mintpressnews--2020-03-13--US Intel Agencies Played Unsettling Role in Classified and “9/11-like” Coronavirus Response Plan

As the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis comes to dominate headlines , little media attention has been given to the federal government ’ s decision to classify top-level meetings on domestic coronavirus response and lean heavily “ behind the scenes ” on U.S. intelligence and the Pentagon in planning for an allegedly imminent explosion of cases .
The classification of coronavirus planning meetings was first covered by Reuters , which noted that the decision to classify was “ an unusual step that has restricted information and hampered the U.S. government ’ s response to the contagion.
” Reuters further noted that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Human Services ( HHS ) , Alex Azar , and his chief of staff had “ resisted ” the classification order , which was made in mid-January by the National Security Council ( NSC ) , led by Robert O ’ Brien — a longtime friend and colleague of his predecessor John Bolton .
Following this order , HHS officials with the appropriate security clearances held meetings on coronavirus response at the department ’ s Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Facility ( SCIF ) , which are facilities “ usually reserved for intelligence and military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case — for responses to “ biowarfare or chemical attacks.
” Several officials who spoke to Reuters noted that the classification decision prevented key experts from participating in meetings and slowed down the ability of HHS and the agencies it oversees , including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) , to respond to the crisis by limiting participation and information sharing .
It has since been speculated that the decision was made to prevent potential leaks of information by stifling participation and that aspects of the planned response would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given that the decision to classify government meetings on coronavirus response negatively impacted HHS ’ ability to respond to the crisis .
After the classification decision was made public , a subsequent report in Politico revealed that not only is the National Security Council managing the federal government ’ s overall response but that they are doing so in close coordination with the U.S. intelligence community and the U.S. military .
It states specifically that “ NSC officials have been coordinating behind the scenes with the intelligence and defense communities to gauge the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. government will have to respond to much bigger numbers—and soon.
” Little attention was given to the fact that the response to this apparently imminent jump in cases was being coordinated largely between elements of the national security state ( i.e .
the NSC , Pentagon , and intelligence ) , as opposed to civilian agencies or those focused on public health issues , and in a classified manner .
The Politico article also noted that the intelligence community is set to play a “ key role ” in a pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the role would specifically entail .
However , it did note that intelligence agencies would “ almost certainly see an opportunity to exploit the crisis ” given that international “ epicenters of coronavirus [ are ] in high-priority counterintelligence targets like China and Iran.
” It further added , citing former intelligence officials , that efforts would be made to recruit new human sources in those countries .
Politico cited the official explanation for intelligence ’ s interest in “ exploiting the crisis ” as merely being aimed at determining accurate statistics of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” i.e .
nations that do not readily cooperate or share intelligence with the U.S. government .
Yet , Politico fails to note that Iran has long been targeted for CIA-driven U.S. regime change , specifically under the Trump administration , and that China had been fingered as the top threat to U.S. global hegemony by military officials well before the coronavirus outbreak .
The decision to classify government coronavirus preparations in mid-January , followed by the decision to coordinate the domestic response with the military and with intelligence deserves considerable scrutiny , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agency , Customs and Border Patrol ( CBP ) , will be given broad , sweeping powers and will work closely with unspecified intelligence “ partners ” as part of its response to a pandemics like COVID-19 .
The CBP ’ s pandemic response document , obtained by The Nation , reveals that the CBP ’ s pandemic directive “ allows the agency to actively surveil and detain individuals suspected of carrying the illness indefinitely.
” The Nation further notes that the plan was drafted during the George W. Bush administration , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic response plan and remains in effect .
Though only CBP ’ s pandemic response plan has now been made public , those of other agencies are likely to be similar , particularly on their emphasis on surveillance , given past precedent following the September 11 attacks and other times of national panic .
Notably , several recent media reports have likened coronavirus to 9/11 and broached the possibility of a “ 9/11-like ” response to coronavirus , suggestions that should concern critics of the post-9/11 “ Patriot Act ” and other controversial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ followed .
While the plans of the federal government remain classified , recent reports have revealed that the military and intelligence communities — now working with the NSC to develop the government ’ s coronavirus response — have anticipated a massive explosion in cases for weeks .
U.S. military intelligence came to the conclusion over a month ago that coronavirus cases would reach “ pandemic proportions ” domestically by the end of March .
That military intelligence agency , known as the National Center for Medical Intelligence ( NCMI ) , coordinates closely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) to conduct “ medical SIGINT [ signals intelligence ] .
” The coming government response , the agencies largely responsible for crafting it and its classified nature deserve public scrutiny now , particularly given the federal government ’ s tendency to not let “ a serious crisis to go to waste , ” as former President Obama ’ s then-chief of staff Rahm Emanuel infamously said during the 2008 financial crisis .
Indeed , during a time of panic — over a pandemic and over a simultaneous major economic downturn — concern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now given the involvement of intelligence agencies and the classification of planning for an explosion of domestic cases that the government believes is only weeks away .
Feature photo | A Medical University of South Carolina public safety officer walks by the hospital ’ s drive-through tent for patients who are being tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Citadel Mall parking lot , March 13 , 2020 , in Charleston , S.C. Mic Smith | AP Whitney Webb is a MintPress News journalist based in Chile .
She has contributed to several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ EcoWatch , the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire , among others .
She has made several radio and television appearances and is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism .

As the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis comes to dominate headlines, little media attention has been given to the federal government’s decision to classify top-level meetings on domestic coronavirus response and lean heavily “behind the scenes” on U.S. intelligence and the Pentagon in planning for an allegedly imminent explosion of cases.
The classification of coronavirus planning meetings was first covered by Reuters, which noted that the decision to classify was “an unusual step that has restricted information and hampered the U.S. government’s response to the contagion.” Reuters further noted that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Alex Azar, and his chief of staff had “resisted” the classification order, which was made in mid-January by the National Security Council (NSC), led by Robert O’Brien — a longtime friend and colleague of his predecessor John Bolton.
Following this order, HHS officials with the appropriate security clearances held meetings on coronavirus response at the department’s Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Facility (SCIF), which are facilities “usually reserved for intelligence and military operations” and — in HHS’ case — for responses to “biowarfare or chemical attacks.” Several officials who spoke to Reuters noted that the classification decision prevented key experts from participating in meetings and slowed down the ability of HHS and the agencies it oversees, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to respond to the crisis by limiting participation and information sharing.
It has since been speculated that the decision was made to prevent potential leaks of information by stifling participation and that aspects of the planned response would cause controversy if made public, especially given that the decision to classify government meetings on coronavirus response negatively impacted HHS’ ability to respond to the crisis.
After the classification decision was made public, a subsequent report in Politico revealed that not only is the National Security Council managing the federal government’s overall response but that they are doing so in close coordination with the U.S. intelligence community and the U.S. military. It states specifically that “NSC officials have been coordinating behind the scenes with the intelligence and defense communities to gauge the threat and prepare for the possibility that the U.S. government will have to respond to much bigger numbers—and soon.”
Little attention was given to the fact that the response to this apparently imminent jump in cases was being coordinated largely between elements of the national security state (i.e. the NSC, Pentagon, and intelligence), as opposed to civilian agencies or those focused on public health issues, and in a classified manner.
The Politico article also noted that the intelligence community is set to play a “key role” in a pandemic situation, but did not specify what the role would specifically entail. However, it did note that intelligence agencies would “almost certainly see an opportunity to exploit the crisis” given that international “epicenters of coronavirus [are] in high-priority counterintelligence targets like China and Iran.” It further added, citing former intelligence officials, that efforts would be made to recruit new human sources in those countries.
Politico cited the official explanation for intelligence’s interest in “exploiting the crisis” as merely being aimed at determining accurate statistics of coronavirus cases in “closed societies,” i.e. nations that do not readily cooperate or share intelligence with the U.S. government. Yet, Politico fails to note that Iran has long been targeted for CIA-driven U.S. regime change, specifically under the Trump administration, and that China had been fingered as the top threat to U.S. global hegemony by military officials well before the coronavirus outbreak.
A potential “9/11-like” response
The decision to classify government coronavirus preparations in mid-January, followed by the decision to coordinate the domestic response with the military and with intelligence deserves considerable scrutiny, particularly given that at least one federal agency, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), will be given broad, sweeping powers and will work closely with unspecified intelligence “partners” as part of its response to a pandemics like COVID-19.
The CBP’s pandemic response document, obtained by The Nation, reveals that the CBP’s pandemic directive “allows the agency to actively surveil and detain individuals suspected of carrying the illness indefinitely.” The Nation further notes that the plan was drafted during the George W. Bush administration, but is the agency’s most recent pandemic response plan and remains in effect.
Though only CBP’s pandemic response plan has now been made public, those of other agencies are likely to be similar, particularly on their emphasis on surveillance, given past precedent following the September 11 attacks and other times of national panic. Notably, several recent media reports have likened coronavirus to 9/11 and broached the possibility of a “9/11-like” response to coronavirus, suggestions that should concern critics of the post-9/11 “Patriot Act” and other controversial laws, executive orders and policies that followed.
While the plans of the federal government remain classified, recent reports have revealed that the military and intelligence communities — now working with the NSC to develop the government’s coronavirus response — have anticipated a massive explosion in cases for weeks. U.S. military intelligence came to the conclusion over a month ago that coronavirus cases would reach “pandemic proportions” domestically by the end of March. That military intelligence agency, known as the National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI), coordinates closely with the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct “medical SIGINT [signals intelligence].”
The coming government response, the agencies largely responsible for crafting it and its classified nature deserve public scrutiny now, particularly given the federal government’s tendency to not let “a serious crisis to go to waste,” as former President Obama’s then-chief of staff Rahm Emanuel infamously said during the 2008 financial crisis. Indeed, during a time of panic — over a pandemic and over a simultaneous major economic downturn — concern over government overreach is warranted, particularly now given the involvement of intelligence agencies and the classification of planning for an explosion of domestic cases that the government believes is only weeks away.
Feature photo | A Medical University of South Carolina public safety officer walks by the hospital’s drive-through tent for patients who are being tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Citadel Mall parking lot, March 13, 2020, in Charleston, S.C. Mic Smith | AP
Whitney Webb is a MintPress News journalist based in Chile. She has contributed to several independent media outlets including Global Research, EcoWatch, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has made several radio and television appearances and is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism.


