Over 150 people filled Immanuel Presbyterian Church on May 8 to hear a talk by Eva Golinger, foreign policy advisor to the Venezuelan government and editor-in-chief of the English-language weekly, Correo del Orinoco. The ANSWER Coalition, Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Simon Bolívar Association co-hosted the forum, which included a talk by Gloria La Riva, PSL member and coordinator of the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five.
Golinger explained that the U.S. government’s campaign to destabilize progressive governments in Latin America has intensified under the Obama administration, which has heavily militarized the region, building seven new U.S. bases in Colombia and reactivating the Fourth Fleet. It has also backed violent coups against the governments of Honduras and Ecuador, and continues to carry out hostile actions against the governments of Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Cuba—all members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).
An attorney and investigative reporter, Golinger in 2003 filed requests under the Freedom of Information Act for documents from the State Department, the military and the CIA related to the 2002 military coup against President Hugo Chávez. She obtained first-hand evidence of the extensive complicity of the U.S. government in the failed coup, and used the information to write her first best-selling book, The Chavez Code. Since then, Golinger has continued to research and write about U.S. imperialism in Latin America, including analysis of Wikileaks’ release of secret embassy cables.
Gloria La Riva spoke about the hypocrisy of the government in letting international terrorists such as Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch walk free while it continues to keep five Cuban anti-terrorists in separate prisons and denies them visits by their families. She also informed the crowd of the breaking news that Dade County reporters who filled the media with stories that were highly prejudicial to the five during their trial were on the U.S. government payroll—which not only violated the law but violated their right to a fair trial. Click here to read more about this from Liberation News.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation and the ANSWER Coalition will continue to build solidarity with every country that stands against U.S. imperialism and the spread of neoliberal foreign policy. Hands off Venezuela! Long live the Bolivarian Revolution!
