<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body
style="margin:0;padding:0;min-width:100%;background-color:#ffffff;line-height:1.6;">
<div class="moz-forward-container"><br>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="x-apple-disable-message-reformatting">
<!--[if (!mso)|(IE)]><meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge" /><![endif]-->
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,
initial-scale=1.0">
<link rel="stylesheet"
href="https://afgj.salsalabs.org/public/styles/sli-emails.css">
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]><style type="text/css"> table {border-collapse: collapse;} </style><![endif]-->
<style type="text/css"></style>
<style type="text/css">#sli {max-width: 600px; margin: 0px auto; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0em; }.sli-element, .sli-element td, .sli-email-element, .sli-email-element td {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }.sli-element a, .sli-email-element a, .sli-unsubscribe a {color: rgb(152, 0, 0); }.button,.email-button {background: rgb(152, 0, 0); color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-color: #222222; border-radius: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: none; }.sli-divider {background: none; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(255, 165, 0); height: 1px; width: 100%; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; }.outer {max-width: 600px; }.three-column .column {max-width: 200px; }.two-column .column {max-width: 300px; }.webkit {max-width: 600px; }.callout {background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-radius: 0px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid ;padding: 1em; }.callout,.callout-without-border-bg {color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }img { max-width: 100%; }</style>
<!--[if mso]> <style> body {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); } body {mso-line-height-rule: exactly !important; line-height: 150% !important;} .column {width: 100% !important;} td td table.sli-email-button-table-inner {width: auto !important;} td td table.sli-email-button-table-outer {width: auto !important;}</style> <![endif]-->
<center class="wrapper"
style="width:100%;table-layout:fixed;-webkit-text-size-adjust:100%;-ms-text-size-adjust:100%;">
<table id="sli-background" width="100%" cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="webkit" id="sli"
style="max-width:600px;margin:0px
auto;background-color:#ffffff;padding:0em;width:600px;">
<div>
<div
style="color:transparent;visibility:hidden;opacity:0;font-size:0px;border:0;max-height:1px;width:1px;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-width:0px!important;display:none!important;line-height:0px!important;"><img
src="https://default.salsalabs.org/X2f449b05-5683-4aa3-845e-6a6924409da7/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
moz-do-not-send="true"> </div>
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]><table width="600px" align="center"><tr><td><![endif]-->
<table class="outer"
style="max-width:600px;margin:0
auto;width:100%;border-width:0;padding:0;"
cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
align="center">
<tbody>
<tr
id="id_f5eb6478-58fe-44d5-8cb7-930c4a15f347"
style="border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td class="one-column"
style="overflow:auto;">
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]><table width="100%"><tr><![endif]-->
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]><td width="600.0" valign="top"><![endif]-->
<table class="column sli-medium-12
sli-small-12 sli-col-1"
style="border-width:0;padding:0;width:100%;max-width:600px;"
width="100%" cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" align="left">
<tbody>
<tr
style="border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td class="inner"
style="border-width:0;padding:10px
!important;overflow-x:auto;">
<table class="contents"
id="id_3affbeca-96e8-43df-89f8-fa83052270a4"
style="border-width:0;padding:0;border-collapse:separate;border-spacing:0
10px;text-align:left;width:100% !important;" cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-text"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;border-width:0;padding:0;">
<table
style="display:table;"
width="100%"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody
style="display:table-row-group;">
<tr
style="display:table-row;">
<td
id="id_b2c5650e-af4c-4aaa-9a53-489b88884a0d"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;display:table-cell;">
<p
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;">
<span
style="font-size:18px"><strong>September
7th, 2023</strong></span>
</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-text"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;border-width:0;padding:0;">
<table
style="display:table;"
width="100%"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody
style="display:table-row-group;">
<tr
style="display:table-row;">
<td
id="id_b4cff6d1-a5c9-4a8f-a980-6a5d6919b29c"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;display:table-cell;padding:0em
0em 0em
0em;border-color:#000000;border-width:0px;border-style:none;border-radius:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:center;background-attachment:scroll;background-size:cover;max-width:100%;height:auto;margin-left:0;margin-right:auto;float:none;clear:both;">
<h1
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:.5em 0;border:none;text-align:center;"><a
config="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"
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/Tf6f7aa3e-2b83-4dd8-a6ed-e52479c00ba3/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
track="true"
lid="f6f7aa3e-2b83-4dd8-a6ed-e52479c00ba3"
target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true"><b>Elliott Abrams and the People of Central
America: Never
Forget!</b></a>
</h1>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> <i>By
James Phillips</i>
</p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> <i><span
style="background:white">(James Phillips is a cultural and political
anthropologist
who has lived
in Nicaragua
and Honduras
and has
studied
Central
America for
many years.
