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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">‘We are in Nobody’s Backyard’: Rejecting Geopolitical and Historical Fatalism</h1>By Gerald A. Perreira – Jul 29, 2021</div><div class="gmail-content"><div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div>
<p>Except for the hum of US helicopters flying overhead, there was a
deafening silence throughout the Caribbean region, during the recent
Operation Tradewinds, Progressive and Pan-African forces did not utter a
word, as soldiers from Guyana, Brazil, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,
Bermuda, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago
participated in this region-wide military exercise with army personnel
from the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, France
and the Netherlands.</p>
<p>We were told that Operation Tradewinds was “a US Southern Command
sponsored combined joint exercise conducted with partner nations to
enhance the collective ability of defense forces and constabularies to
counter transnational criminal organizations, conduct humanitarian
assistance, and disaster relief operations.”<em><br>
</em></p>
<p>The catch-phrases “transnational criminal organizations,”
“humanitarian assistance” and even “disaster relief operations” are
worn-out euphemisms for the neo-colonial presence of the US Empire and
its European allies in Guyana and throughout the region. Military
exercises and CIA manuals are a vital part of the game plan to ensure
the continued strength and influence of the hegemon.</p>
<p>Their lackeys in the region follow suit, utilizing tactics of
disinformation. Often, when people from poor and marginalized
communities in the Caribbean and the Americas resist neo-colonialism and
its persistent, debilitating poverty and oppression, they are labelled
“criminals,” and legitimate grassroots movements are described as
“criminal gangs.” This then acts as an excuse for State repression,
extra-judicial killings, imprisonments and political assassination. In
Colombia and Brazil, activists, and in particular, African and
Indigenous activists, are targeted for elimination. According to Africa
Globe, an African-Brazilian is killed by the police every 23 minutes.
Operation Tradewinds was a tacit reminder that if things get out of hand
in the “colonies,” the Empire is there to back up their local
“governors,” who pose as presidents and prime ministers.</p>
<p>The poverty and suffering throughout the region is largely due to the
persistent imperialist plunder and exploitation of our abundant natural
and human resources, as well as the imposition of political and
economic systems that maintain dependency and dysfunction, while
widening the gap between rich and poor. Countries in the region that
have dared to break these chains, such as Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and
Bolivia, suffer the Empire’s full wrath. Speaking for Guyana in 2021,
the most apt description would be a neo-plantation, where the colonial
structures, institutions and systems remain firmly in place, and where
the president, prime minister and other government officials are no more
than governors, viceroys and overseers for the Empire, as in colonial
times. That is why Caribbean liberation theologian, Kortright Davis,
could have proclaimed, “emancipation still coming.”</p>
<p><strong>Geopolitical and historical fatalism</strong><br>
It’s hard to fathom the seeming acceptance, across the political
spectrum, of this provocative military exercise, coordinated by the
world’s major imperialist powers. The very same powers that worked
together as a well-oiled machine in the destruction of the Libyan
Revolution. Provocative, because the exercise was so obviously staged in
an attempt to intimidate Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and any other
nation in the Caribbean or the Americas that dares to dream of
sovereignty and the right to self-determination.</p>
<p>To remain silent, is to acquiesce. A dangerous acceptance of the
absurd notion of historical and geo-political fatalism is in the air.
The acronym TINA (There Is No Alternative) was concocted so it could be
transplanted into our thinking and sure enough it is manifesting itself.