mintpressnews--2020-03-13--To Help Stem Spread of Coronavirus, Trump Must Lift Sanctions on Iran

The COVID-19 ( coronavirus ) pandemic is far from the first proof of how intertwined we are as a global community .
The climate crisis and the refugee crisis have long been glaring examples that the wars or CO2 emissions on one continent risk the lives and well-being of people on another continent .
What coronavirus is providing , however , is a unique opportunity to look specifically at how the intentional damage caused to one country ’ s healthcare system can make it harder for the entire world to address a pandemic .
The coronavirus started in China in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brushed it off as something limited to China .
At the end of January 2020 , he banned entry to the United States of people from China but still insisted that the Americans need not worry .
It will have “ a very good ending for us , ” he said , insisting that his administration had the situation “ very well under control.
” Despite Trump ’ s insistence that the medical pandemics can be contained via travel bans and closed borders , the coronavirus knows no borders .
By January 20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thailand had all reported cases .
On January 21 , the U.S. confirmed the infection of a 30-year-old Washington State man who had just returned from Wuhan , China .
On February 19 , Iran announced two cases of the coronavirus , reporting within hours that both patients had died .
By March 13 , at the time of this writing , the total number of coronavirus infections in Iran is at least 11,362 and at least 514 people in the country have died .
Per capita , it is currently the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and third in the world , after Italy and South Korea .
In the Middle East , coronavirus cases have now been identified in Israel/Palestine , Saudi Arabia , Jordan , Qatar , Bahrain , Kuwait , UAE , Iraq , Lebanon , Omar , and Egypt .
If Iran is not able to stem the crisis , the virus will continue to spread throughout the Middle East and beyond .
By the time the coronavirus hit Iran on February 19 , the country ’ s economy , including its healthcare system , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Under the Obama administration , the Iranian economy was given a boost when the Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2015 and the nuclear-related sanctions were lifted .
By February 2016 , Iran was shipping oil to Europe for the first time in three years .
In 2017 , foreign direct investment increased by nearly 50 % and Iran ’ s imports expanded by nearly 40 % over 2015-2017 .
The reimposition of sanctions after the Trump administration ’ s withdrawal from the nuclear deal in 2018 has had a devastating impact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of ordinary Iranians .
The Iranian currency , the rial , lost 80 percent of its value .
Food prices doubled , rents soared , and so did unemployment .
The decimation of Iran ’ s economy , reducing the sale of oil from a high of 2.5 million barrels a day in early 2018 to about 250,000 barrels today , has left the government with scant resources to cover the enormous costs of dealing with direct medical treatment for patients suffering from the coronavirus , as well as supporting workers who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bankrupt .
Humanitarian aid—food and medicine—was supposed to be exempt from sanctions .
But that hasn ’ t been the case .
Shipping and insurance companies have been unwilling to risk doing business with Iran , and banks have not been able or willing to process payments .
This is especially true after September 20 , 2019 , when the Trump administration sanctioned Iran ’ s Central Bank , severely restricting the last remaining Iranian financial institution that could engage in foreign exchange transactions involving humanitarian imports .
Even before Iran was unable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ machines , antiviral medicines and other supplies to slow the spread of the coronavirus and save lives , Iranians were having a hard time getting access to life-saving medications .
In October 2019 , Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) released a report citing that “ the overbroad and burdensome nature of the US sanctions [ on Iran ] has led banks and companies around the world to pull back from humanitarian trade with Iran , leaving Iranians who have rare or complicated diseases unable to get the medicine and treatment they require.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ been unable to get critical medications have been patients with leukemia , epidermolysis bullosa , epilepsy , and chronic eye injuries from exposure to chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war .
Now coronavirus is added to that list .
On February 27 , 2020 , with over 100 people in Iran having been infected and with a reported 16 % mortality rate , the Treasury Department announced that it would waive sanctions for certain humanitarian supplies to go through Iran ’ s central bank .
But it was far too little far too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is yet to slow in Iran .
The Iranian government is not without blame .
It grossly mishandled the beginning of the outbreak , downplaying the danger , putting out false information , and even arresting individuals who raised alarms .
China had acted similarly at the start of the virus there .
The same can be said for President Trump , as he initially blamed the virus on Democrats , told people not to practice social distancing , and refused to accept tests offered by the World Health Organization .
Today , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the U.S. , Trump is refusing to have himself tested despite having been in contact with infected individuals , and he continues to label this a “ foreign virus.
” Neither China nor the U.S. , however , have the compounding problems of sanctions that prevent them from obtaining the necessary medicines , equipment , and other resources to address the crisis .
It isn ’ t just Iran that is sanctioned .
The U.S. imposes some form of sanctions against 39 countries , affecting over one-third of the world ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Venezuela is one of the countries most hard hit by U.S. sanctions , including new measures just imposed on March 12 .
According to President Nicolas Maduro , Venezuela does not yet have any coronavirus cases .
However , sanctions have contributed to making Venezuela one of the most vulnerable countries in the world .
Its healthcare system is in such shambles that many public hospitals often do not have water , electricity , or basic medical supplies and many households have only limited access to basic cleaning supplies such as water and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it has not reached Venezuela , ” President Maduro said on March 12 .
“ But we have to get ready .
This is a time for President Donald Trump to lift the sanctions so Venezuela can buy what it needs to face the virus.
” Likewise , the Iranian government , which is now asking the International Monetary Fund for $ 5 billion in emergency funding to fight the pandemic , has penned a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for U.S. sanctions to be lifted .
There are sweeping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seriously address the coronavirus pandemic at home and abroad .
He must stop minimizing the crisis and insisting that people do not need to exercise social distancing .
He must stop falsely claiming that testing is available .
He must stop catering to the greedy , profit-based healthcare industry .
In addition , and no less important , the Trump administration must lift the sanctions on Iran , Venezuela and other countries where ordinary people are suffering .
This is not a time to squeeze countries economically because we don ’ t like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to come together , as a global community , to share resources and best practices .
If coronavirus is teaching us anything , it ’ s that we will only defeat this terrible pandemic by working together .
Feature photo | A man wearing protective gear calls on a phone next to the patients in a ward dedicated for people infected with the new coronavirus , at Baqiyatallah Al ’ Azam Hospital in Tehran , Iran , March 7 , 2020 .
Mohammad Hasan Zarifmanesh | Tasnim via AP Medea Benjamin is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ author of several books , including Inside Iran : The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran .
Ariel Gold is national co-director of CODEPINK for Peace

