Now is the Time for All Anti-Imperialists and All Justice Loving People to Stand Unequivocally in Defense of Burkina Faso

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Now is the Time for All Anti-Imperialists and All Justice Loving People to Stand Unequivocally in Defense of Burkina Faso

It is no surprise to the Black Alliance for Peace’s (BAP) Africa Team and U.S. Out of Africa Network (USOAN) that aggression is stepping up against the countries in the anti-imperialist Alliance of Sahel States. This was reflected in the flagrantly baseless accusations against Burkina Faso’s leader Ibrahim Traoré. On April 3, 2025, U.S. AFRICOM Commander Michael Langley testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee and claimed without evidence that interim President Traoré is misusing the country's gold mineral wealth in exchange for protection. Langley provided no details on how these supposed exchanges are carried out or from what Traoré needs protection.

The imperialist modus operandi is at play here and starts with demonizing and criminalizing the leader of a country as the war propaganda pretext for more direct intervention. We have seen this script before. Commander-In-Chief of Economic Fighters League of Ghana and Steering Committee member of the USOAN, Ernesto Yeboah refutes the liberal framing meant to arrest dissent against what is at stake:

“This is not about military vs. civilian rule. This is about imperialism vs. liberation. This is about Africans standing up — finally — and saying: Hands off Africa." 

The BAP Africa Team and USOAN are heeding the call emanating across Africa to unite in defense of Burkina Faso. And we further call on all anti-imperialist forces around the world, especially Black forces, to sound the alarm and publicly denounce these designs before this all too familiar strategy takes root. In 2011, Black anti-imperialist forces were unable to effectively counter the heinous plan of the U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination to destroy the revolutionary Pan-Africanist nation of Libya. BAP’s USOAN refuses to allow this fatal mistake to be repeated.

This time the complicity of silence by ECOWAS, the African Union, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the African (Black) comprador class around the world must be exposed.

This is a pivotal time for the struggle against imperialism in Africa. The emergence of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and the revolutionary example of self-determination being set by the people of Burkina Faso represents a historic breakthrough for Pan-Africanism that the U.S. and NATO have been eager to eliminate. The U.S./EU/NATO axis is desperate to re-colonize Burkina Faso and to halt any further influence across Africa set by the example of the Alliance of Sahel States. What the U.S is angling to undermine is a popular process of decolonization.

Under President Traoré’s leadership, Burkina Faso has advanced toward food sovereignty, established a national gold refinery, and taken critical steps to reclaim its resources for the benefit of its people. The vague and opportunistic accusations issued by AFRICOM are designed to undermine these gains and set the stage for imperialist subversion. When U.S. officials speak of “strategic interests,” they mean the unfettered right to plunder Africa’s mineral wealth, dominate markets, and exploit African labor, all without the consent of African peoples. We must not allow the absurdity of the U.S. and NATO, currently complicit in the genocide of Palestinians, to pose as moral arbiters in Africa.

BAP and USOAN call on all anti-imperialist forces to join in active defense of Burkina Faso, demand the expulsion of AFRICOM from the continent, and ensure that no African nation suffers the fate that befell Libya in 2011.

The time to act is now!

Le moment est venu pour tous les anti-impérialistes et toutes les personnes éprises de justice défendre sans équivoque le Burkina Faso

L'equipe Afrique de l'Alliance Noire Pour la Paix (Black Alliance for Peace-BAP) ainsi que la coalition USA Hors d'Afrique! (USOAN) ne sont pas surpris de constater que l'agression s'intensifie contre les pays de l'Alliance anti-impérialiste des États du Sahel. Cela s'est traduit par des accusations flagrantes et sans fondement contre le dirigeant du Burkina Faso, le capitaine Ibrahim Traoré. En effet, le 3 avril 2025, Michael Langley, chef du commandement américain pour l'Afrique (AFRICOM) livrait devant la commission des forces armées du Sénat américain un témoignage dans lequel il affirmait, sans fournir la moindre preuve, que le président par intérim du Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traoré, utilisait abusivement les richesses en or du pays en échange de protection. M. Langley n'a fourni aucun détail sur la manière dont ces prétendus échanges sont effectués ni sur les raisons pour lesquelles M. Traoré a besoin de protection.

Ce faisant, Langley reproduit le modus operandi classique des impérialistes: la diabolisation et la criminalisation d'un dirigeant étranger s'inscrit dans la campagne de propagande de guerre visant à justifier une intervention plus directe. 

Ce scénario, c'est du déjà-vu. Comme l'explique Ernesto Yeboah, président de la Ligue des combattants économiques (League of Economic Fighters) du Ghana, et membre du comité directeur de la coalition USA Hors d'Afrique! :

"Ce qui est en jeu, ce n'est pas l'opposition entre un régime militaire et un régime civil. Il s'agit d'une lutte de libération contre l'impérialisme. Il s'agit, pour les Africains, de se lever - enfin - et de dire : "Ne touchez pas à l'Afrique!"

L'équipe Afrique de la BAP et l'USOAN entendent l'appel émanant de toute l'Afrique à s'unir pour défendre le Burkina Faso. Nous appelons également toutes les forces anti-impérialistes dans le monde, en particulier les forces noires, à tirer la sonnette d'alarme et à dénoncer publiquement ces projets avant que cette stratégie trop familière ne prenne racine. En 2011, les forces anti-impérialistes noires ont été incapables de contrer efficacement l'odieux plan de l'Axe de domination États-Unis/UE/OTAN visant à détruire la nation révolutionnaire panafricaniste de Libye. L'USOAN et BAP refusent que cette erreur fatale se répète.

Cette fois-ci, la complicité, par le silence, de la CEDEAO, de l'Union africaine, du Caucus noir du congrès américain et de la classe compradore africaine (noire) dans le monde entier, doit être exposée.

La lutte contre l'impérialisme en Afrique se trouve à une période charnière. L'émergence de l'Alliance des États du Sahel (AES) et l'exemple révolutionnaire d'autodétermination donné par le peuple du Burkina Faso représentent une avancée historique pour le panafricanisme que les États-Unis et l'OTAN cherchent à éliminer. L'axe États-Unis/UE/OTAN cherche désespérément à recoloniser le Burkina Faso et à mettre un terme à l'influence exercée par l'Alliance des États du Sahel sur l'ensemble de l'Afrique. Ce que les États-Unis cherchent à saper, c'est un processus populaire de décolonisation.

Sous la direction du président Traoré, le Burkina Faso a progressé vers la souveraineté alimentaire, a créé une raffinerie nationale d'or et a pris des mesures cruciales pour récupérer ses ressources au profit de son peuple. Les accusations vagues et opportunistes lancées par l'AFRICOM visent à saper ces progrès et à préparer le terrain pour la subversion impérialiste. Lorsque les responsables américains parlent d'"intérêts stratégiques", ils entendent par là le droit absolu de piller les richesses minérales de l'Afrique, de dominer les marchés et d'exploiter la main-d'œuvre africaine; le tout sans le consentement des peuples africains. Nous ne devons pas permettre l'absurdité des Etats-Unis et de l'OTAN, actuellement complices du génocide des Palestiniens, de se poser en arbitres moraux en Afrique.

La BAP et l'USOAN appellent toutes les forces anti-impérialistes à se joindre à la défense active du Burkina Faso, à exiger l'expulsion de l'AFRICOM du continent, et à s'assurer qu'aucune nation africaine ne subisse le sort qui a frappé la Libye en 2011.

Il est temps d'agir, maintenant !

##

Banner photo: BAP demonstration in Washington DC gathered outside the Embassy of Burkina Faso, in defense of the Alliance for Sahel States, October 2024.

BAP Denounces the Targeting and State Repression Against Musa Springer

BAP Denounces the Targeting and State Repression Against Musa Springer

On Tuesday, April 8, our comrade and member of the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP), Musa Springer, was unlawfully detained and interrogated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Tampa airport for four hours after returning from a trip to Cuba. Musa details the circumstances of their detention and retaliatory targeting by the state in this statement. This included violations of human rights, unfounded accusations of criminal activity and terrorism, aggressive interrogation including invasive physical searches, and a seizing of their devices without justification.

