenue. Yet it has also been shrouded in controversy, not least because missions include assassinating an Iranian general clearly based on Qassem Soleimani, a statesman and military leader slain by the Trump administration in 2020, and a level where players must shoot “drug traffickers” attempting to cross the U.S./Mexico border.

Call of Duty is a Government Psyop: These Documents Prove It

Related:

Spies Infiltrate a Fantasy Realm of Online Games (behind a paywall)

Just some notes, for myself:

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Is the U.S. and NATO Running Another Operation Gladio in Europe?

Part Two of a Three-Part CAM Series on Mercenaries and Clandestine Operations in Ukraine

[In Part Two of this three-part series on foreign mercenary fighters in Ukraine, (see Part 1) the nexus between mercenaries with experience in Syria, Ukraine and U.S.-EU-NATO armed forces becomes more apparent. This second part of the investigation looks at Shaun Pinner, Alexander Tobiassen, John Harding, Sjoerd Heeger, Craig Lang and Ben Fischer.—Editors]

Is the U.S. and NATO Running Another Operation Gladio in Europe?

Archived (WordPress is now private): American YPG Fighter Complains About Group’s Lack of Medical Care

Venezuela’s Oil Output Stutters as ‘Irrational’ US Sanctions ‘Imbalance’ Global Market

Venezuela’s Oil Output Stutters as ‘Irrational’ US Sanctions ‘Imbalance’ Global Market

However, in a recent address to the press, the US president clarified that resuming oil exports from Venezuela was only one of several options. “There’s a lot of alternatives. We haven’t made up our mind yet,” he told reporters after calling the OPEC+ decision a “disappointment.” Washington has demanded that the Maduro government re-engages in talks with the opposition as a precondition for any changes to its sanctions policy.

Related:

US Plans To Ease Venezuela Sanctions To Let Chevron Pump Oil There Again—Reports

Brazilian Anarchist expert reveals Social War behind key Lula / Bolsonaro Vote

Brazilian Anarchist expert reveals Social War behind key Lula / Bolsonaro Vote

Despite the glowing picture that progressives and social democrats paint of Lula, it was under the PT (Worker’s Party) that Brazil’s government made its turn toward austerity. Given that this will likely be a second term in office for him, how effective do you think left organizations and movements will be at wringing concessions from a Lula-led PT government?

Blinken heads to Latin America after Venezuelans and Colombians Celebrate the ‘Historical’ Reopening of Border

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head next week to Colombia and Chile to forge ties with new left-leaning leaders elected in the historic US allies, the State Department announced Friday.

The secretary will later travel to Peru for a meeting of the Organization of American States and separately meet with President Pedro Castillo and other top officials.

In Colombia, Blinken will discuss “supporting strong democratic governments and respect for human rights throughout the Western Hemisphere,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

On his last visit to Colombia in October 2021 and later at a US-led summit in Los Angeles, Blinken has encouraged regional cooperation to address migration, a key political issue in the United States for Biden.

Blinken heads to Latin America to see new left-leaning leaders

Related:

Venezuelans and Colombians Celebrate the ‘Historical’ Reopening of Border