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is far from the first proof of how intertwined we are as a global community. The climate crisis and the refugee crisis have long been glaring examples that the wars or CO2 emissions on one continent risk the lives and well-being of people on another continent. What coronavirus is providing, however, is a unique opportunity to look specifically at how the intentional damage caused to one country’s healthcare system can make it harder for the entire world to address a pandemic.
The coronavirus started in China in December 2019 and President Donald Trump immediately brushed it off as something limited to China. At the end of January 2020, he banned entry to the United States of people from China but still insisted that the Americans need not worry. It will have “a very good ending for us,” he said, insisting that his administration had the situation “very well under control.”
Despite Trump’s insistence that the medical pandemics can be contained via travel bans and closed borders, the coronavirus knows no borders. By January 20, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand had all reported cases. On January 21, the U.S. confirmed the infection of a 30-year-old Washington State man who had just returned from Wuhan, China.
On February 19, Iran announced two cases of the coronavirus, reporting within hours that both patients had died. By March 13, at the time of this writing, the total number of coronavirus infections in Iran is at least 11,362 and at least 514 people in the country have died. Per capita, it is currently the most heavily infected country in the Middle East and third in the world, after Italy and South Korea.
In the Middle East, coronavirus cases have now been identified in Israel/Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Iraq, Lebanon, Omar, and Egypt. If Iran is not able to stem the crisis, the virus will continue to spread throughout the Middle East and beyond.
By the time the coronavirus hit Iran on February 19, the country’s economy, including its healthcare system, had already been devastated by U.S. sanctions. Under the Obama administration, the Iranian economy was given a boost when the Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2015 and the nuclear-related sanctions were lifted. By February 2016, Iran was shipping oil to Europe for the first time in three years. In 2017, foreign direct investment increased by nearly 50% and Iran’s imports expanded by nearly 40% over 2015-2017.
The reimposition of sanctions after the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal in 2018 has had a devastating impact on the economy and on the lives of ordinary Iranians. The Iranian currency, the rial, lost 80 percent of its value. Food prices doubled, rents soared, and so did unemployment. The decimation of Iran’s economy, reducing the sale of oil from a high of 2.5 million barrels a day in early 2018 to about 250,000 barrels today, has left the government with scant resources to cover the enormous costs of dealing with direct medical treatment for patients suffering from the coronavirus, as well as supporting workers who are losing their jobs and helping businesses going bankrupt.
Humanitarian aid—food and medicine—was supposed to be exempt from sanctions. But that hasn’t been the case. Shipping and insurance companies have been unwilling to risk doing business with Iran, and banks have not been able or willing to process payments. This is especially true after September 20, 2019, when the Trump administration sanctioned Iran’s Central Bank, severely restricting the last remaining Iranian financial institution that could engage in foreign exchange transactions involving humanitarian imports.
Even before Iran was unable to procure enough testing kits, respiratory machines, antiviral medicines and other supplies to slow the spread of the coronavirus and save lives, Iranians were having a hard time getting access to life-saving medications. In October 2019, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report citing that “the overbroad and burdensome nature of the US sanctions [on Iran] has led banks and companies around the world to pull back from humanitarian trade with Iran, leaving Iranians who have rare or complicated diseases unable to get the medicine and treatment they require.”
Among those in Iran who have been unable to get critical medications have been patients with leukemia, epidermolysis bullosa, epilepsy, and chronic eye injuries from exposure to chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war. Now coronavirus is added to that list.
On February 27, 2020, with over 100 people in Iran having been infected and with a reported 16% mortality rate, the Treasury Department announced that it would waive sanctions for certain humanitarian supplies to go through Iran’s central bank. But it was far too little far too late, as the spread of coronavirus is yet to slow in Iran.
The Iranian government is not without blame. It grossly mishandled the beginning of the outbreak, downplaying the danger, putting out false information, and even arresting individuals who raised alarms. China had acted similarly at the start of the virus there. The same can be said for President Trump, as he initially blamed the virus on Democrats, told people not to practice social distancing, and refused to accept tests offered by the World Health Organization. Today, there are still nowhere near enough tests in the U.S., Trump is refusing to have himself tested despite having been in contact with infected individuals, and he continues to label this a “foreign virus.” Neither China nor the U.S., however, have the compounding problems of sanctions that prevent them from obtaining the necessary medicines, equipment, and other resources to address the crisis.
It isn’t just Iran that is sanctioned. The U.S. imposes some form of sanctions against 39 countries, affecting over one-third of the world’s population. In addition to Iran, Venezuela is one of the countries most hard hit by U.S. sanctions, including new measures just imposed on March 12.
According to President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela does not yet have any coronavirus cases. However, sanctions have contributed to making Venezuela one of the most vulnerable countries in the world. Its healthcare system is in such shambles that many public hospitals often do not have water, electricity, or basic medical supplies and many households have only limited access to basic cleaning supplies such as water and soap. “As of today, it has not reached Venezuela,” President Maduro said on March 12. “But we have to get ready. This is a time for President Donald Trump to lift the sanctions so Venezuela can buy what it needs to face the virus.”
Likewise, the Iranian government, which is now asking the International Monetary Fund for $5 billion in emergency funding to fight the pandemic, has penned a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for U.S. sanctions to be lifted.
There are sweeping changes President Trump needs to make to seriously address the coronavirus pandemic at home and abroad. He must stop minimizing the crisis and insisting that people do not need to exercise social distancing. He must stop falsely claiming that testing is available. He must stop catering to the greedy, profit-based healthcare industry. In addition, and no less important, the Trump administration must lift the sanctions on Iran, Venezuela and other countries where ordinary people are suffering. This is not a time to squeeze countries economically because we don’t like their governments. It’s a time to come together, as a global community, to share resources and best practices. If coronavirus is teaching us anything, it’s that we will only defeat this terrible pandemic by working together.
Feature photo | A man wearing protective gear calls on a phone next to the patients in a ward dedicated for people infected with the new coronavirus, at Baqiyatallah Al’Azam Hospital in Tehran, Iran, March 7, 2020. Mohammad Hasan Zarifmanesh | Tasnim via AP
Medea Benjamin is cofounder of CODEPINK for Peace, and author of several books, including Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Ariel Gold is national co-director of CODEPINK for Peace


mintpressnews--2020-03-16--How Cuba is Leading the World in the Fight Against Coronavirus

While the United States government is complicating efforts to treat coronavirus across the world and is using the pandemic to increase pressure on countries already struggling under U.S. sanctions , including Iran , Syria , and Venezuela , the small island of Cuba , itself a target of Washington ’ s ire , is leading the fight against the spread of COVID-19 .
And while the Trump administration slashes the Center for Disease Control ’ s budget amid an imminent pandemic , China appears to have gotten to grips with the coronavirus outbreak .
Beijing reported only 16 new cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are now more total cases outside mainland China than inside it .
Integral to reducing the number of deaths is a Cuban antiviral drug , Interferon Alpha 2b .
The drug , according to Cuban biotech specialist Dr. Luis Herrera Martinez , “ prevents aggravation and complications in patients , reaching that stage that ultimately can result in death.
” It has been produced in China since 2003 in a partnership with the state-owned Cuban pharmaceutical industry .
Interferons are “ signaling ” proteins , explains Dr. Helen Yaffe of Glasgow University , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are produced and released by the body in response to infections and alert nearby cells to heighten their antiviral defenses .
It is not a cure or a vaccine to COVID-19 , but rather an antiviral that boosts the human immune system .
Cuba has used it to fight outbreaks of Dengue Fever , a common occurrence on the mosquito-plagued island .
The Castro government was forced to develop a strong pharmaceutical industry because of the constant U.S. embargo .
Cuba estimates the decades-long sanctions , continually declared illegal by the United Nations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ billion .
Today , the Cuban government offered haven to the stranded cruise ship , MS Braemar .
The ship has five confirmed COVID-19 cases on board and had been turned away by both Barbados and the Bahamas .
Despite confirming its own first cases , the island is continuing to export medical professionals to the rest of the world .
Yesterday , Jamaican Health Minister Christopher Tufton announced that 21 nurses from its neighbor would arrive imminently , the first of more than 100 , he hoped .
But they have also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as Italy .
Sarpoma Sefa-Boakye , a Ghanaian-American doctor who studied for free in Havana and now practices in California told MintPress : “ You don ’ t hear of Cuba ’ s health contributions in the United States , ” claiming that there are more Cuban doctors in Africa than African doctors and that the Caribbean island trains more Africans in medicine than all of Africa does .
She first heard of the possibility of scholarships for Americans while studying in Ghana .
She notes that Cuba is well placed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of quarantining for viruses and its experience fighting Dengue .
Despite inadequate testing , the United States has over 4,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 .
There has not been one centralized plan from the government ; instead , different authorities have enacted different laws , with varying degrees of severity .
New York City , for example , will go into lockdown tomorrow , closing all schools , universities and non-essential stores .
On the other hand , other cities remain almost completely normalized .
Dr. Sefa-Boakye advised that stringent measures were urgently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; “ Quarantining has to be the only way that we can get a hold of transmission , ” she said .
“ The science will tell you , you talk to any biologist or anyone who has taken a basic science class : viruses replicate .
That is how they move .
They need a host and a source .
I learned that in Cuba.
” She also warned that the United States is “ facing an increase in transmission because of our lack of infrastructure.
” Worldwide , the number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with 6,717 deaths .
COVID-19 has now reached a large majority of countries .
Medical professionals urge everybody to reduce their contact with other people to the minimum necessary , regularly wash their hands with soap and water , avoid touching their face , and cover their mouths with their elbow when they cough or sneeze .
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) advised countries should check all potential cases .
“ You can not fight a fire blindfolded .
We have a simple message for all countries : test , test @ @ @ @ @ @ @ General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia .
“ This amazing spirit of human solidarity must become even more infectious than the coronavirus itself .
Although we may have to be physically apart from each other for a while , we can come together in ways we never have before…We ’ re all in this together .
And we can only succeed together , ” he added .
It is that ethos that has driven Cuba ’ s revolutionary healthcare system for 60 years .
Feature photo | A woman wears a mask as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new coronavirus at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana , Cuba , March 12 , 2020 .
Ramon Espinosa | AP Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald @ @ @ @ @

While the United States government is complicating efforts to treat coronavirus across the world and is using the pandemic to increase pressure on countries already struggling under U.S. sanctions, including Iran, Syria, and Venezuela, the small island of Cuba, itself a target of Washington’s ire, is leading the fight against the spread of COVID-19.
And while the Trump administration slashes the Center for Disease Control’s budget amid an imminent pandemic, China appears to have gotten to grips with the coronavirus outbreak. Beijing reported only 16 new cases of the virus today, and there are now more total cases outside mainland China than inside it.
Integral to reducing the number of deaths is a Cuban antiviral drug, Interferon Alpha 2b. The drug, according to Cuban biotech specialist Dr. Luis Herrera Martinez, “prevents aggravation and complications in patients, reaching that stage that ultimately can result in death.” It has been produced in China since 2003 in a partnership with the state-owned Cuban pharmaceutical industry. Interferons are “signaling” proteins, explains Dr. Helen Yaffe of Glasgow University, an expert on Cuba. These proteins are produced and released by the body in response to infections and alert nearby cells to heighten their antiviral defenses. It is not a cure or a vaccine to COVID-19, but rather an antiviral that boosts the human immune system.
Cuba has used it to fight outbreaks of Dengue Fever, a common occurrence on the mosquito-plagued island. The Castro government was forced to develop a strong pharmaceutical industry because of the constant U.S. embargo. Cuba estimates the decades-long sanctions, continually declared illegal by the United Nations, have cost it over $750 billion.
Today, the Cuban government offered haven to the stranded cruise ship, MS Braemar. The ship has five confirmed COVID-19 cases on board and had been turned away by both Barbados and the Bahamas.
Despite confirming its own first cases, the island is continuing to export medical professionals to the rest of the world. Yesterday, Jamaican Health Minister Christopher Tufton announced that 21 nurses from its neighbor would arrive imminently, the first of more than 100, he hoped. But they have also sent doctors to more advanced nations, such as Italy.
https://twitter.com/telesurenglish/status/1238677434943365120
Sarpoma Sefa-Boakye, a Ghanaian-American doctor who studied for free in Havana and now practices in California told MintPress: “You don’t hear of Cuba’s health contributions in the United States,” claiming that there are more Cuban doctors in Africa than African doctors and that the Caribbean island trains more Africans in medicine than all of Africa does. She first heard of the possibility of scholarships for Americans while studying in Ghana. She notes that Cuba is well placed to combat the coronavirus because of its culture of quarantining for viruses and its experience fighting Dengue.
Despite inadequate testing, the United States has over 4,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There has not been one centralized plan from the government; instead, different authorities have enacted different laws, with varying degrees of severity. New York City, for example, will go into lockdown tomorrow, closing all schools, universities and non-essential stores. On the other hand, other cities remain almost completely normalized.
Dr. Sefa-Boakye advised that stringent measures were urgently needed to fight the virus’ spread; “Quarantining has to be the only way that we can get a hold of transmission,” she said. “The science will tell you, you talk to any biologist or anyone who has taken a basic science class: viruses replicate. That is how they move. They need a host and a source. I learned that in Cuba.” She also warned that the United States is “facing an increase in transmission because of our lack of infrastructure.”
Happily sharing this pic.twitter.com/zU8lEioDZj — Dr Sylvie Briand (@SCBriand) March 13, 2020
Worldwide, the number of confirmed cases reached over 175,000 today, with 6,717 deaths. COVID-19 has now reached a large majority of countries. Medical professionals urge everybody to reduce their contact with other people to the minimum necessary, regularly wash their hands with soap and water, avoid touching their face, and cover their mouths with their elbow when they cough or sneeze.
The World Health Organization (WHO) advised countries should check all potential cases. “You cannot fight a fire blindfolded. We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test,” said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia. “This amazing spirit of human solidarity must become even more infectious than the coronavirus itself. Although we may have to be physically apart from each other for a while, we can come together in ways we never have before…We’re all in this together. And we can only succeed together,” he added. It is that ethos that has driven Cuba’s revolutionary healthcare system for 60 years.
Feature photo | A woman wears a mask as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba, March 12, 2020. Ramon Espinosa | AP
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-03-16--As Coronvirus Grips the US, Americans Get a Taste of Life Under Sanctions

Across fifty states , Americans are collectively bracing for the incoming COVID-19 pandemic to hit .
In the face of the virus , people are resorting to panic buying , stocking up on vital foods and goods , leading to pressing shortages of key products like hand sanitizer and toilet paper .
Perhaps more concerning , however , is that health experts all agree that the country is ill-equipped for the coming medical emergency .
“ We are not prepared , nor is any place prepared for a Wuhan-like outbreak , ” said Dr. Eric Toner of Johns Hopkins Center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would see the same sort of bad outcomes that they saw in Wuhan – with a very high case fatality rate , due largely to people not being able to access the needed intensive care.
” Chief among the problems is a lack of ventilators , a crucial machine to help critically ill patients breathe properly .
New York City , for example , has barely one sixth of the ventilators it would need for a critical outbreak .
If things get truly bad , the city has drafted laws to compel prisoners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ graves .
.
One of the principal reasons why the U.S. is so unprepared is that it spends so little on public health in comparison with what it spends on war .
The U.S. military ’ s projected budget is $ 934 billion per year , the Pentagon ’ s is $ 712 billion .
In contrast , the Center for Disease Control ( CDC ) costs the taxpayer only $ 6.6 billion .
At a time of crisis , many Americans are reassessing which organization they feel is truly protecting them from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , President Trump has consistently argued for cuts to the CDC .
Amazingly , the Trump administration confirmed last week that it intends to slash funding from the body , even as the country begins reeling from the impact of COVID-19 .
The crippling shortages , inability to move and the likely overwhelming of medical services will give Americans a taste of what it is like to live under sanctions that it imposes on a number of countries worldwide .
U.S. sanctions on Venezuela , declared illegal and a “ crime against humanity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conservatively estimated to have killed more than 40,000 people between 2017 and 2018 alone .
Diabetics , for example , have been unable to get insulin because of the embargo , leading to mass deaths .
The Cuban government estimates that the American embargo has cost it over $ 750 billion .
Meanwhile , Iran , wracked by the virus that has caused more than 850 confirmed deaths , has been decimated by Trump ’ s increased sanctions .
The Iranian rial lost 80 percent of its value , food prices doubled , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the sanctions , patients with conditions like leukemia and epilepsy have been unable to get treatment .
After the coronavirus hit it , no country would sell the Islamic Republic basic medical supplies like masks , fearful of reprisals from the world ’ s only superpower .
The shortages are so bad that doctors are being forced to share facemasks with other hospital staff .
Eventually the World Health Organization stepped in and began supplying Iran directly .
The Iranian government also invented an app to deal with COVID-19 , hoping to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fight its spread but Google removed it from its app store citing the sanctions that prevent it from promoting anything Iranian-made .
The effect of the sanctions in helping spread COVID-19 across Iran and beyond is immeasurable .
Despite the circumstances , countries under American pressure are trying their best to stem the outbreak .
In Venezuela , doctors have begun going door-to-door with sanitation workers and medical students , checking temperatures and providing information and consultation to the population for free .
Cuba , meanwhile , is actually exporting medical professionals , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like Jamaica and to advanced countries like Italy .
The Cuban pharmaceutical industry is world-renowned , and a local antiviral drug , Interferon Alpha 2b , has proved crucial in limiting deaths in China .
The Cubans were forced to develop their industry due to U.S. sanctions limiting what they could import .
China , Cuba and Venezuela are working together with Italy to try to halt the virus ’ spread .
Iran appears willing to do everything to slow the epidemic within its borders .
Last week it announced it was even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In contrast , incarcerating more people seems to be a priority for American authorities .
ICE recently launched a huge new crackdown , attempting to “ flood the streets ” with agents .
Last night , it used the chaos caused by the pandemic to fly six detained children from Dallas to New York .
The Trump administration is also attempting to pressure a German pharmaceutical company to provide it with an exclusive coronavirus vaccine “ only for the United States , ” something that was met with utter disgust in Europe .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” roared its economy minister , Peter Altmaier .
Meanwhile , American pharmaceutical giant Gilead is trying to block China ’ s use of a potential coronavirus treatment , arguing that China would give it away free to the rest of the world , hurting the company ’ s profits .
This is despite the fact Gilead used people in Wuhan as guinea pigs for research .
Despite being praised by the World Health Organization for its response , Washington appears to be very angry at China .
At the Democratic presidential debate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ What consequences should China face for its role in this global crisis ?
” – a question that suggested sanctions were in order for Beijing .
Perhaps given they now have a taste of what the reality of sanctions entail , the American public may not be as supportive of them as they have been in the past .
Feature photo | A patron at a local grocery store walks past empty shelves usually stocked with toilet paper due to the coronavirus pandemic , March 15 , 2020 , in Phoenix @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