BAP denounces this escalation of state repression and the targeting of Musa by the state, CBP, and collaborating agencies. We call on all of our fellow revolutionary, radical, and progressive organizations and comrades to heighten our capabilities and our work to respond to the ongoing escalatory attacks of the U.S. state and its allies. We also understand that we must view this targeted attack in connection with the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, the repression of pro-Palestine advocacy and all forms of radical organization, the decades-long war on the Cuban people, and the abduction of immigrants from our communities and universities. We must connect the various forms of repression that are ongoing and focus our organizing on building the power and proactive strategies to oppose these attacks on our people, our communities, and our movements.

As Musa recounts, this targeting was not random and is not unique, “[t]his experience is part of a broader pattern. Across administrations, CBP and DHS have operated as politically weaponized agencies to escalate surveillance, harassment, and criminalization of individuals involved in movements for justice. Now, we’re witnessing a dangerous heightening of this weaponization… While the repression of immigrants and foreign students is rightly drawing public attention, [Musa’s] experience reveals that U.S.-born citizens, especially Black and Muslim ones, are also targets.” 

As we have always said in BAP, there is a constant and brutal war being waged against Africans/Black people in the U.S. and globally, which is an extension of the war on all the colonized peoples, working classes, and oppressed masses of the globe through imperialism, colonialism, white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and in this case specifically, state violence. In the U.S., the state, in obedience to the white supremacist capitalist ruling class, has long been at active war with radical organizers and activists, immigrants, and anyone who does not conform to the requirements of the empire. Under the current administration, the state is escalating its aggression against these groups and more to terrorize non-citizens, repress radical activism, and compel others into silence.

In response to this ongoing escalation, we emphasize Musa's words of caution to the radical movement:  "Be strategic, brave, and smart in equal measures. Protect one another, because no part of this system nor what is to come is designed to protect us.” In this time of escalating repression, our call is for principled unity against all forms of imperialism, state violence, and oppression domestically and globally.

Eight Years Of Clarity Positions BAP In The Right Place As The U.S. Empire Crumbles

Eight Years Of Clarity Positions BAP In The Right Place As The U.S. Empire Crumbles

Since our founding on April 4, 2017, the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) has engaged in work to raise the consciousness of the public around the issues of U.S. militarism, imperialism, zionism, and the need for people’s struggle against the these evils with our campaigns, statements, newsletters, actions and other work. We have provided critical clarity on the material facts on the ground regarding imperialist machinations and oppression all over the world. From our earliest days, we identified the attacks on our communities as a war on African peoples, and introduced our flagship campaign, No Compromise, No Retreat: Defeat the War on African People in the U.S. and Abroad. From this, we focused on every aspect of this ongoing war that impacts us and connects us to those struggling against the same forces around the world. 

BAP opposed the militarization of our communities through the 1033 Program and the training of U.S. police forces by the fascist Israeli Defense Force (IDF). We demanded that the U.S. military command in Africa, AFRICOM, be shut down years before the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States and their expulsion of the French and U.S. militaries from their territory. We established the U.S. Out of Africa Network as the organizational arm of our Shut Down AFRICOM campaign, and it has been comprised of radical to revolutionary parties and people's organizations across the length and breadth of the continent. We joined with diasporic Africans organizing themselves in the U.S. under the name Africans United to amplify their demand for France and the US to leave African nations. We defended Haitian sovereignty through several Hands Off Haiti events, including in-person rallies at the embassies of the African countries involved in the imperialist police deployment. 

We defended the sovereignty of Cuba and engaged with embassy officials from Zimbabwe and Eritrea as well to bring information about the effect of sanctions to the people. We worked in coalition with other organizations to demand the dismantling of NATO and to Close all Foreign U.S. Military Bases. 

We engaged with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in their call to establish the Americas as a ‘Zone of Peace,’ free from imperialism and foreign intervention, which led us to co-create the U.S./NATO Out of Our Americas Network to continue and broaden this work. Our analysis of the denial and violation of the human rights of our people under imperialist attack domestically and abroad demanded a campaign to focus on raising the issue of establishing and defending People-Centered Human Rights, connecting the struggle of the people for human rights and dignity in Global North with those in the Global South engaging in the same. 

We engaged in the struggle against the proliferation of domestic bases for militarized police units, otherwise known as Cop Cities, and connected it to the expansion of the U.S. imperialist empire with its 800+ military bases around the world. We identified vehicles through which U.S. imperialism is exported around the world and domestically and worked to popularize their existence, impact, and their connections to the worsening material conditions of the people. Our public political education encapsulated these connections and presented them to our communities across the country and in several countries around the world.

We provided clear and comprehensive education to our communities on the aspects of the imperialist attacks on Afghanistan, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, The Sahel, Somalia, Sudan, Palestine, and more, providing facts to counter pro-imperialist lies and connecting our peoples’ domestic struggle to the international fight against U.S. imperialism. We’ve highlighted programs such as the 1033 Program that continues to make surplus military equipment available to law enforcement organizations at every level of U.S. society; legislation like the Countering Malign Russian Activities In Africa Act, which was introduced by a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, an entity subservient to the political duopoly which is therefore hostile to the concept of self-determination for African people anywhere in the world.  

All of this work and so much more that we do not have the space to mention is produced by BAP members organized through BAP grassroots structures like our city-wide alliances in conjunction with regional organizers, member organizations, and the BAP national leadership structures. 

BAP’s maturity through our unwavering commitment to the Black Radical Peace Tradition and to a dialectical analysis of history, politics, and material conditions has matured us in our eight years of consistent and consistently growing work. Our growing engagement with our communities has reflected that to a level of expertise and excellence that is nearly unmatched by organizations bigger, older, and much better financed than us. 

In our eight years of existence, BAP has presented our analysis to our people, and we have moved people and people-centered organizations to join in this work. BAP’s single-minded focus, ideological discipline and clarity, and the decision to embrace a new and dynamic leadership model has developed and matured this formation to be especially prepared to confront the challenges of our work in the U.S. and beyond at this critical historic juncture.   

On our eighth anniversary, we reflect on all that we have done, the accomplishments we have seen, and the work that remains ahead of us. All that we have done and all that we will do could not and cannot be done without you. YOU, BAP membership, have built this plane while you have flown it. Our work and our unwavering line have kept us focused on the struggle against our collective enemy - U.S. capitalist dictatorship and its domestic and international manifestations and impacts. This work and our clarity and consistency have earned us the solidarity, trust, and respect of the people struggling for liberation in this country and abroad, and that is no small feat for a formation so young. And we have done it with no corporate ties, financing, or promotion. Just your passion, commitment, creativity, and drive.

What we have accomplished with BAP has been done with real People Power. With it, we can and will do even more. Our crystal clear analysis of the interconnectedness of foreign and domestic policy through capitalist exploitation and imperialist hegemony positions BAP as one of the driving forces for the intensified battle that we must continue to engage against our oppressors. BAP is not only a beneficiary of the best of the principles of the Black Radical Peace Tradition, but we have grown to be standard-bearers of it for our people. Because of this incredibly committed, dynamic, and enthusiastic group of Africans and Accomplices - Solidarity Network stand up! - liberation in your lifetime is no longer out of the realm of possibilities. Being counted among your ranks is an honor.

No Compromise, No Retreat!

Happy BAPversary, Comrades!

BAP-NYC/NJ Condemns the Reopening of Delaney Hall

BAP-NYC/NJ Condemns the Reopening of Delaney Hall
Calls on the Masses to Oppose Imperialist Population Control in Our Americas

On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced plans for the “imminent reopening” of Delaney Hall, a privately owned detention center in Newark, NJ, which has the capacity to hold up to 1,000 undocumented immigrants. The over $1.2 billion agreement between ICE and the Boca Raton-based GEO Group would expand ICE’s detention capacity in the Northeast as they “pursue President Trump’s mandate to arrest, detain and remove illegal aliens from [U.S.] communities.” The Black Alliance for Peace New York City/New Jersey Citywide Alliance condemns this brazen act of ruling class collusion and calls on the African/Black masses and all anti-war, anti-imperialist, and pro-peace forces in Newark and throughout the Northeast to organize for the defense of people(s)-centered human rights in our region.

