Hugo Chávez was a deeply impressive leader whose commitment to radical new visions of democracy has not been equalled in the hemisphere since he assumed the presidency in 1999. Not since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959 had a Latin American head of state combined the qualities of president, revolutionary, and popular educator so seamlessly.

If the Cuban government had reacted to July 11 with anywhere near the violence that the Peruvian government has administered, the media and government responses would have been swift and unforgiving. Because a loyal ally in Lima is doing the repression, however, Ottawa allows them to continue killing without the slightest condemnation.

For two years, the Biden administration has maintained Trump’s vindictive policy, one that punishes Cuba not for terrorism but for the promotion of peace. Biden can remove Cuba from this list with a stroke of his pen. When he was running for the presidency, Biden said he would even reverse the harsher of Trump’s sanctions. But he has not done so. He must do so now.

The February 5 votes confirm that Correísmo is still the most influential political movement in Ecuador. Despite six years of attempted criminalization by the forces of the right, the Ecuadorean left has made an obvious comeback. With the left-wing opposition now calling for early elections, it is uncertain how long Guillermo Lasso will be able to cling to power.

Canada must respect the Haitian people in their struggle for justice and self-determination. As members of the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network (ARSN), we oppose the militarization of the Haitian National Police and any further steps toward military intervention, which could further escalate violence and entrench Core Group control against the will of the Haitian people.

Ottawa has plowed significant resources and diplomatic energy into advancing Canadian mining interests in Peru. Since the early 2000s Ottawa has worked to provide the industry with a profitable investment climate and channeled tens of millions of dollars into Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines and mining related initiatives.

The army gave a safe haven to the coup demonstrators before and after they vandalized the buildings in Brasília and while they were asking for an army intervention against the president. At the same time, it was unable to protect the presidential palace from such a crowd. This sends a clear message about who the army was trying to defend and what it considers its true mission.

On January 11, the Salvadoran government under President Nayib Bukele ordered the arrest of five prominent anti-mining activists and water defenders from the north of the country. Social organizations around the world have taken notice. More than 250 organizations from countries across the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia signed a statement calling for the government to drop the charges.

The imposition of patented transgenic seeds onto rural communities has had a catastrophic impact on human livelihoods and biodiversity protection. In many countries, seeds have traditionally been the collective property of farmers—however, these farmers’ right to control their own seed supply is being attacked by corporate forces which have captured capitalist states around the world.

Although the absurdity of the Juan Guaidó era is drawing to a close, one can be certain that Ottawa will seek new ways to promote the opposition in the upcoming presidential elections in 2024, which will surely see the Venezuelan right adopt new tactics in their unceasing quest to overturn the Bolivarian Revolution.