Across fifty states, Americans are collectively bracing for the incoming COVID-19 pandemic to hit. In the face of the virus, people are resorting to panic buying, stocking up on vital foods and goods, leading to pressing shortages of key products like hand sanitizer and toilet paper.
Perhaps more concerning, however, is that health experts all agree that the country is ill-equipped for the coming medical emergency. “We are not prepared, nor is any place prepared for a Wuhan-like outbreak,” said Dr. Eric Toner of Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “And we would see the same sort of bad outcomes that they saw in Wuhan – with a very high case fatality rate, due largely to people not being able to access the needed intensive care.” Chief among the problems is a lack of ventilators, a crucial machine to help critically ill patients breathe properly. New York City, for example, has barely one sixth of the ventilators it would need for a critical outbreak. If things get truly bad, the city has drafted laws to compel prisoners at Rikers Island jail to dig mass graves.
Two sisters preparing for Coronavirus shutdown This is Rebecca and Fina — two sisters stocking up on groceries at Walmart that I spoke to with two very full carts. They are terrified from Trump's coronavirus response and the potential for martial law. They currently can't visit their sick mother who is in a nursing home because the nursing home has shut down. Posted by Mnar A. Muhawesh on Saturday, March 14, 2020
.
One of the principal reasons why the U.S. is so unprepared is that it spends so little on public health in comparison with what it spends on war. The U.S. military’s projected budget is $934 billion per year, the Pentagon’s is $712 billion. In contrast, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) costs the taxpayer only $6.6 billion. At a time of crisis, many Americans are reassessing which organization they feel is truly protecting them from danger. While increasing the military budget, President Trump has consistently argued for cuts to the CDC. Amazingly, the Trump administration confirmed last week that it intends to slash funding from the body, even as the country begins reeling from the impact of COVID-19.
The crippling shortages, inability to move and the likely overwhelming of medical services will give Americans a taste of what it is like to live under sanctions that it imposes on a number of countries worldwide. U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, declared illegal and a “crime against humanity” by the United Nations, are conservatively estimated to have killed more than 40,000 people between 2017 and 2018 alone. Diabetics, for example, have been unable to get insulin because of the embargo, leading to mass deaths. The Cuban government estimates that the American embargo has cost it over $750 billion. Meanwhile, Iran, wracked by the virus that has caused more than 850 confirmed deaths, has been decimated by Trump’s increased sanctions.
The Iranian rial lost 80 percent of its value, food prices doubled, and rents and unemployment soared. Because of the sanctions, patients with conditions like leukemia and epilepsy have been unable to get treatment. After the coronavirus hit it, no country would sell the Islamic Republic basic medical supplies like masks, fearful of reprisals from the world’s only superpower. The shortages are so bad that doctors are being forced to share facemasks with other hospital staff. Eventually the World Health Organization stepped in and began supplying Iran directly. The Iranian government also invented an app to deal with COVID-19, hoping to share information with its citizens to help fight its spread but Google removed it from its app store citing the sanctions that prevent it from promoting anything Iranian-made. The effect of the sanctions in helping spread COVID-19 across Iran and beyond is immeasurable.
Despite the circumstances, countries under American pressure are trying their best to stem the outbreak. In Venezuela, doctors have begun going door-to-door with sanitation workers and medical students, checking temperatures and providing information and consultation to the population for free. Cuba, meanwhile, is actually exporting medical professionals, sending them both to less advantaged neighbors like Jamaica and to advanced countries like Italy. The Cuban pharmaceutical industry is world-renowned, and a local antiviral drug, Interferon Alpha 2b, has proved crucial in limiting deaths in China. The Cubans were forced to develop their industry due to U.S. sanctions limiting what they could import. China, Cuba and Venezuela are working together with Italy to try to halt the virus’ spread.
As an ER doc trying to treat patients who may have COVID-19, I can't underscore enough how much harder the lack of testing is making our job. Yes we're used to making life-or-death decisions with limited information, daily. But this scenario is very different. Here’s why: (1/12) — Dr. Rob Davidson (@DrRobDavidson) March 15, 2020
Iran appears willing to do everything to slow the epidemic within its borders. Last week it announced it was even releasing 70,000 prisoners from its jails. In contrast, incarcerating more people seems to be a priority for American authorities. ICE recently launched a huge new crackdown, attempting to “flood the streets” with agents. Last night, it used the chaos caused by the pandemic to fly six detained children from Dallas to New York.
The Trump administration is also attempting to pressure a German pharmaceutical company to provide it with an exclusive coronavirus vaccine “only for the United States,” something that was met with utter disgust in Europe. “Germany is not for sale,” roared its economy minister, Peter Altmaier. Meanwhile, American pharmaceutical giant Gilead is trying to block China’s use of a potential coronavirus treatment, arguing that China would give it away free to the rest of the world, hurting the company’s profits. This is despite the fact Gilead used people in Wuhan as guinea pigs for research.
US pharma company Gilead, which owns the most promising COVID-19 vaccine, is booming in "pandemic stock sales," preparing to sell it for $50-100/person, and in a legal battle to deny the Chinese gov access, because China would make the vaccine free and ship it to the global south https://t.co/QmQSfnMdKI pic.twitter.com/nQcxvq4HUX — . (@mqmqqmqm) March 8, 2020
Despite being praised by the World Health Organization for its response, Washington appears to be very angry at China. At the Democratic presidential debate last night Senator Bernie Sanders was asked, “What consequences should China face for its role in this global crisis?” – a question that suggested sanctions were in order for Beijing. Perhaps given they now have a taste of what the reality of sanctions entail, the American public may not be as supportive of them as they have been in the past.
Feature photo | A patron at a local grocery store walks past empty shelves usually stocked with toilet paper due to the coronavirus pandemic, March 15, 2020, in Phoenix. Ross D. Franklin | AP
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-03-16--Amid Coronavirus Outbreak: America’s Hybrid War on Venezuela Heats Up