Even with the news of this agreement, BAP-NYC/NJ understands that anti-immigrant sentiments and policies are bipartisan. Despite Joe Biden’s 2020 “Strengthening America’s Commitment to Justice” campaign plan, which proclaimed that “the federal government should not use private facilities for any detention, including detention of undocumented immigrants,” two years into his term as the 46th president 9 out of 10 people held captive by ICE were detained in privately owned or operated facilities. In fact, the Biden administration’s dependence on private prisons eclipsed that of Donald Trump’s first term. 

Moreover, when CoreCivic (one of the largest private prison operators in the United States) sued the State of New Jersey over the passing of AB 5207, the Biden administration sided with CoreCivic, paving the way for the company to continue its partnership with ICE at the Elizabeth Detention Center. AB 5207 is a state law prohibiting “the State, local government agencies, and private detention facilities operating in [New Jersey] from entering into, renewing, or extending immigration detention agreements.” In a statement of interest filed in July 2023, the Department of Justice under Biden deemed AB 5207 “unconstitutional” and feared that  “[i]f other States passed laws like AB 5207, there may be a near-catastrophic impact on ICE’S ability to meet its mission.” Thus, while the exorbitant contract between ICE and GEO comes in the early months of Trump’s second presidential term, it would be misguided to fall victim to the fashionable trend that places all blame at the feet of Trump and the right-wing forces of the imperial white supremacist settler-colonial project known as the United States.

As a formation dedicated to defeating the war against African/Black People in the U.S., throughout the Americas, and abroad, BAP-NYC/NJ sees global and domestic imperialist violence as integrally linked. This is why we are calling on the African/Black masses in Newark, in New Jersey, and throughout the Northeast to organize for the liberation and people(s)-centered human rights of both Haitians in Haiti and the over 1,000 Haitians captured by ICE in Newark from 2020 to 2024. This is why we are calling on the African/Black masses to organize for the liberation and people(s)-centered human rights of both Afro-Ecuadorian youth in Ecuador and the 5,581 Ecuadorians captured by ICE in Newark from 2020 to 2024. We are calling for this because we understand that it is often the subversive maneuvers of the United States that leave many of those throughout and beyond our Americas caught between an imperial rock and a hard place: victims of extraction and destabilization in their homelands while being criminalized and kettled when seeking relief in the U.S. Attributing mass deportations to the xenophobic attitudes and sound bites of overt white supremacists clouds the ways global and domestic imperialism work together to control populations. Across multiple presidential administrations, U.S. political and economic interventions throughout the Global South have manufactured these migrant crises in order to feed the bottomless hunger of the ruling class by way of the extraction of resources.

As we stated in the days immediately following the most recent election, “The anti-democratic duopoly is made up of representatives of the capitalist class and provides cover for what is, in reality, the dictatorship of capital.” Both versions of the imperial, settler-colonial base of operations known as the White (People’s) House have heavily invested in militarized police forces and the infrastructure necessary to warehouse African/Black, oppressed, poor and working class people. They have made it abundantly clear that their commitment is to white capital and holding on to what remains of their waning domination of and withering influence in the world. Thus, we not only denounce this agreement with GEO Group and the re-opening of Delaney Hall – we also denounce the longstanding white supremacist settler colonial project that made it possible!

Now is not the time to beg for crumbs and concessions from the neofascist, plutocratic Trump administration. Nor is it the time to return to the imperial DEI reformism that called for the funding of police, led the destabilization efforts in Haiti, and bankrolled the destruction of Gaza and the massacre of the Palestinian people!

Now is the time for the African/Black masses, the working class, anti-imperialist, anti-war forces in the United States to organize, coordinate, and lock arms with those same forces around the globe in the fight for peace. And as we say, “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but rather the achievement by popular struggle and self-defense of a world liberated from the interlocking issues of global conflict, nuclear armament and proliferation, unjust war, and subversion through the defeat of global systems of oppression that include colonialism, imperialism, patriarchy, and white supremacy.”

People of Newark, where are you?

Workers, poets, singers, drivers, mechanics, professors, small business owners, where are you?

People of Brooklyn, where are you?

People of the Bronx, where are you?

People of Philly, where are you?

Now is the time!

No compromise!

No retreat!

Banner Photo: View of Delaney Hall, immigrant detention center located in Newark next to Essex County's jail, courtesy New Jersey Monitor.

HTS Offensive in Syria: A Proxy for Imperialist Domination

HTS Offensive in Syria: A Proxy for Imperialist Domination

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) unequivocally condemns the recent announcement by Colonel Hassan Abdul Ghani, spokesman for the HTS-led Syrian Ministry of Defense, regarding the "second phase" of military operations against so-called "remnants" of the former Assad government. This escalation of violence is not merely a local or regional conflict but a direct manifestation of U.S.-led imperialist intervention in Syria. HTS (Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham), far from being an independent actor, functions as a proxy force advancing the geopolitical interests of the United States, Israel, and their allies, whose primary goal is to destabilize the region and maintain control over its resources.  

The primary contradiction in Syria is not between competing local factions but between the Syrian people and the imperialist forces that have systematically exploited and devastated their nation. The U.S., alongside its NATO allies and regional partners, has fueled this crisis by arming, funding, and legitimizing extremist groups like HTS to serve as instruments of its imperialist agenda. These groups, under the guise of opposition to the former Assad government, have perpetuated violence, sectarianism, and chaos, all while advancing the interests of their imperialist backers.  

The recent massacres in Syria’s coastal regions, where over a thousand civilians were brutally targeted and killed, are a direct consequence of this imperialist strategy. By supporting and enabling groups like HTS, the U.S. and its allies have created the conditions for endless cycles of violence and human suffering. Colonel Ghani’s announcement of a "second phase" of military operations is not a step toward liberation or justice but a continuation of the imperialist project to fragment and dominate Syria.  

As the conflict in Syria continues to unfold, it is increasingly evident that large sectors of the U.S. left have failed to ground their analysis in objective materialist principles, instead resorting to subjective moral posturing. This failure is not new; it echoes the left’s misguided alignment with U.S.-led imperialism in Libya, Iraq, Nicaragua, Tigray/Ethiopia, Ukraine, and beyond. Their relative silence in the face of the recent atrocities underscores a betrayal of the anti-imperialist principles they claim to uphold, actively manufacturing consent for these murders in real time.

The recent reports of extrajudicial killings, house-to-house massacres, and the targeted violence against specific communities reveal a grim reality that cannot be ignored. These atrocities are not merely the result of internal strife but are deeply rooted in imperialist strategies of divide and conquer, tactics employed to maintain control over West Asia and its resources. The Black Alliance for Peace calls for an end to these imperialist interventions and stands in solidarity with the Syrian people in their struggle for peace and self-determination.

Celebrate International Working Women’s Day by Joining the Struggle Against Imperialism!

Celebrate International Working Women’s Day by Joining the Struggle Against Imperialism!

International Women’s Day (IWD) was founded by working-class women who staunchly opposed war and fought for labor rights, peace, and equality.  Rooted in the anti-war and socialist movements of the early 20th century, IWD emerged as a day to challenge oppression and demand justice. However, IWD has been co-opted by intersectional imperialists—women of diverse cultural backgrounds who unite under the banner of the U.S. empire, perpetuating violence and destabilization across the globe. This betrayal of its radical origins demands a reckoning.

