I was invited to join a delegation in Venezuela with the International People’s Tribunal on U.S. Imperialism: Sanctions, Blockades, Coercive Economic Measures, which together with the National Lawyers Guild (U.S.) and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, is conducting the last in a series of hearings and a fact-finding mission in Venezuela on the impact of U.S. sanctions and coercive economic measures targeting this nation.
Jaribu Hill is also part of the delegation. She is a civil and human rights attorney and the Founder and Executive Director of the Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights. She is the author of Knowledge is Power - A Know Your Rights Manual and co-author of The Black College Guide. She is a juror in the International People’s Tribunal on sanctions. We spoke in Caracas, Venezuela and made connections between international and domestic issues.
Cooperation Jackson, based in Jackson, Mississippi, issued the call and list of demands to protect the people from both the virus and disaster capitalism.
Although the coronavirus provided the trigger for the current global shrinkage, the economic crisis was already looming when the pathogen made its physical appearance.
The gross inequalities and declining standards of life in the US are magnified by the corona crisis, pushing already marginalized populations to the brink.
China sends medical equipment abroad, Cuba sends doctors and cutting-edge drugs, but the US fails to provide its people, doctors and nurses with basic tools and protection.
This is going to become a problem for the Pentagon, whether it's on Navy destroyers, submarines, and aircraft carriers or the 800+ bases.