The first quarter of 2020 has seen the Trump administration escalate its rhetoric against Venezuela .
At the State of the Union , President Trump promised to “ smash ” and destroy the Venezuelan government .
This was followed by a renewed threat of a naval blockade on the country , which is an act of war under U.S. and international law .
Then the State Department eagerly noted that the “ Monroe Doctrine 2.0 ” will be “ fleshed out in the weeks and months to come , ” while declaring “ maximum-pressure March ” against Venezuela .
These @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rhetoric has been backed up by policies and actions .
Russian oil company Rosneft , one of the world ’ s primary purchasers of Venezuelan oil , has seen two of its subsidiaries sanctioned in less than one month for doing business with Venezuela .
The State Department telegraphed this move in February , singling out oil companies Rosneft , Reliance ( India ) and Repsol ( Spain ) .
Chevron , the biggest U.S. oil company still working in Venezuela , has been warned by the Trump administration that its license @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exempts it from the sanctions ) will not be renewed .
Since 2015 , the U.S. government has sanctioned 49 oil tankers , 18 Venezuelan companies , 60 foreign companies and 56 airplanes ( 41 belonging to state airliner Conviasa and 15 belonging to state oil company PDVSA ) , but this is the first time they ’ ve gone after foreign oil companies .
By targeting Rosneft Trading and TNK Trading ( the two Rosneft subsidiaries ) , the United States makes it next-to-impossible for those firms to continue trading in Venezuela @ @ @ @ @ @ @ companies and banks will refuse to work with them .
The sanctions have taken a heavy toll , causing at least 130 billion dollars ’ worth of damage to the economy between 2015 and 2018 .
Even worse , according to former U.N. special rapporteur Alfred de Zayas , the sanctions been responsible for the death of over 100,000 Venezuelans .
It is therefore not surprising that Venezuela asked that the International Criminal Court investigate the sanctions as crimes against humanity The effects of the sanctions are most noticeable in Venezuela ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the past five years .
These measures have impeded banks from carrying out financial transactions for the purchase of medical supplies .
In addition , they have caused a 90 % decrease in Venezuela ’ s foreign income earnings , depriving the health sector of much needed investment .
Were it not for the solidarity of China and Cuba , which sent testing kits and medicine , Venezuela would be woefully ill-equipped to handle the coronavirus .
The sanctions are worsening an already dangerous situation , forcing Venezuela to spend three times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countries .
President Maduro appealed directly to Trump to lift the sanction to combat this global pandemic .
Yet this appeal will likely go unanswered , given the intensification not just in sanctions , but in the violent opposition ’ s acts of irregular warfare .
On March 7 , a warehouse containing virtually all of Venezuela ’ s electronic voting machines was deliberately burned to the ground .
A group named the Venezuelan Patriotic Front , allegedly composed of soldiers and policemen , claimed responsibility for this terrorist act .
Although no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made between this group and the Trump administration , it beggars belief that an operation requiring significant logistical and financial costs would not have received support from at least one the many actors openly engaged in regime change : the Trump administration , the Duque administration in Colombia , the Bolsonaro administration in Brazil or the extremist right-wing opposition factions lead by Juan Guaidó .
The silence from the international community on this terrorist act is deafening , but should not be surprising .
After all , there were no denunciations from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warehouse containing telecommunications equipment was similarly burned in February , or when rebel soldiers attacked barracks in southern Venezuela in December 2019 .
There is already evidence that Venezuelan paramilitaries opposed to the Maduro government have received support and training in both Colombia and Brazil , not to mention the alleged millions of dollars spent by the U.S.to get Venezuelan military officials to turn on the government .
In addition to supporting irregular warfare , the Trump administration is preparing for conventional warfare .
The threat of a naval blockade – an act @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by separate meetings between Trump , Defense Secretary Mark Esper and high-ranking military officials with Colombian President Ivan Duque and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro .
( Ironically , while meeting with the Brazilian delegation to discuss the destruction of the Maduro government , Trump was likely exposed to coronavirus .
One of the delegation ’ s members , Bolsonaro ’ s communications secretary , tested positive for the disease . )
In addition to the naval blockade , the U.S. plans an “ enhanced presence of ships , aircraft and security forces to… @ @ @ @ @ @ @ illicit narco-terrorism , ” a clear reference to Venezuela despite the fact that according to the U.S. government ’ s own statistics , it is not a primary transit country for drug trafficking .
“ Maximum pressure March ” is timed to coincide with important negotiations in Caracas between the Venezuelan government and moderate sectors of the opposition .
The two sides have set up a commission that will select new members of the National Electoral Council in time for this year ’ s legislative elections .
One of Juan Guaidó ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of opposition party Acción Democrática ( Democratic Action ) , came under fire from the extreme right for saying he will participate in the elections .
The terror attack on the voting machines is unlikely to affect the timing of the elections , but without its system of electronic voting backed up by paper receipts and audits of the vote count , the results will be vulnerable to claims of fraud .
This is not the first time that the Trump administration has amplified its regime change efforts in response to negotiations between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It did so in February 2018 , when then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson threatened an oil embargo and said he would welcome a military coup right as the two sides were about to sign a comprehensive agreement worked on for months in the Dominican Republic .
It happened again in August 2019 , when the U.S. applied what the Wall Street Journal characterized as a “ total economic embargo ” in the middle of discussions between the Guaidó-led opposition and government .
Both times , negotiations fell apart as a result of U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is unlikely that the pressure will scuttle dialogue , as moderate opposition politicians are coming to terms with the fact that 82 % of Venezuelans reject sanctions and support dialogue .
Unfortunately , the Trump administration has made it clear it doesn ’ t care about what Venezuelans want .
Instead , it continues to ramp up the pressure and might even be setting the scene for a military intervention , perhaps an October surprise to help Trump ’ s reelection bid .
Feature photo | A member of the Venezuelan civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures for the new coronavirus in Caracas , Venezuela , March 15 , 2020 .
Matias Delacroix | AP Leonardo Flores is a Latin America policy expert and campaigner with CODEPINK .

The first quarter of 2020 has seen the Trump administration escalate its rhetoric against Venezuela. At the State of the Union, President Trump promised to “smash” and destroy the Venezuelan government. This was followed by a renewed threat of a naval blockade on the country, which is an act of war under U.S. and international law. Then the State Department eagerly noted that the “Monroe Doctrine 2.0” will be “fleshed out in the weeks and months to come,” while declaring “maximum-pressure March” against Venezuela.
These aren’t just mere threats; the rhetoric has been backed up by policies and actions. Russian oil company Rosneft, one of the world’s primary purchasers of Venezuelan oil, has seen two of its subsidiaries sanctioned in less than one month for doing business with Venezuela. The State Department telegraphed this move in February, singling out oil companies Rosneft, Reliance (India) and Repsol (Spain). Chevron, the biggest U.S. oil company still working in Venezuela, has been warned by the Trump administration that its license to operate in the country (which exempts it from the sanctions) will not be renewed.
Since 2015, the U.S. government has sanctioned 49 oil tankers, 18 Venezuelan companies, 60 foreign companies and 56 airplanes (41 belonging to state airliner Conviasa and 15 belonging to state oil company PDVSA), but this is the first time they’ve gone after foreign oil companies. By targeting Rosneft Trading and TNK Trading (the two Rosneft subsidiaries), the United States makes it next-to-impossible for those firms to continue trading in Venezuela oil, as shipping companies, insurance companies and banks will refuse to work with them.
The sanctions have taken a heavy toll, causing at least 130 billion dollars’ worth of damage to the economy between 2015 and 2018. Even worse, according to former U.N. special rapporteur Alfred de Zayas, the sanctions been responsible for the death of over 100,000 Venezuelans. It is therefore not surprising that Venezuela asked that the International Criminal Court investigate the sanctions as crimes against humanity
The effects of the sanctions are most noticeable in Venezuela’s health sector, which has been decimated over the past five years. These measures have impeded banks from carrying out financial transactions for the purchase of medical supplies. In addition, they have caused a 90% decrease in Venezuela’s foreign income earnings, depriving the health sector of much needed investment. Were it not for the solidarity of China and Cuba, which sent testing kits and medicine, Venezuela would be woefully ill-equipped to handle the coronavirus. The sanctions are worsening an already dangerous situation, forcing Venezuela to spend three times as much for testing kits as non-sanctioned countries.
President Maduro appealed directly to Trump to lift the sanction to combat this global pandemic. Yet this appeal will likely go unanswered, given the intensification not just in sanctions, but in the violent opposition’s acts of irregular warfare. On March 7, a warehouse containing virtually all of Venezuela’s electronic voting machines was deliberately burned to the ground. A group named the Venezuelan Patriotic Front, allegedly composed of soldiers and policemen, claimed responsibility for this terrorist act. Although no direct connection can (yet) be made between this group and the Trump administration, it beggars belief that an operation requiring significant logistical and financial costs would not have received support from at least one the many actors openly engaged in regime change: the Trump administration, the Duque administration in Colombia, the Bolsonaro administration in Brazil or the extremist right-wing opposition factions lead by Juan Guaidó.
The silence from the international community on this terrorist act is deafening, but should not be surprising. After all, there were no denunciations from the OAS, EU or U.S. when a warehouse containing telecommunications equipment was similarly burned in February, or when rebel soldiers attacked barracks in southern Venezuela in December 2019.
There is already evidence that Venezuelan paramilitaries opposed to the Maduro government have received support and training in both Colombia and Brazil, not to mention the alleged millions of dollars spent by the U.S.to get Venezuelan military officials to turn on the government. In addition to supporting irregular warfare, the Trump administration is preparing for conventional warfare. The threat of a naval blockade – an act of outright war – was followed up by separate meetings between Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and high-ranking military officials with Colombian President Ivan Duque and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. (Ironically, while meeting with the Brazilian delegation to discuss the destruction of the Maduro government, Trump was likely exposed to coronavirus. One of the delegation’s members, Bolsonaro’s communications secretary, tested positive for the disease.) In addition to the naval blockade, the U.S. plans an “enhanced presence of ships, aircraft and security forces to… counter a range of threats to include illicit narco-terrorism,” a clear reference to Venezuela despite the fact that according to the U.S. government’s own statistics, it is not a primary transit country for drug trafficking.
“Maximum pressure March” is timed to coincide with important negotiations in Caracas between the Venezuelan government and moderate sectors of the opposition. The two sides have set up a commission that will select new members of the National Electoral Council in time for this year’s legislative elections. One of Juan Guaidó’s allies, Henry Ramos Allup, leader of opposition party Acción Democrática (Democratic Action), came under fire from the extreme right for saying he will participate in the elections. The terror attack on the voting machines is unlikely to affect the timing of the elections, but without its system of electronic voting backed up by paper receipts and audits of the vote count, the results will be vulnerable to claims of fraud.
This is not the first time that the Trump administration has amplified its regime change efforts in response to negotiations between the Venezuelan government and the opposition. It did so in February 2018, when then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson threatened an oil embargo and said he would welcome a military coup right as the two sides were about to sign a comprehensive agreement worked on for months in the Dominican Republic. It happened again in August 2019, when the U.S. applied what the Wall Street Journal characterized as a “total economic embargo” in the middle of discussions between the Guaidó-led opposition and government. Both times, negotiations fell apart as a result of U.S. government actions and statements. This time it is unlikely that the pressure will scuttle dialogue, as moderate opposition politicians are coming to terms with the fact that 82% of Venezuelans reject sanctions and support dialogue. Unfortunately, the Trump administration has made it clear it doesn’t care about what Venezuelans want. Instead, it continues to ramp up the pressure and might even be setting the scene for a military intervention, perhaps an October surprise to help Trump’s reelection bid.
Feature photo | A member of the Venezuelan civil protection agency explains commuters symptoms and preventive measures for the new coronavirus in Caracas, Venezuela, March 15, 2020. Matias Delacroix | AP
Leonardo Flores is a Latin America policy expert and campaigner with CODEPINK.


