The Black Alliance for Peace stands in Solidarity with the Peoples and Nations of “Our Americas” Against the U.S. Gangster State

The Black Alliance for Peace stands in Solidarity with the Peoples and Nations of “Our Americas” Against the U.S. Gangster State

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) stands in solidarity with the peoples and nations of “Our Americas” against U.S gangster actions – especially the new regime’s public bullying tactics towards sovereign states. The colonial/imperialist, white supremacists that make policy for both capitalist parties in the U.S. are united in their support for U.S. aggression, destabilization and militarism in our “Americas.” This latest U.S. regime intends to  continue its violation of the sovereignty of nations and peoples, from the ongoing illegal and immoral embargo against Cuba, the neocolonial military intervention and undemocratic transition process in Haiti, and subversion in Venezuela to the latest outrage in Trump’s attempt to bully the leadership and people of Colombia.

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) is clear. The U.S. settler colonial state is the enemy of peace and human rights. Its actions in our region are responsible for the massive migration from the Global South. The parasitic exploitation  by U.S. capitalists of  the peoples and nations of our region have created the conditions that have forced millions to desperately attempt to get to the North just to live. Like asylum seekers, migrants also have human rights that are codified in law, and respectful relations between states with equal sovereignty should be the basis for communications. But historically, U.S. administrations have rejected the idea that the U.S. is equal to any other state. “Make America Great Again" and liberal claims of U.S. “exceptionalism,” are two sides of the same white supremacist coin. That is why the doctrine of “full spectrum dominance” is proudly embraced by the duopoly and foreign policy community, and reminds us of the guiding bipartisan strategic objective of U.S. foreign policies no matter who resides in the “white house.”

This is why peoples and states in our region must fight against U.S. imperialism through a collective collective “people(s)-centered” human rights. BAP supports the efforts to protect national sovereignty and the dignity and democratic  rights of the people. We are encouraged by the call by President of Honduras Xiomara Castro to convene an urgent meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) this week to discuss migration, the environment, and regional unity. Building anti-imperialist power based on true solidarity is critical, particularly to combat the expansive militarization (e.g. U.S. military bases and U.S. Southern Command exercises) and political-economic coercion of the region (e.g. sanctions, currency manipulation, regime change)  – the bipartisan agenda from Washington.

The anti-colonial struggle is real. As President Petro declared “Colombia no longer looks to the North, it looks to the world.” That must be the call for peoples and nations of the Global South. We understand that there can be no guarantee of dignity, human rights, sovereignty –and no “peace”– under the U.S./EU/NATO axis of domination. This is why we assert that the hemisphere must become a Zone of Peace, freed from the structures and interests that generate war and state violence: colonialism, patriarchy, capitalism and the manifold tactics of U.S. imperialism.  

History has already issued its declaration that “for the world to live, the power of the U.S. and Europe must be broken.” This is our task to fulfill.

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*En español 

La Alianza Negra por la Paz se solidariza con los pueblos y naciones de “Nuestra América” contra el Estado mafioso de EE.UU. 

La Alianza Negra por la Paz (BAP) se solidariza con los pueblos y naciones de “Nuestra América” contra las acciones mafiosas de EE.UU., especialmente las tácticas de intimidación pública del nuevo régimen hacia los estados soberanos. Los supremacistas blancos coloniales/imperialistas que hacen política para ambos partidos capitalistas en EE.UU. están unidos en su apoyo a la agresión, desestabilización y militarismo de EE.UU. en “Nuestra América.” Este actual régimen estadounidense pretende continuar su violación de la soberanía de las naciones y los pueblos, desde el embargo ilegal e inmoral contra Cuba, la intervención militar neocolonial y el proceso de transición antidemocrático en Haití, y la subversión en Venezuela hasta el último escándalo en el intento de Trump de intimidar al liderazgo y al pueblo de Colombia. 

La Alianza Negra por la Paz (BAP) es clara: el Estado colonial estadounidense es enemigo de la paz y los derechos humanos. Sus acciones en nuestra región son responsables de la migración masiva desde el Sur Global. La explotación parasitaria de los pueblos y las naciones de nuestra región por parte de los capitalistas estadounidenses ha creado las condiciones que han obligado a millones de personas a intentar desesperadamente llegar al Norte solo para vivir. Al igual que los solicitantes de asilo, los migrantes también tienen derechos humanos codificados en la ley, y las relaciones respetuosas entre estados con igual soberanía deberían ser la base de las comunicaciones. Pero históricamente, las administraciones estadounidenses han rechazado la idea de que Estados Unidos sea igual a cualquier otro estado. “Make America Great Again” y las afirmaciones liberales del “excepcionalismo” estadounidense son dos caras de la misma moneda supremacista blanca. Es por eso que la doctrina de la “dominación de espectro completo” es adoptada con orgullo por el duopolio y la comunidad de política exterior, y nos recuerda el objetivo estratégico bipartidista rector de las políticas exteriores estadounidenses sin importar quién resida en la “Casa Blanca”.