The U.S. empire, draped in the language of feminism and empowerment, has weaponized IWD to justify its gangsterism. In Gaza, U.S.-backed Israeli forces have killed and displaced thousands of women and children, destroying homes, hospitals, and schools under the guise of "security." In Sudan, U.S.-aligned forces and foreign interventions have fueled a devastating civil war, displacing millions and leaving women vulnerable to sexual violence and starvation. In Haiti, U.S. imperialism has propped up corrupt regimes and destabilized the nation, leaving women to bear the brunt of poverty, violence, and systemic collapse. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Black women in cities like Chicago and rural areas like the Mississippi Delta face systemic neglect, police violence, and economic exploitation. These are not isolated incidents but the direct consequences of Western imperialism, which prioritizes profit and power over human lives.

The celebration of IWD by those complicit in these atrocities is a grotesque distortion of its founding principles. True solidarity with women worldwide means opposing the systems that exploit and destroy their lives. It means standing against the U.S. empire’s wars, sanctions, and interventions that disproportionately harm women in the Global South. It means reclaiming IWD as a day of resistance against imperialism, capitalism, and patriarchy.

For the Black Alliance for Peace, the task is reclaiming International Women’s Day as a day of struggle, not of celebration—a day to dismantle Western imperialism and fight for a world where all women can live in freedom and dignity.

Statement on Antioch Shooting

Statement on Antioch Shooting

In light of the tragic shooting incident at Antioch High School, the Black Alliance for Peace Nashville City Wide Alliance and the Middle Tennessee Black Gun Club (MTBGC) extend our deepest condolences to the family of Josselin Corea Escalante, the youth of Nashville, and the community impacted by the events. 

This tragedy is a stark reminder of the deep rooted violence that exists within our schools, which, in context, is a symptom of the violence that infects our communities. During our search for solutions, we enter a cycle of never-ending commentary that, though partially well-intentioned, leads back to reinforcing the pre-existing violent structures that produce these tragedies. 

BAP Nashville & MTBGC believe it’s important to remember the context in which we exist. The State of Tennessee is the birthplace of Andrew Jackson, the President who led the charge for the genocidal Trail of Tears. This is also the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan and where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Currently; we are ruled by a GOP supermajority who wantonly strip our schools of public dollars through vouchers and call special sessions to strengthen ICE. It is also a major hub for small-arms manufacturers in the U.S. 

As the state capital, Nashville is a neoliberal stronghold that often reinforces the actions coming from the Governor and Tennessee General Assembly. This is best exemplified through institutions such as Oracle, CoreCivic, and the Fraternal Order of Police, who all have headquarters based in Nashville. The city being the residence of right-wing talking heads ( Candace Owens, Ben Shapiro, Jason Whitlock, and Tomi Lahren) further reinforces the reactionary character of the city’s power structure. 

In contrast, the Music City also holds a beautiful history of resistance. Nashville is the birthplace of Callie House, Mother of the Reparations Movement for formerly enslaved Africans. It is also the location of the first large-scale, organized student sit-ins that led to the city being the first in the South to desegregate its public facilities. When Dr. King visited the students, he referred to their work as one of the most disciplined student movements in the country. 

With this larger context in mind, it is no surprise that we have a local environment where fascist thinking, i.e. thinking that reinforces the legacy of chattel slavery and colonialism writ large, reigns supreme, actively shaping the thinking of our youth. Reports of ICE raids, hostile online conversations between Black and Latinx communities, defunding our public schools, and a city government pushing for increased surveillance all served as catalysts for the tragic event on January 22nd. Antioch, the location of the shooting, is a part of Metro Nashville with a significant Black and non-white immigrant population that had already been traumatized by a mass shooting tragedy in a Waffle House in 2018.

[Following at least one previous incident threatening another student, isolation, consumption of neo-Nazi reddit media, and posting Nazi-esque statements about his life, 17 year old Solomon Henderson fatally shot 16 year old Josselin Corea Escalante, injured another student, and proceeded to shoot himself in the head]. As we've seen in media cycles following previous mass shootings, conversations about the causes are reduced solely to easy access to firearms and isolation, with some casual references to Solomon’s embrace of online white nationalists’ propaganda. The danger of this discourse lies in the refusal to take seriously the aforementioned historical context and current shifting of the masses within the U.S. empire farther to the right, which includes Black communities. 

As a consequence of this increasingly rightward shift, we can expect more ICE raids, increased surveillance, and continued criminalization of Black & Latinx youth, all proven to be effective in destroying, not creating, community safety. Only through mass political education and struggle for power through revolutionary organization can there be any hope for the youth of Antioch, Nashville, and Tennessee writ large. 

The Black Alliance for Peace’s campaign, the Zone of Peace, is informed by the historic Black Radical Peace Tradition that examines the structures and interests that generate state violence; we fight to expel those nefarious forces from our city and our state. An aspect of the Zone of Peace is Community Control; we believe our communities should have the self determination to decide what’s best for their communities, and we seek to empower communities to take charge of our own affairs. 

The Middle Tennessee Black Gun Club is urging our communities to Take the Pledge to train. Above all else, we keep us safe FIRST. Community Control of Defense is also in the spirit of the Zone of Peace. We believe it’s important for communities to be empowered to protect our communities by learning how to maneuver and navigate these oppressive structures around us until we bring them down. We offer firearm safety training, Stop the Bleed training, home and personal defense, pepper spray, and a multitude of other skills that communities can learn to take our safety in our hands. 

A grounded analysis is needed at this moment. BAP Nashville & MTBGC reject any attempt to strengthen the structures that perpetuate the violence in our communities. The people of Nashville, especially the youth, have the right to build their own futures, free of fascistic state legislatures and complicit neoliberals. 

TAKE THE PLEDGE

NO TO SURVEILLANCE, NO TO FUSUS

BUILD A ZONE OF PEACE

Banner photo: Reunification site at Ascension Saint Thomas Medical Partners Antioch following Antioch High School shooting, Jan. 22, 2025"

The Return of Baltimore Police Control: A Victory, But Only the First Step

The Return of Baltimore Police Control:

A Victory, But Only the First Step 

The recent return of control over the Baltimore City Police Department (BPD) to the city marks a pivotal moment in the long struggle for Community Control Over Police (CCOP)  and the broader fight for self-determination. For over 160 years, the BPD operated as a state agency, insulated from local accountability and perpetuating systemic oppression against African/Black and other colonized communities. True justice requires dismantling the colonial relationship between the police and the communities they patrol and establishing genuine mechanisms for community control. The overwhelming passage of Question H in November 2022—supported by over 82% of voters—signaled a clear mandate for change. 

Baltimore City’s long history of systemic and structural segregation and disinvestment has forged a stark divide in development, leaving entire neighborhoods to languish in neglect while disproportionately branding these communities as hubs of criminality. This criminalization is not a reflection of the lived experiences or needs of the people who call these areas home; rather, it is the result of city and state policies that prioritize control over care and punishment over progress. The "Black Butterfly"—a term used to describe the predominantly Black, underserved neighborhoods spanning East and West Baltimore—stands as a poignant symbol of this entrenched system of segregation and criminalization. Shaped by decades of redlining, economic disinvestment, and over-policing, these communities have been treated as problems to be managed, rather than as vital, vibrant parts of the city deserving of investment, resources, and the autonomy to shape their own futures. The consequences of these policies are not just physical or economic—they are moral, perpetuating cycles of inequality and denying entire neighborhoods the opportunity to thrive.

The 2017 Consent Decree between the City of Baltimore and the Department of Justice (DOJ) was supposed to address the BPD’s pattern of unconstitutional practices, including violations of the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Yet, six years later, the power dynamics remain largely unchanged. The decree, while symbolically significant, has failed to uproot the systemic oppression embedded in policing. Instead, it has funneled federal funding into maintaining the status quo of "law and order," exemplified by programs like Operation Relentless Pursuit and proposals such as ‘Cop City.’ These initiatives have further entrenched the very structures the decree aimed to reform, underscoring the limitations of top-down reforms and the urgent need for grassroots, community-driven solutions.

Baltimore’s unique status as the only locality in Maryland without control over its police department has long been a barrier to accountability. Maryland’s incarceration rate of 531 per 100,000 people reflects a broader carceral system that disproportionately targets African/Black and other colonized communities. The recent passage of Question E, with 77% of the vote, restoring legislative authority to the Baltimore City Council, reaffirmed the demand for democratic self-determination. These victories are not merely administrative; they are a rejection of the impunity with which the BPD has operated and a call for transformative change.