mintpressnews--2020-03-16--A Policeman, A Pastor and A Palestinian: The ‘Chilestinians’ as a Model for Palestinian Unity

I was only introduced to the term ‘ Chilestinians ’ last February at a conference in Istanbul , during a presentation by the Director of the Palestinian Federation of Chile , Anuar Majluf .
When Majluf referred to the well-rooted Palestinian community in Chile , who number between 450,000 and half a million , using that unfamiliar and peculiar phrase , I smiled .
Others did , too .
It is quite rare that a conference on Palestine , anywhere , would include such an upbeat atmosphere as that introduced by the Chilean-Palestinian leader , as the current discourse on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a deepening sense of political failure , disunity and betrayal .
I say ‘ Chilean-Palestinian ’ for the sake of convenience because , later on , I realized that the term ‘ Chilestinians ’ was not coined haphazardly , or jokingly .
Dr. Lina Meruane , a Chilean scholar of Palestinian descent , told Bahira Amin of the ‘ Scene Arabia ’ online magazine , that the term ‘ Chilestinians ’ is different from ‘ Chilean-Palestinians ’ in the sense that it is a demarcation of a unique identity .
“ It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fusion of two identities that belong together and have no issues belonging together , ” Meruane said .
Amin refers to this as a ‘ third space ’ which was created in diaspora , over the course of 150 years .
It might come as a surprise for those of us not familiar with the Palestinian experience in Chile to learn of the old adage , “ for every village in Chile you will find three things : a policeman , a pastor , and a Palestinian.
” But the saying , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Palestine and a country that is located on the extreme south-western coast of South America .
The immense distance – over 13,000 kilometers – between Jerusalem and Santiago , might in part , explain the reason why Chile and its large ‘ Chilestinian ’ population did not occupy its deserved status in the collective imagination of Palestinians everywhere .
But there are other reasons too , leading among them the fact that successive Palestinian leaderships have failed to fully appreciate the immense potential of Palestinian communities in diaspora , especially the Palestinians of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not only that of struggle and perseverance , but also of great success and vital contributions to their own society and to the Palestinian cause .
Starting in the late 1970s , the Palestinian leadership labored to politically engage with Washington and other Western capitals , culminating in the pervading sense that , without US political validation , Palestinians would always remain marginal and irrelevant .
Palestinian calculation proved disastrous .
After decades of catering to Washington expectations and diktats , the Palestinian leadership returned empty-handed as the Donald Trump administration ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has finally proven .
Political decisions have their cultural repercussions as well .
For at least three decades , Palestinians have re-oriented themselves politically and culturally , disowning their historical allies in the southern hemisphere , as a whole .
Worse , the new thinking widened the chasms between Palestinians in Palestine and their own brethren , like Palestinian communities in South America who held even tighter to their identity , language , music and love for their ancestral homeland .
What is so unique about Palestinians in Chile and other Palestinian communities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ roots go back decades before the destruction of Palestine and the establishment of Israel on its ruins in 1948 .
Israel often claims that its Palestinian victims lacked a national identity in the modern sense .
Some scholars , at times well-intentioned ones , concur , claiming that a modern Palestinian identity was largely articulated after the Nakba – the ‘ Catastrophic ’ destruction of historic Palestine .
Those who are still stuck at this historical distortion must introduce themselves to Palestinian historians like Nur Mashala and his must-read book ‘ Palestine : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ Chilestinians ’ offer a real living example of the true strength of the collective Palestinian identity that existed before Israel itself was violently imposed on the Palestinian map .
‘ Deportivo Palestino ’ , a prominent football club that plays in Chile ’ s Primera division , was unofficially established in 1916 and , officially , four years later .
I learned from the ‘ Chilestinian ’ delegation to Istanbul that the founders of the Palestinian community in that country established ‘ Palestino ’ to ensure their children never forget the name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the name of Palestine for many years to come .
The football club – known as Palestine ’ s ‘ second national football team ’ – will soon celebrate its one hundred year anniversary , a celebration that is likely to take place amid the predominant chant of ‘ Gaza resists ; Palestine exists ’ .
Palestino ’ s La Cisterna stadium in Santiago , a towering edifice adorned with Palestinian flags , is not only a testament of the tenacity of Palestinian identity , but the generosity of Palestinian culture as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city ’ s largest communal hubs bringing people from all backgrounds together in an ongoing celebration of everything that we have in common .
To avoid any reductionist understanding of the Palestinian experience in Chile , and all of South America , we must accept that , like any other society , Palestinians there have their own divisions , which are often governed by wealth , class and politics .
This division reached its height during the US-backed coup of Chilean dictator , Augusto Pinochet , in 1973 .
But the rift @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ Chilestinians ’ united once more following the Israeli engineered massacre of Sabra and Shatila , in South Lebanon , in 1982 .
Since then , the Palestinian community of Chile learned to accept their political differences , while agreeing that their rapport with Palestine must be their unifying common ground .
For years now , the ‘ Chilestinians ’ are working hand in hand with other Palestinian communities in South America to accentuate the need for unity , distancing themselves from the political disharmony and factionalism that has wrought havoc on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Slowly , Palestinians of South America are merging back to occupy a center stage in the larger Palestinian stream , not only as part and parcel of the collective Palestinian identity but also as a role model that must be fully understood and even emulated .
Not a day goes by without me checking my sports app to follow the progress of ‘ Deportivo Palestino ’ .
I know that many Palestinians in other parts of the world do the same , because despite the distance , language , and time difference , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
Feature photo | A woman protests U.S. President Donald Trump ’ s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel ’ s capital , outside the U.S. Embassy in Santiago , Chile , Dec. 11 , 2017 .
Luis Hidalgo | AP Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle .
He is the author of five books .
His latest is “ These Chains Will Be Broken : Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons ” ( Clarity Press , Atlanta ) .
Dr. Baroud is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Center for Islam and Global Affairs ( CIGA ) , Istanbul Zaim University ( IZU ) .
His website is www.ramzybaroud.net