Even amongst Pan-Africanists across the region I am sensing a kind of
“this is the reality we have to deal with.” Really? With this self-
defeating approach, they are actually legitimizing and
“Pan-Africanizing” neo-colonialism and in so doing, forfeiting our
inalienable right to authentic independence and self-determination.</p>
<p>Joe Biden has now tightened the noose around Cuba’s neck. It’s no
surprise that the planned distribution of Cuba’s vaccines, Soberana,
Abdala and Mambisa, to the Caribbean, Central and South America and
Africa, sent the Empire’s machinery into overdrive, accelerating its
attempts to create chaos in Cuba. As far as the imperialists were
concerned, this phenomenal achievement by a small, truly sovereign and
socialist nation had to be disrupted and discredited.</p>
<p>US imperialists, be they Democrats or Republicans, displaying the
fact that their wickedness knows no bounds, have actually hindered
Cuba’s access to syringes and other supplies to assist in the
manufacture and distribution of life-saving vaccines in the middle of a
global pandemic. Cuba’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Bruno Rodriguez
Parrilla, rightfully described this as an “act of genocide” and said
that “like the virus, the blockade asphyxiates and kills.”</p>
<p><a href="https://orinocotribune.com/for-a-plurinational-america/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RELATED CONTENT: For a Plurinational America</a></p>
<p><strong>Worldwide, youth are rejecting capitalism</strong><br>
If anything has laid bare capitalism’s contradictions, it is COVID-19.
Capitalism’s failure is on show as never before. Youth around the world
are rising up in large numbers with the word “socialism” on their lips.
And most worrying to the ruling classes and the imperialists, is that
the youth movements in their own countries are among the largest.
According to recent polls, a majority of youth in the US are rejecting
capitalism. More than half of those polled view socialism positively.
These young people in advanced capitalist countries such as the US, the
UK and France are struggling to make ends meet. Unemployment figures are
soaring, social and economic inequality is growing at an unprecedented
rate, and even those who have employment are forced to have a side
hustle or two. The inarguable connection between racism and capitalism
is highlighted everywhere they turn. In the early 60s, when Malcolm X
said, “you can’t have capitalism without racism” he had to argue that
point in order illustrate it, in 2021, the nexus between capitalism and
racism has surely become self-evident.</p>
<p>Increasingly, youth in the West are no longer blaming themselves for
their situation, as neo-liberals and conservatives have encouraged them
to do, but are instead turning their disdain towards the economic and
political system which they see as being rigged against them. They are
laying bare the injustice perpetrated by the ideology of White
supremacy, which allows Africans in the US to be shot in their homes,
neighbourhoods, malls, playgrounds and streets by agencies of the State.
Chanting “Black Lives Matter” and “No pride in genocide”, Black and
White youth in the citadels of capitalism are tearing down, burning and
smashing symbols, icons and images of this system.</p>
<p>The blatant way in which Bernie Sanders was sidelined and rigged out
of the US presidential race, despite overwhelming support, contributed
to the huge wave of disillusionment. It was a bitter pill for the
thousands of young people who were actively involved in his campaign.
After witnessing this electoral charade, the numbers of disenchanted
youth soared, causing many to turn their back on any remnant of belief
they still had in the US political system and bogus liberal democracy.
In increasing numbers, US citizens are simply no longer able to close
their eyes to the fact that the US is a plutocracy, not a democracy.</p>
<p>When detractors claim that socialism does not work, I ask them for
just one example of a place anywhere on earth where neo-liberal
capitalism is working. I’m still waiting for a case in point! In fact,
if socialism is such a failure, why do the imperial powers spend
millions trying to derail it – surely it should fail of its own accord?</p>
<p>Truth be told, it is White supremacy that came into the world as
capitalism that is failing, and it is the US Empire and its European
allies that are in crisis—directionless and floundering. Despite their
bravado and victorious rhetoric, the question is not if this Empire will
fall, but rather when? Forced to withdraw their troops from both
Afghanistan and Iraq, having failed to achieve their objectives, they
are mired in humiliation and defeat. Old Joe is a fool, as are Boris and