However, transferring control from the state to the city is not enough. The next step must be the establishment of structures for community control over the police. Community control is not an abstract ideal; it is a necessary condition for dismantling the colonial relationship between the police and the communities they serve. The criminalization and over-policing of low-income and colonized neighborhoods, coupled with systemic police violence, are symptoms of a system designed to maintain racial and economic domination. Without community control, the BPD will continue to operate as an occupying force rather than a public service.

The movement for community control is rooted in the principle of democratic self-determination. It seeks to transform the relationship between the police and the public by placing decision-making power in the hands of those most affected by policing practices. This means creating mechanisms for community input on hiring, training, and disciplinary actions, as well as reallocating resources from punitive policing to community-based solutions like mental health services, education, and economic development.  It also means centering People(s)-Centered Human Rights—a comprehensive framework for decolonization and radical social change.

The fight for community control is not about reforming the BPD; it is about challenging the broader systems of oppression that sustain police violence and inequality. Baltimore’s recent victory provides an opportunity to reimagine public safety in a way that prioritizes justice, equity, and human dignity. By seizing this moment to organize and advocate for concrete changes, Baltimore can serve as a model for other cities grappling with similar issues.

The return of control to the city is a significant victory, but the real work lies ahead. The people of Baltimore have spoken, and their demand for self-determination must be met with action. This is not just a local issue; it is part of a global struggle against systems of oppression. Baltimore has the chance to lead the way, but only if we remain vigilant, organized, and committed. The fight for community control over police is a fight for the future of our communities—and it is a fight we cannot afford to lose.

Banner photo: Baltimore police walk by a mural depicting Freddie Gray on July 27, 2016. Three officers were acquitted in Gray's death; prosecutors dropped charges against the remaining three. Courtesy AP Photo/Steve Ruark

BAP NYC/NJ Stands in Solidarity with the CUNY 8

BAP NYC/NJ Stands in Solidarity with the CUNY 8

 On April 30, 2024, at the City University of New York’s Harlem campus, over 170 students and community members were battered, arrested, and inhumanely detained for protesting CUNY’s complacency toward and financial support for the relentless massacre of the Palestinian people of Gaza. Right now, Alvin Bragg and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office continue to pursue felony charges against eight protestors who were targeted and terrorized by a hyper-militarized New York Police Department.  The New York City/New Jersey Citywide Alliance of the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP-NYC/NJ) stands in resolute, unapologetic solidarity with the CUNY 8 and condemns the City of New York’s blatant attempts to criminalize dissent to justify a genocide against the Palestinian people of Gaza. We see these felony charges against the CUNY 8 for what they really are: naked acts of repression and, most importantly, the sanctioning of the genocidal white supremacist settler-colonial project of the state of Israel. 

As a formation seeking to recapture and redevelop the historic anti-war, anti-imperialist, and pro-peace positions of the radical African/Black movement, BAP-NYC/NJ defines WAR as the strategic invasion, destabilization, dispossession, and, as in the case of Palestine, elimination of a community, its people, land, resources, culture, customs, and its agency by ideological, armed, economic, and psychological means. We see WAR as executed by the U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination as an ongoing counterrevolution aimed at suppressing African and colonized people who are seeking to acquire power and win their own liberation. 

In addition to the state’s felony charges, the brutal arrests of students and community members on April 30, 2024, represent domestic expressions of this ongoing WAR. We will not be intimidated by these psychological WAR tactics. We will continue to stand with the CUNY 8 and all those fighting for Palestinian liberation from within the heart of the imperial core. We recognize the zionist colonial outpost known as “Israel” to be merely an extension of white supremacy, settler colonialism, and European expansionism in West Asia. The fact that the NYPD has had a headquarters in “Tel Aviv” since 2003  shows how the City of New York acted as an extension of the genocidal Israeli state.  Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD also demonstrate this through their consistent communication, plotting and executing joint strategies on students, Palestinians, Muslims, and others coming together to denounce the genocide. This has forced Palestinian students to watch their tuition dollars be used to carry out this coordinated carnage against their own people. The permanent NYPD zionist outpost not only reflects the settler colonial status of the state of “Israel” itself but also elucidates how the U.S. state functions as the ongoing institutional expression of settler colonialism. These entities continue to co-develop the same tactics used to surveil, repress, infiltrate, and abuse those who are opposed to and resist their violent regimes. This is why this historic partnership is soaked in the blood of Africans here in NYC and our Palestinian kin in Gaza. This is why we continue to demand an immediate end to the Israeli training of U.S. police forces. This is why the masses of our peoples have historically stood side by side. As the late Yahya Sinwar, chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, said in his last interview about the racist murder of George Floyd, “George Floyd was killed as a result of a racist ideology held by some. The same kind of racism that killed George Floyd is being used by Israel against Palestinians.” 

Despite the longstanding solidarity between the African/Black and Palestinian masses, BAP-NYC/NJ understands that the face of imperialism and imperialist violence here in New York can also be Black. We are under no delusions about the neocolonial function of the Black Misleadership Class here in New York. The Black Misleadership Class, which Glen Ford described as “a class that sees its own personal, financial, and social interests as being synonymous with the progress of Black people as a whole,” continues to sell out the masses of Africans in New York City and in this particularly egregious case, is complicit in literal genocide. To add insult to injury, Adams now has his charges dropped while the CUNY 8 face years in prison. We need look no further than Hakeem “the white man’s dream” Jeffries, who said, “Jerusalem is the 6th Borough of NY” while taking nearly one million dollars from AIPAC for 2023-24 to see who the Black puppets are and whose interests they advance. It is not the typical African family in NYCHA housing in Canarsie. 

In solidarity with the CUNY 8 and all anti-imperialist forces here and abroad, we reject the neocolonial puppetry of the Black Misleadership Class. 

BAP-NYC/NJ demands all charges be dropped in this case, and we stand in unequivocal, steadfast solidarity with the CUNY 8, as with the Palestinian people and cause. Onward to victory, until a fully liberated Palestine and a People’s CUNY!

Justice for the CUNY 8!

No Compromise.

No Retreat.

The Eurocentric U.S. “Left” Carries Water for Neoliberal Right, Again: Response to the Ukraine Solidarity Network

The Eurocentric U.S. “Left” Carries Water for Neoliberal Right, Again: Response to the Ukraine Solidarity Network

The supporters of the Ukraine Solidarity Network (USN) inhabit the same contradictory moral and political space as the European leaders who met with Volodymyr Zelensky, their frontman from Ukraine, to reaffirm their collective commitment to the proxy war in Ukraine. The language of self-determination and rights easily flowed from their lips but not one of them had a word to say about the self-determination of Palestinians who are now facing another illegal siege by Israel in occupied Gaza. 

This is the terrain of white privilege that must be confronted. The power to define who is human and who has rights. A power that is assumed by the supporters of the Ukraine Solidarity Network and a significant segment of the “whitish” left that attempts to obscure its Eurocentric class collaboration in left rhetoric. 

As the proxy war in Ukraine is seemingly coming to an end, it is more glaring than ever that the last three years have exposed a profound failure within large sectors of the U.S. left, particularly their inability to ground their analysis in objective materialist principles rather than subjective moral posturing. This failure is not new; it echoes the left’s misguided alignment with U.S. imperialism in Libya, Syria, Nicaragua, Tigray/Ethiopia, and beyond. By uncritically adopting the narratives of the U.S. State Department and NATO, these leftists have betrayed the anti-imperialist principles they claim to uphold, instead siding with the very forces that perpetuate global oppression and exploitation. 

This failure is exemplified by the USN’s statement, which is steeped in eurocentrism and pro-U.S. nationalism, that not only delegitimizes its own narrative but also exposes a broader pattern of collaboration with U.S.-led Western imperialism. 