I was only introduced to the term ‘Chilestinians’ last February at a conference in Istanbul, during a presentation by the Director of the Palestinian Federation of Chile, Anuar Majluf.
When Majluf referred to the well-rooted Palestinian community in Chile, who number between 450,000 and half a million, using that unfamiliar and peculiar phrase, I smiled. Others did, too.
It is quite rare that a conference on Palestine, anywhere, would include such an upbeat atmosphere as that introduced by the Chilean-Palestinian leader, as the current discourse on Palestine is one that is saturated with a deepening sense of political failure, disunity and betrayal.
I say ‘Chilean-Palestinian’ for the sake of convenience because, later on, I realized that the term ‘Chilestinians’ was not coined haphazardly, or jokingly.
Dr. Lina Meruane, a Chilean scholar of Palestinian descent, told Bahira Amin of the ‘Scene Arabia’ online magazine, that the term ‘Chilestinians’ is different from ‘Chilean-Palestinians’ in the sense that it is a demarcation of a unique identity.
“It’s not a hyphenated identity, but the fusion of two identities that belong together and have no issues belonging together,” Meruane said. Amin refers to this as a ‘third space’ which was created in diaspora, over the course of 150 years.
It might come as a surprise for those of us not familiar with the Palestinian experience in Chile to learn of the old adage, “for every village in Chile you will find three things: a policeman, a pastor, and a Palestinian.” But the saying, indeed, expresses a historical bond between Palestine and a country that is located on the extreme south-western coast of South America.
The immense distance – over 13,000 kilometers – between Jerusalem and Santiago, might in part, explain the reason why Chile and its large ‘Chilestinian’ population did not occupy its deserved status in the collective imagination of Palestinians everywhere.
But there are other reasons too, leading among them the fact that successive Palestinian leaderships have failed to fully appreciate the immense potential of Palestinian communities in diaspora, especially the Palestinians of Chile. The latter’s story is not only that of struggle and perseverance, but also of great success and vital contributions to their own society and to the Palestinian cause.
Starting in the late 1970s, the Palestinian leadership labored to politically engage with Washington and other Western capitals, culminating in the pervading sense that, without US political validation, Palestinians would always remain marginal and irrelevant.
Palestinian calculation proved disastrous. After decades of catering to Washington expectations and diktats, the Palestinian leadership returned empty-handed as the Donald Trump administration’s ‘Deal of the Century’ has finally proven.
Political decisions have their cultural repercussions as well. For at least three decades, Palestinians have re-oriented themselves politically and culturally, disowning their historical allies in the southern hemisphere, as a whole. Worse, the new thinking widened the chasms between Palestinians in Palestine and their own brethren, like Palestinian communities in South America who held even tighter to their identity, language, music and love for their ancestral homeland.
What is so unique about Palestinians in Chile and other Palestinian communities in South America, is that their roots go back decades before the destruction of Palestine and the establishment of Israel on its ruins in 1948.
Israel often claims that its Palestinian victims lacked a national identity in the modern sense. Some scholars, at times well-intentioned ones, concur, claiming that a modern Palestinian identity was largely articulated after the Nakba – the ‘Catastrophic’ destruction of historic Palestine.
Those who are still stuck at this historical distortion must introduce themselves to Palestinian historians like Nur Mashala and his must-read book ‘Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History’.
‘Chilestinians’ offer a real living example of the true strength of the collective Palestinian identity that existed before Israel itself was violently imposed on the Palestinian map.
‘Deportivo Palestino’, a prominent football club that plays in Chile’s Primera division, was unofficially established in 1916 and, officially, four years later. I learned from the ‘Chilestinian’ delegation to Istanbul that the founders of the Palestinian community in that country established ‘Palestino’ to ensure their children never forget the name, and that they continue to chant the name of Palestine for many years to come.
The football club – known as Palestine’s ‘second national football team’ – will soon celebrate its one hundred year anniversary, a celebration that is likely to take place amid the predominant chant of ‘Gaza resists; Palestine exists’.
Palestino’s La Cisterna stadium in Santiago, a towering edifice adorned with Palestinian flags, is not only a testament of the tenacity of Palestinian identity, but the generosity of Palestinian culture as well, as the stadium is one of the city’s largest communal hubs bringing people from all backgrounds together in an ongoing celebration of everything that we have in common.
To avoid any reductionist understanding of the Palestinian experience in Chile, and all of South America, we must accept that, like any other society, Palestinians there have their own divisions, which are often governed by wealth, class and politics.
This division reached its height during the US-backed coup of Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet, in 1973. But the rift did not last long, as the ‘Chilestinians’ united once more following the Israeli engineered massacre of Sabra and Shatila, in South Lebanon, in 1982.
Since then, the Palestinian community of Chile learned to accept their political differences, while agreeing that their rapport with Palestine must be their unifying common ground. For years now, the ‘Chilestinians’ are working hand in hand with other Palestinian communities in South America to accentuate the need for unity, distancing themselves from the political disharmony and factionalism that has wrought havoc on the Palestinian political identity in Palestine itself.
Slowly, Palestinians of South America are merging back to occupy a center stage in the larger Palestinian stream, not only as part and parcel of the collective Palestinian identity but also as a role model that must be fully understood and even emulated.
Not a day goes by without me checking my sports app to follow the progress of ‘Deportivo Palestino’. I know that many Palestinians in other parts of the world do the same, because despite the distance, language, and time difference, ultimately, we will always remain one people.
Feature photo | A woman protests U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, outside the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, Chile, Dec. 11, 2017. Luis Hidalgo | AP
Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books. His latest is “These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons” (Clarity Press, Atlanta). Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), Istanbul Zaim University (IZU). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net


mintpressnews--2020-03-17--Podcast: Vanessa Beeley Unpacks the Idlib Crisis and the Fight for Syria’s Oil, Gas and Water

Welcome to MintCast , the official weekly MintPress News podcast hosted by Mnar Muhawesh and Whitney Webb .
MintCast is an interview podcast featuring dissenting voices , independent researchers and journalists who the establishment would rather silence .
In this episode , we are joined by journalist Vanessa Beeley , who is covering the conflict in Syria from Damascus for MintPress News .
Beeley is well-known in independent media for her expertise on the Syrian conflict and particularly the covert involvement of Western powers in the crisis through humanitarian front groups .
More recently , she has been covering the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , where groups directly linked to al Qaeda are fighting to maintain control of the province with the direct backing of Turkey while the Syrian military seeks to reclaim its territory .
Recent developments in the conflict have seen Russia and Turkey negotiate a ceasefire of sorts after Syria and Turkey nearly went to war over Turkey ’ s backing of militants in Idlib as the Syrian military , backed by Russia , pushed forward .
Despite the ceasefire , Turkey continues to lobby NATO , the EU , and the U.S. to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advance into Idlib , with limited success .
Turkish President Recep Erdogan is so desperate for EU support for his military incursion in northern Syria that the Turkish state is effectively weaponizing refugees as leverage to induce European states to adopt Turkey ’ s position in Syria .
This has resulted in millions of Syrian and Afghan refugees flooding Europe after Turkey opened its border with the EU .
It was in 2011 that Turkey initially opened its borders to Idlib , where the current crisis was born .
This set the stage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ISIS in Syria .
The terror groups viciously took control of this northern region which became ground zero in the fight for the geopolitical interests of Turkey , Western-backed armed groups linked to al Qaeda , and the Syrian military , which was trying to retake control of Syria ’ s most resource-rich region .
That fight for oil , gas and major water reservoirs has left civilians scrambling for survival .
The crisis has led to the creation of a parallel state with the support of Turkey , Gulf Arab states like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nations including France , Britain and the United States , who poured millions of dollars and countless weapons into the hands of these terror groups in a desperate bid to overthrow the Syrian government .
In what was being described for years in Western media as a bastion of democracy and revolution to justify support for these so-called “ moderates , ” Idlib became the largest safe haven for al Qaeda .
Vanessa Beeley joins MintCast to help us unpack the crisis in Idlib , the geopolitical agendas at play and how civilians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over Syria ’ s resources .
This program is 100 percent listener supported !
You can join the hundreds of financial sponsors who make this show possible by becoming a member on our Patreon page .
Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes , Spotify and SoundCloud .
Please leave us a review and share this segment .
Mnar Muhawesh is founder , CEO and editor in chief of MintPress News , and is also a regular speaker on responsible journalism , sexism , neoconservativism within the media and journalism start-ups .
Whitney Webb @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chile .
She has contributed to several independent media outlets including Global Research , EcoWatch , the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire , among others .
She has made several radio and television appearances and is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism .

Welcome to MintCast, the official weekly MintPress News podcast hosted by Mnar Muhawesh and Whitney Webb. MintCast is an interview podcast featuring dissenting voices, independent researchers and journalists who the establishment would rather silence.
In this episode, we are joined by journalist Vanessa Beeley, who is covering the conflict in Syria from Damascus for MintPress News. Beeley is well-known in independent media for her expertise on the Syrian conflict and particularly the covert involvement of Western powers in the crisis through humanitarian front groups. More recently, she has been covering the conflict in Syria’s Idlib province, where groups directly linked to al Qaeda are fighting to maintain control of the province with the direct backing of Turkey while the Syrian military seeks to reclaim its territory.
Recent developments in the conflict have seen Russia and Turkey negotiate a ceasefire of sorts after Syria and Turkey nearly went to war over Turkey’s backing of militants in Idlib as the Syrian military, backed by Russia, pushed forward. Despite the ceasefire, Turkey continues to lobby NATO, the EU, and the U.S. to support their efforts to halt the Syrian advance into Idlib, with limited success.
Turkish President Recep Erdogan is so desperate for EU support for his military incursion in northern Syria that the Turkish state is effectively weaponizing refugees as leverage to induce European states to adopt Turkey’s position in Syria. This has resulted in millions of Syrian and Afghan refugees flooding Europe after Turkey opened its border with the EU.
It was in 2011 that Turkey initially opened its borders to Idlib, where the current crisis was born. This set the stage for the rise of al Qaeda and ISIS in Syria. The terror groups viciously took control of this northern region which became ground zero in the fight for the geopolitical interests of Turkey, Western-backed armed groups linked to al Qaeda, and the Syrian military, which was trying to retake control of Syria’s most resource-rich region. That fight for oil, gas and major water reservoirs has left civilians scrambling for survival.
The crisis has led to the creation of a parallel state with the support of Turkey, Gulf Arab states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and Western nations including France, Britain and the United States, who poured millions of dollars and countless weapons into the hands of these terror groups in a desperate bid to overthrow the Syrian government.
In what was being described for years in Western media as a bastion of democracy and revolution to justify support for these so-called “moderates,”Idlib became the largest safe haven for al Qaeda.
Vanessa Beeley joins MintCast to help us unpack the crisis in Idlib, the geopolitical agendas at play and how civilians are scrambling for survival amid a fight over Syria’s resources.
This program is 100 percent listener supported! You can join the hundreds of financial sponsors who make this show possible by becoming a member on our Patreon page.
Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify and SoundCloud. Please leave us a review and share this segment.
Feature photo | Graphic by Claudio Cabrera
Mnar Muhawesh is founder, CEO and editor in chief of MintPress News, and is also a regular speaker on responsible journalism, sexism, neoconservativism within the media and journalism start-ups.
Whitney Webb is a MintPress News journalist based in Chile. She has contributed to several independent media outlets including Global Research, EcoWatch, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has made several radio and television appearances and is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism.