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Storming the Capitol… in Havana?

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A month ago, there were calls in Miami for a “first massive protest” in Havana,

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in front of the Capitol where the Cuban parliament is seated.

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“The whole foreign press will be there, they won’t do anything to us,” we read on social media.

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Maybe there was press presence, but the protest was nowhere to be found.

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But can you imagine if a mob managed to force its way

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into the Cuban Capitol and cause five deaths, like in Washington?

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We surely would not hear, like we do now, that it was “an attack against democracy”.

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Can you imagine if in Cuba, like in the US a few days ago,

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journalists were beaten and had their cameras destroyed?

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Four mercenaries from US contractor Blackwater were pardoned,

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after having killed 14 civilians in Iraq in 2007.

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But the journalist who shed truth on massacres like that one, Julian Assange,

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has been imprisoned for almost 9 years. With no political or media fuss.

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In the World Trade Organization, rich countries are blocking the proposal,

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supported by over 100 governments – China and Cuba among them – 

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to temporarily suspend Covid-19 medicine patents.

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Not just that: with a mere 14% of the global population, these rich countries

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have already hoarded half of existing or upcoming vaccines.

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The European Union, for example, has bought doses to vaccinate its population twice,

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Canada six times. Then they’ll tell us about cooperation and solidarity.

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In November we saw the largest general strike in history:

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250 million people, in India, protested against

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the neoliberal measures implemented by Narendra Modi’s government. 

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Did you see it on the news?

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Gustavo Tarre Briceño is Juan Guaidó’s representative

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before the Organization of American States, which recognizes him as Venezuela’s supposed “ambassador.”

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This is what he had to say on a Miami TV show:

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“The mechanism to invade (Venezuela) sadly does not have

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the consensus it should have. (…) Our work is to intensify this pressure

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and if, at some point, some country feels the use of force can produce results

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and they are willing to assume the costs of this intervention, then wonderful”.

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But the international media tells us this roster of criminals and terrorists

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is the “legitimate government” of Venezuela. Until when?

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Dawn Scalici is the Government Global Business Director from UK press agency Reuters,

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now property of US media conglomerate Thomson Corporation.

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As such, her “responsibility,” we read on the website,

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is to “meet the disparate needs of the US government.” Just like that.

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In fact, Dawn Scalici worked at the CIA for 33 years,

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where she served as National Intelligence Manager for the Western Hemisphere).

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But it is the Western press agencies – unlike Russian, Chinese or Cuban ones –

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that are “independent,” isn’t that right?

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The Colombian government has excluded around a million Venezuelan migrants

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from Covid-19 vaccination.

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Meanwhile, Caracas has announced it will vaccinate everyone,

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including several million Colombians.

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For its part, with its solidarity medical brigades,

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Cuba has tended to 900 thousand Covid-19 patients in 39 countries.

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But which governments are demonized by the international media? Take a guess.

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According to the United Nations fact finding mission, in the last year,

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73 former FARC members who laid down their weapons were killed in Colombia.

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As were 310 social leaders.

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The total has risen to 1350 since the 2016 Peace Accords.

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But there are no reports, no news, nor international diplomatic protests.

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But lets go back to Washington. Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg justified

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the suspension of Donald Trump’s account a few days ago on the basis of

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“inciting a violent insurrection against a democratically elected government”.

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But for how long have Facebook and other platforms worked as a loudspeaker for insurrection,

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assassination attempts and coup efforts in countries like Venezuela?

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Any more cynicism… would be impossible.

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Translation and subtitles: Ricardo Vaz