The Caribbean

Is Obama really helping Cuban dissidents?

Obama's embrace of Cuban dissidents allows the Castro regime to to more easily paint any push for greater democracy on the island as part of an imperial agenda.

The Caribbean

Cuba releases dissident graffiti artist

Cuban street artist Danilo Maldonado AKA "El Sexto" was released after 10 months in prison for "disrespect toward government officials"—which holds a penalty of three years.

The Caribbean

Assata Shakur as political football

The US political right uses Assata Shakur to take a hit at Obama's Cuba opening while simultaneously getting subliminal licks in at the Black Lives Matter protests.

Africa

Obama, Mandela and Castro: absurd hypocrisy

While Republicans wax outraged over Obama’s handshake with Raúl Castro at the Mandela memorial, US client state Israel offers a far better analogy to apartheid South Africa.

The Andes

Edward Snowden and Ecuador press freedom

Edward Snowden seeks refuge in Ecuador, just as the Andean country has passed a media law protested by the Committee to Protect Journalists as imposing arbitrary censorship. 

The Caribbean

Yoani Sánchez speaks in New York City

Dissident Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez spoke to a packed auditorium at New York University, challenged by audience members from both the left and the right.

North America
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Human Rights Watch condemned US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for force-feeding detained migrants. Detained men at the agency's El Paso Processing Center have been participating in a hunger strike since early January. ICE officials said that 11 men are striking, but AP reports the number may be closer to 30. In mid-January a federal judge authorized ICE to force-feed six of the protesters. The detained men have been protesting "rampant verbal abuse and threats of deportation from guards" and long detentions while awaiting a hearing. Most of the hunger strikers are from India or Cuba. (Photo: Hetsumani/Pixabay)