Macron. Of course, no Empire goes down without a fight. As the Empire
falls into the hell of its own making, for the vast majority, life on
this earth will get even harsher than it already is. In its dying
throes, we can expect the Empire to become even more vicious. All
progressive and revolutionary oriented governments and movements
understand that the Empire’s fight back will intensify in this
historical period.</p>
<p><strong>The Empire fights back to no avail<br>
</strong>It is in this context that the Empire’s most recent assault on
Cuba took place. As the crisis of capitalism intensifies, the imperial
powers are more determined than ever that no alternatives to neo-liberal
capitalism can be left standing.</p>
<p>Imperialism’s policy has always been to nip socialist and
revolutionary oriented governments in the bud, by ensuring that they are
never given a breathing space. However, despite economic sanctions,
covert and overt acts of sabotage, campaigns of disinformation, funding
and support of insignificant counter-revolutionary entities and fake
NGOs to the tune of millions of US dollars, CIA orchestrated coups,
political assassinations and contra-wars, it has not been easy, to say
the least, to nip the revolutions of the Caribbean and the Americas in
the bud.</p>
<p>Although concerted efforts have been made and millions of US dollars
spent, Biden will be the 12th US president who has tried to bring Cuba
to its knees. After the waging of a brutal and unrelenting CIA sponsored
contra-war against the Sandinista government for more than a decade,
today support for President Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas in
Nicaragua is stronger than ever. In Venezuela, under enormous pressure,
as the Empire continues to unleash the full extent of its
destabilization arsenal on this nation-state, the Bolivarian revolution
has survived, In Bolivia, following the US-backed
electoral/constitutional coup that forced President Evo Morales from
office, the Movement Towards Socialism party that he led, is back in
power. In Haiti, Colombia, Brazil, Peru and across the region, the
resistance continues.</p>
<p><strong>‘Look for me in the whirlwind…’<br>
</strong>What the imperialists fail to understand is that the Caribbean
and the Americas have an extraordinary legacy of resistance that has
unleashed an historical revolutionary continuum that they can never
defeat. Revolutionary leader, Maurice Bishop asked, “When will
imperialism learn?” He went on to explain that, “they can kill our
bodies but they can never kill the spirit of a people fighting for their
liberation…”</p>
<p>In 1987, addressing revolutionaries from the Caribbean and the
Americas gathered at the World Mathaba in Libya, Muammar Qaddafi alluded
to this impressive and defiant legacy, stating, “I have the feeling
that the new world will begin in your region. It is there that the new
outlines that will shape the world – outlines that correspond to our
aspirations – shall be etched out.”</p>
<p>There can be no doubt that the spirit of Tupac Amaru, Agüeybaná II,
Hatuey, Cuauhtémoc, Cahuide, Guaicaipuro, Lautaro, Dessalines,
L’Ouverture, Boukman, Bolivar, Marti, Sandino, Bussa, Kofi, Atta, Bogle,
Nanny, Makandal, Garvey, Guevara, Castro, Allende, Bishop and so many
others rage on. Marcus Garvey told us to look for him “in the whirlwind
or the storm, look for me all around you, for, with God’s grace, I shall
come and bring with me countless millions of Black slaves who have died
in America and the West Indies and the millions in Africa to aid you in
the fight for Liberty, Freedom and Life.” It brings to mind the ancient
phrase: “They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.”</p>
<p><a href="https://orinocotribune.com/defending-latin-americas-resistance-axis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RELATED CONTENT: Defending Latin America’s Resistance Axis</a></p>
<p><strong>Exhausted playbook</strong><br>
The most recent attempt to destabilize Cuba simply illustrates just how
exhausted the imperialist playbook is—floods of hashtags, bots,
automated trolls, doctored photographs and videos, large cash payments
to insignificant counter-revolutionary groups etc. The oppressed masses
throughout the Caribbean and the Americas know exactly what is going on.
In 2021, there is no nation on earth not facing huge challenges, let
alone a nation that has withstood more than 60 years of harsh and
comprehensive economic sanctions. Cuba’s survival under such harsh and
intolerable conditions, is proof of the resolve and resilience of the
Cuban people and the revolution they gave birth to. No matter how high
the price they are forced to pay, they refuse to surrender their
God-given right to true independence, dignity and self-determination.
