Two events of national and international importance shook the progressive community in January.
U.S. forces kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela on Jan. 3. Maduro might not have been the equal of his predecessor, the talented and charismatic Hugo Chávez, but he is president of a sovereign country with an egalitarian agenda and many followers.
Unsurprisingly, oil money had a lot to do with the U.S. action. What is different this time is that the U.S. President bragged about the conquest of Venezuelan oil.
Our Cuba expert, Leni Villagomez Reeves, recorded a narrative of the U.S. incursion into the capital city of Venezuela—Caracas—from someone who lives near an air base and was a witness.
From Bob McCloskey, we have reactions from people who attended the three January protests against the incursion in Fresno.
The other shocking event followed on Jan. 7: the murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis by an ICE agent, Jonathan Ross. Good had verbally engaged ICE agents, protesting their sweep through her neighborhood. She was a citizen, a nonviolent person and the mother of three children. Her last words to Ross were “I’m not mad at you.”
There were two protests for Good in Fresno: a vigil at ICE headquarters in Fresno on the evening of the day after she was killed and a protest three days later at the intersection of Nees and Blackstone avenues—we have photos from the vigil and a report. We have a contribution from HispanicLA in Spanish, with thoughts about Good’s death and how we react as communities.
We have a contribution from HipanicLA in Spanish, with thoughts about Good’s death and how we react as communities.
Also, Malik Simba, who lived in Good’s working-class neighborhood in Minneapolis in his younger days, offers some reflections.
In these trying times, we try to present our readers with alternative viewpoints.