His latest
book is: </span></i><a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T56869a23-944a-4379-a103-90f7a7083f6e/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="56869a23-944a-4379-a103-90f7a7083f6e" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true"><i><span style="background:white">Extracting
Honduras:
Resource
Exploitation,
Displacement,
and Forced
Migration</span></i></a><i><span
style="background:white">.)</span></i> </p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-image"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td
id="id_55660573-3401-448f-a61f-834fd0c5506c"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;border-width:0;padding:0;overflow:hidden;"
align="center">
<table class="media"
style="overflow:hidden;zoom:1;width:100%;margin-top:0;"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;display:table-cell;width:50%;overflow:hidden;">
<div
style="overflow:hidden;">
<img
entity-id="b25e1f23-0a9c-4534-8ba5-a51611f9290d"
id="id_55660573-3401-448f-a61f-834fd0c5506c_img" max-width="544" alt=""
style="max-width:100%;border:0;display:block;float:none;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:100%;"
class="
media-object"
src="https://default.salsalabs.org/2f449b05-5683-4aa3-845e-6a6924409da7/b25e1f23-0a9c-4534-8ba5-a51611f9290d.png"
moz-do-not-send="true" width="580" align="middle"> </div>
<div
class="media-body
media-body-center" style="overflow:hidden;zoom:1;text-align:center;">
<p
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;text-align:center;">
<em>As
Reagan’s
Assistant
Secretary of
State for
Inter-American
Affairs,
Abrams was
largely
responsible
for policies
and practices
that created
murder,
mayhem, and
misery in
Central
America.
Photo: NDLON</em>
</p>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-text"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;border-width:0;padding:0;">
<table
style="display:table;"
width="100%"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody
style="display:table-row-group;">
<tr
style="display:table-row;">
<td
id="id_90dc844e-eb98-4f66-8caf-3fd7b49df9d3"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;display:table-cell;padding:0em
0em 0em
0em;border-color:#000000;border-width:0px;border-style:none;border-radius:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:center;background-attachment:scroll;background-size:cover;max-width:100%;height:auto;margin-left:0;margin-right:auto;float:none;clear:both;">
<div
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="text-align:start">
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> Elliott
Abrams is
being
considered for
a position on
the State
Department’s
Advisory
Commission on
Public
Diplomacy.
According to
its <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/Tb9edaf1d-eda9-4f05-86b9-51be13778a11/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="b9edaf1d-eda9-4f05-86b9-51be13778a11" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">website<span style="text-underline:none">,</span></a>
the
Commission’s
work is
“appraising
U.S.
government
activities
intended to
understand,
inform, and
influence
foreign
publics and to
increase the
understanding
of, and
support for,
these same
activities.”
What this
neutral
sounding
language means
in practice is
whatever it
takes to
extend and
maintain U.S.
control of
other
countries. The
<a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/Td57d835b-7efd-4af6-9f11-99a7ce67121c/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="d57d835b-7efd-4af6-9f11-99a7ce67121c" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">activities of Elliott Abrams over the past forty
years</a>
provide some
of the worst
examples of
this mission,
and of a
blatant
disregard for
the
sovereignty,
rights, and
lives of
others. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> <b>To
send email
messages to
President
Biden and your
Senators
opposing the
Elliott Abrams
nomination, </b><a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T097583ea-0549-44cf-a937-abd611569598/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="097583ea-0549-44cf-a937-abd611569598" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true"><b>click here</b></a><b>! </b> </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> Abrams’
entire career
in public
office has
been guided by
his apparent
belief that
the killing,
torture, and
misery of any
number of
Latin
Americans (and
others) is
justified in
the name of
protecting the
"security' of
the United
States. This
is the essence
of the
so-called <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T0d1ba31b-a31c-454d-a967-874dd2fa5989/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="0d1ba31b-a31c-454d-a967-874dd2fa5989" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">National Security Doctrine </a>that was employed
by all of the
violent
military
dictatorships
of Latin
America in the
1970s and
1980s. It was
and remains
very much a
central part
of the
thinking of
many in the
U.S.
government,
such as Mr.