There can be no doubt that the Cubans have come too far to turn back,
and will resolve their own issues and challenges on their own terms.</p>
<p><strong>Declaration of war</strong><br>
On July 22nd, when Biden intensified the embargo by introducing new
sanctions targeting individual Cuban officials and entities, he declared
war. Sasha Tirador, a well-known Miami based counter-revolutionary,
exclaimed, “This is huge!”</p>
<p>Another high profile and outspoken Miami based counter-revolutionary,
Orlando Gutíerrez-Boronat and Miami mayor, Francis Suarez, called for
US airstrikes on the island-nation.</p>
<p>Contributing to the war-room like discourse, in an interview with
MSNBC, Marco Rubio commented that “at the end of the day, the key…is to
go after the loyalty and the confidence of those in the security
apparatus in Cuba.”</p>
<p>The Biden administration is doing everything it can to provide
internet access to the Cuban people to “circumvents the regime’s
censorship efforts.” This is rich, coming from a US administration that
is tagging what it considers to be “inappropriate messages” on Facebook
for referral to Facebook management. The US State has, in effect, become
an extension of Facebook in its attempts to censor.</p>
<p>In a clear directive to US partners in the region, Biden, referring
to Cuba, Venezuela and others, said that “advancing human dignity and
freedom is a top priority” for his administration, and the US would work
closely with its “partners throughout the region” to achieve these
goals. And there they were, US military helicopters flying overhead in
in Guyana, not far from the Venezuelan border, as part of Operation
Tradewinds.</p>
<p>Never tiring of hypocrisy, Biden of course is speaking as president
of a country with the largest incarcerated prison population on earth,
including many political prisoners, where censorship and State-sponsored
disinformation has become the order of the day, where the entire
population, and in particular dissidents, are targeted for Orwellian
type surveillance, and where demonstrations are put down with brutal
militaristic force. Nowhere on earth is the “fascistization” of the
State more evident than in the US of A.</p>
<p><strong>#UnBlockCuba</strong><br>
We must intensify our fight back. Words, resolutions and statements of
solidarity are important but not enough. Revolutionary and progressive
forces across the Caribbean and the Americas must mobilize and organize a
mass movement around just one single demand that we can all agree on:
An immediate end to the United States illegal embargo on Cuba.</p>
<p>We must call on our progressive and revolutionary brothers and
sisters worldwide to take up this campaign with such thunder that the
Empire comes under pressure to relent. Only then can we demonstrate that
there is indeed an alternative, and that we are determined to defend
that alternative.</p>
<p>Revolutionary Pan-Africanist and socialist, Kwame Ture said, “When
Africa called, Cuba answered.” He was of course not only referring to
the medical brigades and other humanitarian assistance, but also to
Cuba’s unprecedented military assistance in the fight against the South
African Apartheid regime, and the decisive battle at Cuito Cuanavale.
Now, when after six decades of illegal sanctions that have crippled Cuba
economically, and are fomenting unrest among Cuba’s youth, as they were
designed to do, Cuba is calling. Let us answer with a resounding and
sustained campaign of resistance until the illegal embargo is lifted. In
doing so, we will send a definitive message to the US rogue regime,
that in the words of Grenadian freedom fighter, Maurice Bishop, “we are
in nobody’s backyard.”</p>
<p><em>Gerald A. Perreira is leader of Organization for the Victory of
the People based in Guyana. He is an executive member of the Caribbean
Chapter of the Network for the Defense of Humanity and the Caribbean
Pan-African Network (CPAN). He can be reached at </em><a href="mailto:mojadi94@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>mojadi94@gmail.com</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<p><em>Featured image: Guyana Defense Force soldiers in training
exercise with US army personnel as part of Operation Tradewinds, June,
2021.</em></p>
<p>(<a href="https://countercurrents.org/2021/07/in-nobodys-backyard-rejecting-geo-political-and-historical-fatalism/?fbclid=IwAR2mMduyay1UEJYy0GdKeL4Erz83X2r0qfTBy5GgopFQeL0yWtopV4UeQfk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Countercurrents</a>)</p>
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