The USN states, “Anyone with an ounce of compassion wants this war to end as soon as possible, but it is morally unacceptable for outsiders to demand that Ukraine surrender. USN continues to support the right of the Ukrainian people to self-determination and to decide for themselves what are acceptable terms for a peace deal.” In making an appeal to compassion and morality for the right of self-determination for Ukrainians, the USN has exposed its dismal understanding of the facts that led to the conflict. Their positioning of Ukraine as a hapless victim of Russia’s unprovoked and evil aggression completely blankets the reality that the U.S.-backed coup government, which ousted democratically-elected president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014, legitimized a dangerous fascist element already present in the country now installed in the police, military and government. The Kyiv government used those fascist forces to lead the assault on the largely ethnic Russian regions in Donbas, Donetsk, Luhansk, and other cities in the east; and the Minsk II agreement signed by presidents of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany was intentionally violated and was only signed by EU members to give Ukraine time to amass weapons to attack Russia on NATO’s behalf, as former German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted in late 2022. 

The USN completely dismisses the geostrategic goal of some sectors of U.S. capital to disarticulate the Russian and German economies in order to strengthen U.S. leverage over all of Europe as a fantasy. Instead, providing ideological cover for this goal as U.S. support for Ukrainian "self-determination.” But their analysis of self-determination does not include NATO’s strategy of aggression to weaken Russia and provoke regime change through the deployment of troops, weapons, and carrying out war games on the border of Russia in Ukraine. These points were laid out in front of the EU Parliament last week by none other than the former neoliberal golden-boy economist Jeffrey Sachs [at 28:00 mark].

The left’s failure to recognize this pattern in Ukraine—where NATO expansion and U.S. militarization have exacerbated tensions globally—reveals a deep-seated arrogance and a troubling detachment from the material realities of Western imperialism. Imperialism is the highest stage of development of capitalism and signifies a global structure of exploitation, domination, and oppression of the non-imperialist countries and peoples of the Global South.  At this moment in history, there are no competing imperialisms that can remotely compare to the U.S.-led imperialism’s global impact and its delusional quest for continued planetary dominance. U.S.-led imperialism represents the primary contradiction and primary enemy.  

But instead of challenging the U.S. empire, the chauvinistic social imperialist left parrots the simplistic and rightist framing of global class and national struggle as a battle between democracy and authoritarianism, ignoring the complex historical and geopolitical factors at play. 

This failure is not merely intellectual; it is political. By siding with NATO and the U.S. State Department, these leftists have effectively aligned themselves with the forces that are waging war against colonized Black and Brown people worldwide, not understanding, or caring, that a victory for NATO and the West would be a disaster for the Global South. 

Yet, we are supposed to be more concerned about some clown named Alexander Dugin supposedly pulling the strings of fascism in Europe through Russia than the strategic defeat of the U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination that threatens the world.  One cannot be more eurocentric than this. 

Opposing the continued eurocentric, pro-U.S. nationalism, collaborationist elements of the U.S. “left” is essential if we are to build the unity and power needed to oppose imperialist domination. By refusing to take on the difficult work of remaining in principled opposition to U.S.-led imperialism and white supremacy, these elements of the anti anti-Western imperialist left help to sow confusion about the nature of Western imperialism and the reality that there is a common enemy that oppresses the non-European majority of the globe. 

The U.S. left must reckon with these failures and recommit to the principles of anti-imperialism. This requires an abandonment of liberal idealism,  a rejection of subjective moral positions that align with state propaganda, and a return to the objective materialist analysis that has always been the foundation of genuine leftist politics. Anything less strengthens the forces of imperialist domination and betrays the struggle for popular power and collective liberation.

U.S. War on Africa Rages on with Somalia in the Crosshairs

U.S. War on Africa Rages on with Somalia in the Crosshairs

February 10, 2025 — The new Trump administration has wasted no time continuing the U.S. war on Africa. Just one month into his second term, the U.S. has launched at least six airstrikes in Somalia’s Puntland region. While AFRICOM and the Somali government claim these strikes are “authorized” and therefore legal under international law, this so-called authorization is nothing more than a hallmark of neo-colonial governance. Comprador regimes installed and maintained by Western imperialism do not exercise genuine sovereignty but instead serve as facilitators of foreign domination.

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) Africa Team and the U.S. Out of Africa Network (USOAN) unequivocally condemn this renewed aggression. These strikes, backed by the Puntland regional government, have nothing to do with “security.” They serve U.S. neo-colonial domination, enforcing foreign control and keeping Somalia divided.

Under Trump’s first term, the U.S. launched over 200 airstrikes in Somalia—more than Bush, Obama, and Biden combined—fueling instability and strengthening al-Shabaab. The 2020 troop withdrawal was a reorganization of imperial strategy, ensuring AFRICOM continued operations through drone warfare and proxies.

For decades, the U.S. has worked to keep Somalia in crisis. It has exploited divisions between Somalia and Somaliland, manipulated conflicts in the Horn, and propped up corrupt regimes. The Somali government, like all comprador regimes, trades sovereignty for military aid, including its recent $600,000 contract with BGR Group, a Washington lobbying firm.

BAP previously warned that Trump’s second term would bring a more aggressive U.S. posture in Africa. As BAP Africa Team Co-Coordinator Netfa Freeman stated:

“The Trump administration enters office at a time when China and Russia have significantly deepened their strategic partnerships across the continent and with the continent no longer in the same position of weakness as before. The rise of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) has shown the world that African nations can reject Western domination and military occupation. These factors mean that the U.S. will likely pursue a much more aggressive military strategy in Africa, being that all they know is drone warfare, proxy militias, and strategic partnerships with neo-colonial regimes to maintain its grip.” 

This attack is part of a broader U.S. offensive against the growing movement in Africa for self-determination. Trump has already moved against South Africa, cutting aid under the racist pretext of defending white Afrikaners while punishing the country for challenging U.S. and Israeli settler-colonialism. The same empire that protects apartheid landowners in South Africa continues to wage war on Somalia and militarize the continent. Meanwhile, AFRICOM’s role in destabilizing Africa extends beyond Somalia. In Libya, U.S. military forces are deepening their partnership with the comprador regime in Tripoli, strengthening military ties under the tired pretext of “security cooperation.” AFRICOM’s continued presence in Libya, where U.S. and NATO forces devastated a prosperous country in 2011, ensures that Libya remains fractured, occupied by competing factions, and is a staging ground for imperialist military operations across North Africa and the Sahel.

The U.S. and its allies have turned Somalia into a perpetual warzone, a playground for private mercenaries, and a military testing ground for AFRICOM’s latest weapons and drone technology. They have done so under the guise of “fighting terrorism,” when in reality, they have created the very conditions that allow groups like al-Shabaab to thrive. BAP rejects the false choice between U.S. military occupation and endless war. The Somali people have the right to build their own future, without Washington’s bombs, without AFRICOM’s presence, and without the interference of Gulf States acting as Western proxies.

Shutdown AFRICOM!

U.S. Out of Africa!

No Compromise! No Retreat!

Banner image: photo of Trump pointing up superimposed on photo of military aircraft and pilot with jihadist rebels in background; courtesy @middayindia.

Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Trump’s Declaration of War on Palestine

Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Trump’s Declaration of War on Palestine 

Signals a New Epoch of Western Settler Colonialism

February 5, 2025 — Last night, President Trump named what many of us have known for some time – the intentions of the United States to complete the State of Israel’s final solution by announcing his plans to resettle Gazans and assume U.S. control and ownership of the Gaza Strip, Palestine. 

In signaling the U.S. imperial initiative, Trump has also revealed that the U.S. cannot be seen as a trusted partner or leader in pursuing global stability and peace. Indeed, the cognitive dissonance and moral infirmity associated with the U.S. colonial, imperialist mindset, driven by the sickness of white “supremacy” ideology, is now irrefutably elucidated. As Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) founder and Coordinating Committee member Ajamu Baraka noted, “The Russians and Chinese must learn the lesson that the peoples and nations of the global South learned decades ago, and that is that the U.S. is a lunatic state that can't be reasoned with.” He continued, “The Russians should have learned this with Ukraine. But if the Chinese believe that they can keep their heads down and allow the U.S. to destroy peoples and nations, it is only a matter of time before  the barbarians will be at their gates." 

