USA a history of war crimes

Does the U.S. have the right to impunity?

Does the U.S. have the right to impunity?
Under U.S. pressure, the ICC declined to investigate the allegations of atrocities committed by the country’s forces in Afghanistan

Raúl Antonio Capotemay 10, 2019 18:05:03

The  .

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Photo: El País
The United States Army has established a long history of war crimes, beginning with the genocide of native peoples in the North America, through those committed in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, more recently.

Usually, the U.S. government, the armed forces, and the press are able to cover up the atrocities committed. To cite a few examples from the war in Iraq, on November 19, 2005, U.S. troops entered the town of Haditha, killing individuals indiscriminately. Aws Fahmi, a witness to the massacre, saw Marines murder members of three families, and heard his neighbor beg in English for his life and those of his loved ones, including his daughters, 14, 10, five, three and one years of age.

Nine-year-old Eman Walid Abdul-Hameed recounted that the Marines broke into his home around 7:00 am, saying that they “entered the bedroom where my father was praying and shot him. They went into my grandmother’s bedroom and killed her without a thought. They threw a grenade under my grandfather’s bed.”

The attack lasted five hours and the Marines killed a total of 24 civilians.

On November 13, 2006, U.S. troops opened tank fire on the Al-Dhubat neighborhood of Ramadi and killed some 35 people, all civilians. Haji Jassim, 60, told Inter Press Service that residents “were not allowed to go near the houses to rescue the wounded, so many bled to death.”

In November of 2004, U.S. forces began Operation Phantom Fury against the city of Fallujah. Over ten days, they destroyed the city and killed thousands of people, using white phosphorus munitions prohibited by international treaties.

A video of the operation, recorded by NBC correspondent Kevin Sites, shows several wounded Iraqis in a mosque, guarded by Marines. The detainees had been interrogated and were left on the ground overnight. A Marine pointed to a wounded man lying on the floor and said: “He’s not dead, just pretending”. The soldier raises his rifle and shoots him in the head. Another Marine shouts: “Well, he’s dead now.” The execution of a prisoner, especially a wounded one, is a war crime according to the Geneva Conventions. Continue reading Does the U.S. have the right to impunity? →

Helms-Burton Act

The Helms-Burton is not applicable in Cuba

The Helms-Burton is not applicable in Cuba
“The Helms-Burton Act is not applicable in Cuba… because it is a law of the United States and therefore its jurisdiction, its range of action, is the United States… Cuba has a law approved in 1996 that declares the Helms-Burton Act null and void,” said Carlos Fernández de Cossío, the Foreign Ministry’s director for the United States

Yudy Castro Moralesmay 10, 2019 18:05:07

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Photo: José Manuel Correa
“The Helms-Burton Act is not applicable in Cuba; in the first place, because it is a law of the United States and therefore its jurisdiction, its range of action, is the United States. No sovereign country that respects itself would allow the extraterritorial application of a U.S. law in its territory. In addition, in our case, Cuba has a law approved in 1996 that declares the Helms-Burton Act null and void.”

This is how Carlos Fernández de Cossío, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ general director for the United States, explained the situation, which is worth repeating for those with doubts about this famous law’s lack of validity. This legal creation, meant to strangle the Cuban economy, is well-known precisely because of its extraterritoriality, and its disrespect for international law.

Continue reading The Helms-Burton is not applicable in Cuba →

U.S. citizens visit Cuba

U.S. citizens want to visit Cuba

U.S. citizens want to visit Cuba, despite the tourism ban and travel restrictions imposed by their government
Cuba continues to be the only country in the world where U.S. citizens can not freely travel as tourists, thanks to their government’s discriminatory policy

Yisel Martínez Garcíamay 8, 2019 17:05:07

The arrival of cruise ship visitors to Cuba continues to grow, up 48% this year.

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Photo: Juvenal Balán

The U.S. tourist sector remains committed to Cuba as a holiday destination, even as the U.S. government is tightening the blockade against the island. This was stated at a press conference by Michel Bernal Quicutis, commercial director at the Cuban Ministry of Tourism (Mintur), who assured that “We will not give up on reaching the planned 5,100,000 visitors for this 2019.”

As he explained, U.S. citizens continue to occupy second place among visitor source markets to Cuba, behind Canada, with a total of 257,500 visitors in the first four months of the year, representing growth of 93.5%. Of them, 55% arrive to the country aboard cruise ships, a modality that continues to grow, up 48% this year.

“Despite smear campaigns against Cuba, 13.5% of tourists who visit us claim to have chosen the island for its safety, both personal and epidemiological; also because it is a country where there is no organized crime, drug cartels, kidnappings do not occur, and one can enjoy the destination at any time,” Bernal added. Continue reading U.S. citizens want to visit Cuba →

Cuban Venezuelan Solidarity

Cuban “troops” saving lives in Venezuela

Cuban “troops” saving lives in Venezuela
Cubans are truly committed to the principle of sovereignty, we are protective of our independence, and we would never do to others what we would not allow to be done to ourselves

Raúl Antonio Capotemay 6, 2019 10:05:56

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More than 20,000 Cuban collaborators, 61% of whom are women, remain in Venezuela fighting to save lives and ensuring the well-being of the population of this sister nation. Photo: Omara García
U.S. President Donald Trump recently threatened Cuba with a “full and complete” blockade, coupled with the “highest-level sanctions,” while John Bolton accused the island of “controlling” the government of Nicolás Maduro.

That lie is repeated without an ounce of shame by the highest officials of the Yankee government, and Donald Trump has ordered Cuba to withdraw “20,000 Cuban soldiers from Venezuela,” even promising a new opening in relations if the island takes its “hands off” Caracas.

Cubans are truly committed to the principle of sovereignty, we are protective of our independence, and we would never do to others what we would not allow to be done to ourselves. Our banner “has never been mercenary.” Venezuela, the land of the clarion call, of Bolívar’s brave soldiers, the same that made an empire tremble, needs no one other than Venezuelans themselves to safeguard its honor, courage and dignity.

The only Cuban “troops” to be found across Venezuela, working alongside its brave people, are those fulfilling what they consider a duty. Thousands of Cuban specialists in health, sports, culture, education, communications, agriculture, food, industry, science, energy and transport, share this task in the Bolivarian Republic. Continue reading Cuban “troops” saving lives in Venezuela →