International Solidarity Threatens Biden’s Summit of the Americas

On today’s episode, we are joined by Claudia de la Cruz of the People’s Forum in New York City to discuss developments around President Biden’s Summit of the Americas. Scheduled for June 6-10 in Los Angeles, the legitimacy of the gathering and the role of the U.S. in Central & South American is being severely threatened by announcements from Mexico, Bolivia, Honduras and Antigua and Barbuda that they will not attend if the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are not invited. Claudia gives us a history of the Summit of the Americas, and discusses the People’s Summit for Democracy, a grassroots event happening at the same time in Los Angeles, where people from across the Americas will come together for three days of art, music, speakers, debates, workshops, panel discussions, performances and mobilizations to uplift the voices of the people. The U.S. government is going as far as refusing visas to a 23-person delegation from Cuban civil society, including artists and academics, preventing them from participating.

 

We also discuss the dissolution of the short-lived Disinformation Governance Board of the Department of Homeland Security, following up on our story from last week. And, as Biden threatens China over Taiwan, is it really a gaffe? We review a brief history of U.S.-China relations and the real threat a war would pose to humanity and the world. Finally, we expose the New York Times’ recent multi-part series on Haiti, which serves U.S. interests not fully ignoring the recent crimes of the Clintons and others against the country.

To sign the petition demanding the Biden administration approve the visas, go to https://www.change.org/p/let-them-in-stop-the-exclusion-of-cuban-artists-academics.