This is nothing more than a continuation of the U.S.’s own settler colonial experiment that includes the extermination, ethnic cleansing, and displacement of Indigenous peoples from their sovereign homelands that commenced in the 15th century and continues today. And the idea that even the most reactionary Arab governments would accept such a non sequitur proposal continues the same amateur, inefficacious, and wanton approach to foreign policy we observed under Biden, Blinken, Austin, and other Democrat party agents who were complicit in funding and arming Israel’s genocidal war machine 15 months before Trump assumed control of the White House. 

To this end, BAP admonishes those who seek to use this as an opportunity to evoke the idea that conditions would be better if the U.S. government were currently controlled by Harris and the Democrat Party. For such a silly and sophomoric proclamation ignores the fact that it was a Democrat-controlled government that vetoed numerous United Nations ceasefire resolutions, allocated billions of dollars to support genocide and ethnic cleansing, and enjoined the conclusions of the  International Criminal Court (ICC) when it rightfully asserted that the State of Israel had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. It should not be at all surprising that Prime Minister Netanyahu is the first convicted war criminal to be invited to, and enjoy the pomp and circumstance of, the Oval Office.

For those who believe that the Democrats would be any better if they emerged victorious from the 2024 elections, BAP would ask, has there been any indignation or semblance of disapproval from leaders of the Democrat Party, including, but not limited to, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi or its Black Misleadership Class representatives Jim Clyburn or House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries? Have any Democrats called for an immediate arms embargo and economic sanctions against the State of Israel? Have any Democrats pledged to block the use of the military to carry out Trump’s feckless and illegal pogrom? Has the new leadership of the Democratic National Committee (DNC)  declared it will no longer accept donations from or allow for the American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to influence its primaries? 

It should be noted that Trump’s Gaza Grab Declaration would require the use of U.S. military force, which would be a violation of International Law, the Geneva Convention, and the basic tenets of human rights. To this end, BAP calls on the Congressional Progressive Caucus, as well as the Congressional Black Caucus, to immediately denounce previous Democrat Party stances on Gaza and to do all within their constitutional authority to proactively block the use of any U.S. military forces to carry out Trump’s plans.  Furthermore, as using the military to colonize and occupy  Gaza would be an illegal act and in itself a war crime, BAP reminds all U.S. military personnel of their duty to reject any and all unlawful orders pursuant to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. 

The world is awakened, the Palestinian resistance and pursuit of their liberation is more ubiquitous and unwavering than ever, and global solidarity with Palestine remains inexorable. 

U.S.-led Imperialism Is Directly Responsible for Turmoil in the Democratic Republic of Congo

U.S.-led Imperialism Is Directly Responsible for Turmoil in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Black Alliance for Peace Africa Team (BAP) and U.S. Out of Africa Network (USOAN) stands in unwavering solidarity with the Congolese People as they endure yet another chapter of violence, exploitation, and masked imperialist aggression in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The ongoing conflict, fueled by Rwanda’s role as an imperialist foot soldier, is not merely a regional dispute but a manifestation of global capitalism’s insatiable desire for Africa’s resources. As the transnational capitalist class fight for dominance in the global clean energy, artificial intelligence, and technology markets, the Congo has been and stands to remain the battleground as a cornerstone of systemic plunder for over a century.

Rwanda, backed by Western powers such as the United States, the European Union (EU), Canada, Israel, etc, has consistently acted as a destabilizing force in the region, providing material support to proxy militias like the M23 to undermine Congolese sovereignty and facilitate the extraction of resources. Much like the sub-imperialist relationship between the United Arab Emirates and Sudan, Rwanda has no significant mineral reserves of its own yet has become one of the world’s leading exporters of critical minerals like coltan. The recent escalation in Goma, where Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) and M23 have seized strategic areas, is a direct result of this imperialist agenda.

In stark and revolting contrast to what is professed by the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) to serve as the “Conscience of the Congress,” by “uplifting the voices of the voiceless and fighting for the most vulnerable… ” there is always a deafening silence concerning the role of U.S. imperialism in the Congo and in Africa at large. In fact CBC members have more so served as lap dogs for U.S. imperialism and willing servants for its policies of intervention.

The responsibility of those outside of the DRC is to heed the acts of the People reflecting the unheard, to unconditionally support their path toward self-determination and right to defend their land and sovereignty. This is the only way to sustainable peace in the Congo.

The conflict in the DRC is not an isolated event but a direct consequence of the global capitalist system in crisis. The so-called “Green Corridor” initiative, promoted by President Felix Tshisekedi at the World Economic Forum in Davos, is a stark example of how imperialist powers and their local compradors, seek to legitimize their pillaging under the guise of development. This initiative, funded primarily by the United States and EU, aims to secure access to the Congo’s cobalt, copper, and lithium — resources essential for the global transition to renewable energy and digital technologies. Yet, this so-called “development” comes at the direct expense of the Congolese People, who continue to suffer from violence, displacement, and poverty. 

The Congolese people, however, continue to resist valiantly. The recent attacks on the embassies of Belgium, France, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and the United States, chanting “down with imperialism” and widespread protests across the DRC, from Goma to Kinshasa, make clear the frustration of the Congolese with a government that has failed to protect them, and a global system that exploits them. The uprising reflects a growing consciousness among the Congolese masses, who are demanding accountability, liberation, and an end to decades of suffering. The Black Alliance for Peace recognizes these protests as part of a broader struggle across the African continent. As Che Guevara said, “all free people of the world be prepared to avenge the crime of the Congo.”

We understand that the liberation of the Congo is inseparable from the liberation of Africa as a whole. The Congo’s land, energy, and resources have fueled the wealth of imperialist powers for generations, while its people have been subjected to unimaginable violence and exploitation. The current crisis is a stark reminder that the struggle for African sovereignty is a struggle against the global capitalist system. We must reject the false narratives that frame this conflict as a regional or ethnic issue and instead recognize it as a fight against imperialism and for self-determination. 

The Black Alliance for Peace calls on all progressive forces, both across the African continent and around the world, to stand in solidarity with the Congolese People. Demand an immediate end to Rwanda’s aggression and the withdrawal of all foreign forces from the DRC. We call for Congo’s resources to be under the democratic control of its People. We call on all anti-imperialist forces across the world to expose the puppeteer role of the U.S.-EU-NATO Axis of Domination in fueling this crisis and to support the Congolese People’s right to life.

The struggle of the Congolese People is our struggle. Their victory is our victory. Let us unite in solidarity to end the centuries-long suffering in the Congo and to build a world free from imperialism, capitalism, and exploitation. The Congo is not for sale—it belongs to its People.

Free the Congo! 

Patrice Lumumba Lives!

Unite Africa under Socialism!

No Compromise!

No Retreat!

Banner photo: Security forces clash with protesters attacking the French embassy in Kinshasa, DR Congo, on January 28, 2025. (Courtesy Reuters)

The Black Alliance for Peace Welcomes the Release of Leonard Peltier and Demands Unrestricted Release of all U.S. Political Prisoners

The Black Alliance for Peace Welcomes the Release of Leonard Peltier and Demands Unrestricted Release of all U.S. Political Prisoners

The immoral life sentence of American Indian Movement freedom fighter, political prisoner and prisoner of war, Leonard Peltier was commuted by the U.S. President Joe Biden, only moments before Biden’s term in office ended. Now 80 years old, Peltier languished for over 50 years in prison after being unjustly convicted of killing two FBI agents in 1975 during a terror raid of the Pine Ridge Reservation by agents of the U.S. government.

Biden’s clemency order for Peltier was a vulgar, narcissistic attempt to fabricate a benevolent legacy for himself. Falling far short of an exoneration, the Biden administration insinuated the act was one of compassion for a decidedly “guilty” FBI agent killer. The ailing elder Peltier won’t be released until February 18th, and will still have to remain confined to house arrest for the rest of his life under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Prisons that can rescind his release if they decide he has violated his parole. At least he will be surrounded and cared for by loved ones. 