Por eso, los pueblos y los estados de nuestra región deben luchar contra el imperialismo estadounidense a través de una lucha colectiva de derechos humanos “centrados en los pueblos”. BAP apoya los esfuerzos para proteger la soberanía nacional, la dignidad y los derechos democráticos de los pueblos. Nos alienta el llamado de la Presidenta de Honduras, Xiomara Castro, a convocar una reunión urgente de la Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (CELAC) esta semana para discutir la migración, el medio ambiente y la unidad regional. Construir un poder anti imperialista basado en una verdadera solidaridad es fundamental, en particular para combatir la militarización expansiva (por ejemplo, las bases militares estadounidenses y los ejercicios del Comando Sur de EE.UU.) y la coerción político-económica de la región (por ejemplo, las sanciones, la manipulación de la moneda, el cambio de régimen) — la agenda bipartidista de Washington.

La lucha anticolonial es real. Como declaró el Presidente Petro, “Colombia ya no mira al Norte, mira al mundo”. Ese debe ser el llamado a los pueblos y las naciones del Sur Global. Entendemos que no puede haber garantía de dignidad, derechos humanos, soberanía –y tampoco “paz”– bajo el eje de dominación de EE.UU./UE/OTAN. Por eso afirmamos que el hemisferio debe convertirse en una Zona de Paz, libre de las estructuras e intereses que generan la guerra y la violencia estatal: el colonialismo, el patriarcado, el capitalismo y las múltiples tácticas del imperialismo estadounidense.

La historia ya ha declarado que “para que el mundo pueda vivir, el poder de los Estados Unidos y Europa debe ser destruido”. Esa es nuestra tarea.

Banner image: A 1901 political cartoon depicts an Uncle Sam rooster with European roosters in the Monroe Doctrine coop (left) and South American countries running around free as smaller roosters. Courtesy FOTOSEARCH/GETTY IMAGES

BAP Condemns Ecuadorian Authorities for the Disappearance of Four Black Children

The Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Ecuadorian Authorities for the Disappearance of Four Black Children Between the Ages of 11 and 15

This Case Highlights the Complete Absence of Human Rights for Afro Ecuadorians

For Immediate Release

Media Contact

press@blackallianceforpeace.com

(202) 643-1136

December 30, 2024 - The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP)  is concerned and outraged that four Afro-Ecuadorian children, between the ages of 11 and 15, can go missing for almost two weeks after coming into contact with members of the armed forces without any concerns or official statements provided  by government officials. The children (the “Guayaquil Four”) are from the Las Malvinas neighborhood, a largely Black and impoverished community, in Ecuador’s largest city, Guayaquil.

BAP supports the demands of AfroEcuadorian and human rights organizations for the safe return of these boys and a transparent investigation. Ivana Delgado Aguilar, spokesperson for Movimiento Afrodescendiente Nacional Ecuatoriano / National AfroDescendent Ecuadorian Movement (MANE), says this incident of the Guayaquil Four, demonstrates an institutionalized criminal structure. “There are many missing persons and this must come to light. This (case) shows that those who fight against organized crime, drug trafficking, drug addiction and institutionalized violence have always been society, neighborhoods and families, not the State, which is only a social instrument but is now organized against its people,” stated Aguilar.  

BAP is concerned that the fundamental human rights of Afro-Ecuadorians are being consistently and systematically violated, as the Ecuadoran state engages in its  “war on drugs” campaign, declaring “internal armed conflict” as it battles criminal gangs in the country. Moreover, the Ecuadorian government has been all too willing to fight its war on drugs in Afro-Ecuadorian territories and communities, imposing horrific state repression and violence, as it surrenders its sovereignty to US military (and geopolitical) interests.

Under the guise of the “War on Drugs” and one of SOUTHCOM’s stated commander’s priorities of combating transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), President Noboa unleashed  Plan Fenix to counter armed violence in the country. This has meant the militarization of society and strengthening the repressive apparatus of the state in a way that aligns with US foreign policy objectives. With the recent concession of the Galapagos Island to the US military by the Noboa government, Ecuadorian sovereignty is being sold along with Afro-Ecuadorian human rights. 

Despite the Noboa government having forcefully come out against this apparent kidnapping recently, initially he gave cover to the military until criticisms emerged from Black organizations and other members of civil society on this case and other cases of violence by the police and military authorities. 

In fact, according to Ajamu Baraka, director of BAP’s new North-South Project for People(s)-Centered Human rights: 

“This case is indicative of a long history of abuse suffered by the people of Ecuador but particularly by Afro-Ecuadorians. The Ecuadorian state has rarely recognized let alone protected the fundamental human rights of Afro-Ecuadorians. But this case represents a line in the sand for the Black peoples of that nation. BAP’s North-South People(s)-Centered Human Rights project is working with a process in the country that recognizes that the only way that Afro-Ecuadorian human rights will be protected is when the people are organized and able to protect their rights -themselves.”

The case of the Guayaquil Four provides a clear example for the necessity of expelling the forces of the US/EU/NATO Axis of Domination and the need for demilitarization, not just in Ecuador but in the region as a whole. The failed Monroe Doctrine has been used for the past 2 centuries to keep “the Americas for the Americans” to violently maintain western hegemony. For BAP, only organized communities can guarantee communal and self defense and only a collectively constructed Zone of Peace, not just in Ecuador, but Nuestra América can successfully expel the nefarious forces that deny and violate human rights and militarize society at the behest of its US/Western leaders.

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La Alianza Negra por la Paz condena a las autoridades ecuatorianas por la desaparición de cuatro niños negros de entre 11 y 15 años.

Este caso pone de manifiesto la completa ausencia de derechos humanos para los afroecuatorianos

Para Publicación Inmediata
Contacto de Prensa

press@blackallianceforpeace.com

(202) 643-1136

30 de diciembre de 2024 - La Alianza Negra por la Paz (BAP) expresa su preocupación e indignación por la desaparición de cuatro niños afroecuatorianos, de entre 11 y 15 años, que llevan casi dos semanas desaparecidos tras haber tenido contacto con miembros de las fuerzas armadas, sin que las autoridades gubernamentales hayan emitido declaraciones oficiales o mostrado preocupación alguna. Los niños (conocidos como los “Cuatro de Guayaquil”) son del barrio Las Malvinas, una comunidad mayoritariamente negra y empobrecida en Guayaquil, la ciudad más grande de Ecuador.

BAP respalda las demandas de las organizaciones afroecuatorianas y de derechos humanos por el regreso seguro de estos niños y una investigación transparente. Ivana Delgado Aguilar, portavoz del Movimiento Afrodescendiente Nacional Ecuatoriano (MANE), afirma que este incidente de los Cuatro de Guayaquil demuestra una estructura criminal institucionalizada. “Son muchos los desaparecidos que tienen que salir a la luz. Esto demuestra que quienes luchan contra la criminalidad organizada, el narcotráfico, la drogadicción y la violencia institucionalizada siempre ha sido la sociedad, los barrios, las familias, no el estado que únicamente es un instrumento social pero que hoy se encuentra organizado contra su pueblo,” declaró Aguilar.

BAP expresa su preocupación porque los derechos humanos fundamentales de los afroecuatorianos están siendo violados de manera consistente y sistemática, mientras el estado ecuatoriano lleva a cabo su campaña de "guerra contra las drogas", declarando un "conflicto armado interno" en su lucha contra las bandas criminales en el país. Además, el gobierno ecuatoriano ha demostrado estar demasiado dispuesto a librar su guerra contra las drogas en territorios y comunidades afroecuatorianas, imponiendo una horrenda represión y violencia estatal, al tiempo que entrega su soberanía a los intereses militares (y geopolíticos) de Estados Unidos.

Bajo el pretexto de la “Guerra contra las Drogas” y una de las prioridades declaradas por el comandante del Comando Sur de combatir las organizaciones criminales transnacionales (TCOs), el presidente Noboa lanzó el Plan Fénix para contrarrestar la violencia armada en el país. Esto ha significado la militarización de la sociedad y el fortalecimiento del aparato represivo del estado, de una manera alineada con los objetivos de la política exterior de Estados Unidos. Con la reciente concesión de las Islas Galápagos al ejército estadounidense por parte del gobierno de Noboa, la soberanía ecuatoriana está siendo vendida junto con los derechos humanos de los afroecuatorianos.

A pesar de que el gobierno de Noboa se pronunció enérgicamente contra este aparente secuestro recientemente, inicialmente brindó respaldo a los militares hasta que surgieron críticas de organizaciones negras y otros sectores de la sociedad civil sobre este caso y otros casos de violencia por parte de las autoridades policiales y militares.

De hecho, según Ajamu Baraka, director del nuevo Proyecto Norte-Sur para los Derechos Humanos Centrados en los Pueblos de BAP:

"Este caso es indicativo de una larga historia de abusos sufridos por el pueblo de Ecuador, pero especialmente por los afroecuatorianos. El estado ecuatoriano rara vez ha reconocido, y mucho menos protegido, los derechos humanos fundamentales de los afroecuatorianos. Sin embargo, este caso representa una línea divisoria para los pueblos negros de esa nación. El Proyecto Norte-Sur para los Derechos Humanos Centrados en los Pueblos de BAP está trabajando con un proceso en el país que reconoce que la única manera en que los derechos humanos de los afroecuatorianos serán protegidos es cuando el pueblo esté organizado y sea capaz de proteger sus derechos por sí mismo."

El caso de los Cuatro de Guayaquil ofrece un claro ejemplo de la necesidad de expulsar las fuerzas del eje de dominación EE.UU./UE/OTAN y de avanzar hacia la desmilitarización, no solo en Ecuador, sino en toda la región. La fracasada Doctrina Monroe ha sido utilizada durante los últimos dos siglos para mantener “las Américas para los americanos” y así preservar violentamente la hegemonía occidental. Para BAP, solo las comunidades organizadas pueden garantizar la defensa comunitaria y propia, y solo una Zona de Paz construida colectivamente, no solo en Ecuador, sino en Nuestra América, puede expulsar con éxito las fuerzas nefastas que niegan y violan los derechos humanos y militarizan la sociedad al servicio de los líderes estadounidenses y occidentales.

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Banner photo: Holding up flier about Disappear Ecuador Children (courtesy abcnews.go.com)

Open Letter to Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), on the need to Support Haitian Sovereignty

An Open Letter to Her Excellency, Dr. Carla Natalie Barnett Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), on the need to Support Haitian Sovereignty

Dear Dr. Barnett: 

On September 19, 2022, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) issued a short statement expressing grave concern about worsening conditions in Haiti and pressing for “urgent and immediate attention from the international community.” In light of CARICOM’s more direct engagement in Haitian affairs in recent months, we call on your organization to respect Haitian sovereignty and to support the Haitian masses in their stand against the ongoing occupation of their country by foreign powers. Despite the erroneous representation of the current protests in Haiti as simply “gang violence,” the latest demonstrations are a direct result of two factors. First, they are a response to the everyday economic misery caused by rising inflation, especially through the staggering increase in the price of fuel. Second, they are part of a long history of demands for the end of foreign meddling in Haitian affairs, especially via the installation and maintenance of an unelected and illegitimate government by the Core Group, of which the United Nations is a part. 

We applaud your concern for Haiti. We have also noted the support your member nations have given to Caribbean and Latin American self-determination. For this reason, we would like to remind CARICOM members that the U.S., Canada, France, and other Western countries, along with the Core Group, and UN missions such as MINUSTAH, are directly responsible for the current conditions in Haiti. Attempting to solve the current crisis in Haiti through a dialogue between unelected and illegitimate Haitian “stakeholders” will not be successful. It will only serve the needs of non-Haitians.

We share with you the words of a coalition of Haitian grassroots organizations explaining the main reason for the currency protests: 

“[T]hese popular protests are part of a struggle for a Haiti free from suffocating foreign interference, gangsterization, this extreme manufactured misery and an anti-national, illegitimate, criminal political regime established by the Core Group of which the UN is a member.”

A brief historical contextualization is in order:

The UN Mission to Haiti Is a Foreign Occupation Repressing Haitian Sovereignty

As you surely are aware, the United Nations became an occupying force in Haiti after the U.S.-France-Canada-led 2004 coup d’état against Haiti’s democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. We must note that, in addition to Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, only Jamaica’s P.J. Patterson, in his capacity as leader of CARICOM, spoke up against the coup.  

Following the coup, the UN took over from U.S. forces. Under Chapter VII of the UN charter, the UN established the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (or MINUSTAH), for the tasks of military occupation under the guise of establishing peace and security. The Workers Party-led government of Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva then betrayed the Haitian people and undercut Haiti’s sovereignty by agreeing to lead the military wing of the UN mission in Haiti.

The history of the UN in Haiti has been a history of violence. An expensive, multi-billion dollar operation, MINUSTAH had between 6,000 and 12,000 military troops and police stationed in Haiti alongside thousands of civilian personnel. Like the first U.S. occupation (1915-1934), the UN occupation under MINUSTAH was marked by its brutality and racism towards the Haitian people. Civilians were brutally attacked and assassinated. “Peace-keepers” committed sexual crimes. UN soldiers dumped human waste into rivers used for drinking water, unleashing a cholera epidemic that killed between 10,000 and 50,000 people. The UN has still not been held accountable for this needless death.

The Core Group — an international coalition of self-proclaimed “friends” of Haiti — came together during the MINUSTAH occupation. Non-Black, un-elected, and anti-democratic, the goal of the Core Group is to oversee Haiti’s governance. Meanwhile, as with the first occupation, the United States and MINUSTAH trained and militarized Haiti’s police and security forces, often rehabilitating and reintegrating rogue members. The United States, in collusion with MINUSTAH and the Core Group, also over-rode Haitian democracy, installing both neo-Duvalierist Michel Martelly and his Haitian Tèt Kale Party (PHTK), alongside Martelly’s protege and successor, the late Jovenel Moïse.

It is claimed that this occupation officially ended in 2017 with the dissolution of MINUSTAH. But the UN has remained in Haiti under a new acronym: BINUH, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti. BINUH has had an outsized role in Haitian internal political affairs. For example, soon after Moïse was assassinated, its representative, Helen La Lime, asserted that Claude Joseph would be installed as Haiti’s leader. Later, the “Core Group” switched gears and demanded that Ariel Henry should be president. And this is exactly what happened when a “new” Haitian government was announced on July 20, 2021, with Henry as leader. This, without any say from the Haitian people, without any pretense of a democratic process, without any concern for Haiti’s sovereignty.

UN Occupation Increases Violence and Instability

Haiti currently has an unelected, unpopular, unaccountable, and illegitimate prime minister, propped up by the United States and the western nations. Meanwhile, Haiti’s security situation has deteriorated considerably as groups, armed by the transnational Haitian and Levantine elite, continue their attacks on the Haitian people. We must emphasize that, in the eighteen years that the United Nations mission has participated in the occupation of Haiti, the Haitian people have only experienced violence and political instability. You must recognize the foreign occupation of Haiti has left it in a state of disarray and violence. 

The consequences of Foreign Meddling and Occupation

We must remind you that this is the sixth week of protests of the Haitian people against both the U.S.-backed puppet government of Ariel Henry and the continued occupation and meddling of the Core Group and the UN itself. With all the talk of Haitian “lawlessness,” one would never know that the other main reason for the protests was the illegitimate government’s decision, under IMF austerity dictates, to cut fuel subsidies, amid spiraling inflation and economic insecurity. Hear the people’s words:

“This new decision, taken to the detriment of the interests of the people, has aroused his anger and also intensified a protest movement already initiated, whose objective is the recovery of our sovereignty, the recovery of Haiti's destiny by Haitians, the establishment by Haitians of a legitimate government, capable of defending the interests of the people and meeting the various challenges of the moment.”

No to Occupation. Yes to Self-Determination.

The speed at which contemporary events are moving in Haiti makes it difficult for those outside the Caribbean republic to understand its internal political dynamics. Because of this, it is easy to resort to historical cliches and short-hand analyses in an attempt to neatly package and summarize or flatten what are oftentimes complex, structural, and historical formations whose origins are as much rooted outside than inside the country. Thus to outsiders Haiti is in the middle of a crisis, a never-ending crisis marked by lawlessness and violence, by the failure of government and the collapse of the state, and by a savage populism paired with well-armed, predatory gangs. 

We believe this representation of Haiti is fueled by an ancient racism premised on the notion that Haitian people (and African people more generally) are incapable of self-government, and this notion, in turn, nurtures the rationalization for the strengthening of the current mandate for the continued international occupation of Haiti. 

We ask that you think with all seriousness about the relationships among nations in our region. All nations should be able to chart their own destiny, not just some. You must know the history of the proud Haitian people whose Revolution changed the course of world history and material aid helped the liberation of the Americas from colonial rule and enslavement. Despite the continued affront to its self-determination, the people of Haiti will continue to fight for its liberation.

The Black Alliance for Peace, in alignment with the wishes of the Haitian masses and their supporters, absolutely stands against any foreign armed intervention in Haiti, and continues to demand an end to the unending meddling in Haitian affairs by the United States and Western powers. We call for the dissolution of the imperialist Core Group, an end to Western support for the unelected and unaccountable puppet government of Ariel Henry, and for the respect of Haitian sovereignty. 

Signed,

The Black Alliance for Peace, Haiti/Americas Team

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Banner Photo: Protesters demanding the resignation of the President in Port-au-Prince.Credit (Courtesy Reuters by Andres Martinez Casares)