While the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) welcomes the long overdue release of Leonard Peltier, we hold that he should never have been imprisoned and that his imprisonment reflects the ongoing institutional expression of settler-colonialism that defines the U.S. Even though all evidence in the case of Peltier points to his innocence, BAP’s commitment to an authentic process of decolonization in every sense of that term supports the right of American Indian, First Nation people to defend themselves and resist their colonialist domination by any means necessary.

Neither Biden nor the U.S. government deserves credit or gratitude for commuting Peltier's sentence. All credit belongs to the activists, international human rights leaders, and legal advocates led by the Indigenous people who fought for decades for Leonard Peltier’s release. Peltier’s case is but one in a long and decadent history of U.S. political imprisonment and repression, with a present record that includes the contemporary cases of the Uhuru 3, the nearly five dozen “Stop Cop City” activists indicted on RICO charges, and activists targeted in the Free Palestine movement.

BAP holds the U.S. setter state in contempt for continuing to hold political prisoners and we remain “committed to working against all forms of state and domestic repression, including the issues of political prisoners and prisoners of war in the United States.”

No Compromise!

No Retreat!

The Free Leonard Peltier Ad Hoc Committee is raising funds for expenses related to retaining independent medical experts, accommodations, travel, materials, and other expenditures related to Leonard's medical care. Please contribute what you can. You can also donate via Cash App to: $PeltierOfficialComm

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

The Facts about CARICOM and Haiti by The Black Alliance for Peace Haiti-Americas Team

“CARICOM’s neocolonial function can be seen most clearly through its interactions with Haiti. Haiti did not join CARICOM until 2002, but almost from its origins in 1973, CARICOM was engaged with Haiti. While many of the CARICOM’s original member states resisted Haiti’s membership, citing political and linguistic differences, others saw Haiti, due to its geographic proximity and large population, as an ideal export market for locally-produced goods.”

In the interest of advancing political education around the history and current role of CARICOM and its neocolonial function with regards to Haiti, the Haiti/Americas Team of the Black Alliance for Peace has published this comprehensive FACT SHEET on CARICOM and Haiti: Integration or Imperialism?

Los Angeles Fires: The Santa Ana Blowback of Capitalist Climate Change Neglect

Los Angeles Fires: The Santa Ana Blowback of Capitalist Climate Change Neglect 

The incendiary cataclysms in Los Angeles, California remind us that the root cause of the climate crisis exacerbating the fires spreading throughout that city and surrounding areas is fossil fuel production emblematic of runaway capitalism fueled by white “supremacy” ideology, patriarchy, and colonization. And while it’s easy to focus solely on the fires, it’s important to note that the associated smoke will be the main culprit in the loss of life due to environmental racism that has assaulted the public health of Black, Brown, Indigenous and all poor and working class people in Los Angeles and throughout the country. As revealed during the height of the Covid pandemic, Black and Indigenous peoples suffered a higher morbidity rate due to decades of exposure to poisoned air and the intentional siting of pollutive industries and operations in our communities from Los Angeles, to the Bronx, and Cancer Alley in Louisiana. These communities remain at high risk because what’s happening in Los Angeles, won’t stay in Los Angeles - the smoke generated from these fires will traverse our communities as it travels eastward, and exacerbates existing public health emergencies that are consistently overlooked and ignored by lawmakers representing both the corporate Democrat and Republican political parties and their wealthy acolytes. 

To this end, while we sympathize with those who have lost their homes in affluent communities like the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and the Hollywood Hills, we empathize with communities that will suffer long term public health impacts, including, but not limited to, respiratory and other illnesses due to years of being treated as energy and economic sacrifice zones. This pattern was most recently exemplified by the environmental travesty of New York City’s congestion pricing program, which will divert high volumes of traffic to poor, Black and Brown communities in the Bronx and Staten Island, thereby sacrificing them to accommodate affluent communities in Manhattan.  

Will President Biden, the incoming Trump administration,  and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), an agency whose racism, classism and contempt for the poor is well documented, consider environmental justice communities across the country being choked out by smoke they had no hand in creating while billions of dollars are doled out to primarily accommodate wealthy people? It should be noted that many of these wealthy people  benefit from and advocate for the capitalist system that fuels and maintains these crises.  These are the kinds of questions BAP must perpetually ask as a principled and radical Black formation; and that we must ask as a people who understand confronting and dismantling the climate crisis requires confronting and dismantling racialized and classist capitalism - hence why we refer to climate change as the racial/class capitalocene. 

Finally, it is not lost upon BAP that, very recently, many of the people enlisted to fight California wildfires were incarcerated people, some of whose prison sentences were extended by soon to be former Vice President, Kamala Harris when she served as Attorney General of California. This was an effort to generate cheap labor from lives she and far too many others deem expendable and disposable. There is an axiomatic nexus between how these inmates/political prisoners are treated and how Black, Brown, Indigenous and poor communities are treated in the context of the climate crisis. This nexus extends to the treatment of Palestinian people who continue to be dehumanized and exterminated while also being displaced from their homelands due to an inferno of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and militarism. Such is the pathology of settler colonialism, which too many still refuse to connect with environmental degradation and the climate crisis in the United States.

We must and will continue making these requisite connections and intersections as we develop a multi racial/multi ethnic poor and working class response to this latest episode of the racial/class capitalocene’s atlas of destruction. 

No Compromise! 

No Retreat!

Banner photo: Homes on fire and palm trees blowing in wind during LA fire, courtesy bbc.com/weather.

The Unrelenting Violence Against Black Youth in Latin America: a Focus on Ecuador

The Unrelenting Violence Against Black Youth in Latin America: a Focus on Ecuador

By Janvieve Williams Comrie, January 8, 2025

The murder of four Afro-Ecuadorian boys is another tragic example of the long history of racism in Ecuador and Latin America. The utter disregard for the lives of Black youth and the refusal to seek justice for the deplorable acts committed against them reveals the true nature of those states. Building a region free of imperialist forces that will work to bring peace and stability is how the masses will rid themselves of this unrelenting violence.

The December 2024 murders of four Afro-Ecuadorian boys in Guayaquil’s Las Malvinas neighborhood have laid bare the entrenched racism and neglect faced by Black communities in Ecuador. and Josué Arroyo, of 15 and 14 years of age, Nehemías Arboleda, 15, and Steven Medina 11, disappeared on December 8th, their dismembered bodies discovered days later near a military base. This heinous act has drawn national and international condemnation, with demands for justice and accountability growing louder.

The government’s response—a state of emergency and curfew in Guayaquil and other areas until at least March 3, 2025—has been criticized for its misplaced focus. Rather than addressing the systemic poverty and racism that make (Afro-Ecuadorian) communities vulnerable, the state has doubled down on militarized crackdowns. This heavy-handed approach criminalizes Afro-descendant communities, further perpetuating systemic violence and oppression cycles of violence and mistrust…

Banner photo: Demonstrators in Niteroi, Río de Janeiro, at a Black Lives Matter event to protest against racism in Brazil | courtesy Fernando Souza/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News

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)

The Importance of Race, Class, and Territorial Sovereignty in Panama Amid Trump’s Canal Threats

Analysis: The Importance of Race, Class, and Territorial Sovereignty in Panama Amid Trump’s Canal Threats

by Chevy Solís Acevedo y Janvieve Williams Comrie

Donald Trump’s recent threats to reclaim control of the Panama Canal represent an attack on Panamanian sovereignty and reflect imperialist attitudes that have historically marginalized Black communities. These statements, made in the context of a complex political landscape in Panama, require analysis through the lenses of race, class, and territorial sovereignty. From the labor of Caribbean workers who built the Canal to the current struggles for equitable resource distribution, understanding these intersections is essential to addressing U.S. intervention threats and the policies of Panama’s right-wing administration.,,

Banner photo: Man holding sign at “demostraciones contra la mineria extractivista” in Panama. 2023 (courtesy afroresistance.org).