Abrams. The
"security"
justification
in this
context was
and is a lie,
an excuse for
eliminating
all dissent
and extending
control over a
population. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> As
Assistant
Secretary of
State for
Inter-American
Affairs,
Abrams was
largely
responsible
for policies
and practices
that created
murder,
mayhem, and
misery in
Central
America, and
that still
haunt the
region today,
largely
because people
like Abrams
are still in
positions of
influence in
Washington.
“These same
guys that
caused so much
misery in the
1980s are
still walking
the streets
freely,” a
Honduran woman
told me after
the 2009 coup
in her
country. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> In the
early 1980s,
Abrams helped
to oversee the
Guatemalan
Army’s
genocide of
four hundred
Mayan villages
where men,
women, and
children were
systematically
slaughtered.
Because the
authors of <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/Tcbfaa896-e271-4cc1-8859-71d6378869cf/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="cbfaa896-e271-4cc1-8859-71d6378869cf" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">this genocide</a> remained in power, it took
decades to
bring anyone
to justice for
this <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T3c032af0-e419-48c9-b22a-f76d824bf617/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="3c032af0-e419-48c9-b22a-f76d824bf617" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">atrocity<span style="text-underline:none">. </span></a> Abrams
and the Reagan
Administration
continued to
support the
genocidal
Guatemalan
military in
the face of
international
condemnation.
</p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> Abrams
had a large
hand in
directing U.S.
policy in El
Salvador, in
the 1980s,
when the
country’s
military
engaged in a
long and
brutal series
of
assassinations
and massacres,
with the
excuse of
guarding the
nation against
the
“communist”
insurgency of
the Farabundo
Marti National
Liberation
Front (FMLN).
The most
infamous
example
occurred in
the community
of <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T7a5284b4-c490-4877-9d8b-7bb8830500d6/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="7a5284b4-c490-4877-9d8b-7bb8830500d6" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">El Mozote</a>, where the Salvadoran military
massacred
1,000 innocent
people for
allegedly
aiding the
FMLN. The
government and
the military
adopted the
assassination
tool that came
to be known as
the <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/Tb78d8cbc-b23a-47f6-998b-fcbaaa6c93ab/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="b78d8cbc-b23a-47f6-998b-fcbaaa6c93ab" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">“death squad,”</a> (<i>esquadrón de la muerte</i>),
that was
widely used
also in
Honduras and
Guatemala. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> The
Salvador
military also
targeted
progressive
sectors of the
Catholic
Church,
assassinating
Archbishop
Oscar Romero,
several
priests, four
U.S. church
women, six
Jesuit faculty
of the
University of
Central
America in San
Salvador and
their
housekeeper
and her
daughter, and
an unknown
number of
Delegates of
the Word and
other lay
church
leaders. It
was said that
the military
trained to the
chant of ”Be a
patriot, kill
a priest.” At
this time, El
Salvador was
the third
largest
recipient of
U.S. military
and economic
aid (behind
only Israel
and Egypt).
U.S.
Representative
Joe Moakley
(D-MA) led a
Congressional
fact-finding
delegation and
issued a <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T5dc0cc42-8861-49df-aa51-f150996695a0/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="5dc0cc42-8861-49df-aa51-f150996695a0" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">report</a> that was a scathing denunciation of
the use of
U.S. aid for
the Salvadoran
military
engaged in
such human
rights
disasters. In
response,
Abrams applied
his talents as
a spin-master
to excuse and
whitewash
these
atrocities. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> With
Abrams, in the
1980s the
Reagan
Administration
worked to make
Honduras its
most reliable
<a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T0fef0e86-af65-49a9-8057-129b01dfeb60/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="0fef0e86-af65-49a9-8057-129b01dfeb60" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">colony and the platform for U.S. intervention</a>
and control of
the region.
The U.S.
military
expanded its
presence in
the country
and its close
working
relationship
with the
Honduran
military. Many
Hondurans
today recall
that as one of
the worst
periods of
political
repression in
the country’s
history.
Student
activists,
labor leaders,
and others
were
disappeared
and often
found dead and
mutilated.
Military
roadblocks
were
everywhere;
soldiers
checked
everyone
riding on
public
transportation.
Young men were
systematically
rounded up and
jailed,
disappeared,
or forced into
the Honduran
military. The
Honduran
Army’s <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/Tc7b6087e-e0f3-495b-8258-40d37d7692d5/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="c7b6087e-e0f3-495b-8258-40d37d7692d5" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">Battalion 316 </a>became notorious as a death
squad used to
assassinate
leading
critics of the
U.S. or of the
neoliberal
economy the
government was
developing. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> Under
pressure from
the Reagan
Administration,
the Honduran
government and
the army
allowed the
south of the
country, along
the Nicaraguan
border, to be
turned into a
safe zone
where U.S.
trainers,
supplies, and
advisers were
funneled to
Contra camps,
and where
Contra
officers
recruited
young men
among the
Nicaraguan
refugees in
the large
refugee camp
near
Jacaleapa. The
Honduran
government was
not always
comfortable
with the U.S.
using the
country as the
staging point
for war
against
Honduras’
neighbors,
especially
Nicaragua.
When the
Nicaraguan
army chased
some Contra
forces out of
northern
Nicaragua and
back into
Honduras, the
U.S.
government
spread <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T54abcdee-442c-4246-a6de-8c02a00d7b93/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="54abcdee-442c-4246-a6de-8c02a00d7b93" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">the story that Nicaragua was invading Honduras</a>.
When asked
about this,
Honduran
President
Azcona denied
that there was
any Nicaraguan
invasion. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> Abrams
was adept at
peddling fear
as a weapon. I
could not find
many people in
Honduras who
really
believed
Abrams and
Reagan when
they lied that
Sandinista
Nicaragua was
preparing to
invade
Honduras and
turn it into a
communist
dictatorship.
In neighboring
Nicaragua,
however,
everyone lived
with the fear
that the
United States
would invade
Nicaragua at
any moment. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> Under the
Reagan
Administration,
Abrams was one
of the chief
agents in
organizing,
funding, and
sustaining the
Contra War in
which the
United States
used legal and
illegal means
to fund, arm,
train, and
advise the
Nicaraguan
Contra forces
to destroy the
Sandinista-led
popular
revolution. In
1979, that
revolution had
finally
toppled the
45-year
dictatorship
of the Somoza
family that
had brutally
ruled
Nicaragua with
the blessing
of eight U.S.
Administrations from Franklin Roosevelt to Jimmy Carter. By 1981, Reagan
and his posse
were
determined to
topple the
revolution.
Abrams lent
his skills
enthusiastically
to this
effort. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/Td8957f22-9498-4d19-8a67-a7e2fbed4c5a/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="d8957f22-9498-4d19-8a67-a7e2fbed4c5a" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">The Iran-Contra Affair</a> shows how far-reaching
and cynical
were the
efforts of
Abrams and his
associates.
The Reagan
Administration
secretly
brokered an
illegal deal
to sell
weapons to the
Islamic
revolutionary
government of
Iran, the same
government
that Reagan
was publicly
denouncing as
an evil and
repressive
regime seeking
to destabilize
the Middle
East. The
money from the
sale of these
arms was then
used to
illegally fund
the equipping,
training, and
support of the
emerging
Contra forces
on the border
between
Honduras and
Nicaragua.
When
questioned
about this by
the 1987 <span
style="background:white">Iran-Contra </span>Congressional investigative
committee,
Abrams lied,
but he managed
to avoid
actual
prosecution
and returned
to a position
of influence
in the
Administration.
<span
style="background:white">In
1991, he
pleaded guilty
to two
offenses of
lying to
Congress. He
was pardoned
by President
George H. W.
Bush.</span> </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> <b>To
send email
messages to
President
Biden and your
Senators
opposing the
Elliott Abrams
nomination, </b><a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T159999c1-d8bf-4474-bddf-f97aa29e48b9/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="159999c1-d8bf-4474-bddf-f97aa29e48b9" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true"><b>click here</b></a><b>! </b> </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> Abrams
and his
associates
also found
another
(illegal and
destructive)
way to fund
the Contra
war. In August
1996, Pulitzer
Prize-winning
journalist
Gary Webb
stunned the
world with a
series of
articles in
the <i>San
Jose Mercury
News </i>reporting
the results of
his year-long
investigation
into the roots
of the crack
cocaine
epidemic in
the United
States,
specifically
in Los
Angeles. The
series,
entitled “Dark
Alliance,”
revealed that
for the better
part of the
1980s a Bay
Area drug ring
sold tons of
cocaine to Los
Angeles street
gangs and
funneled
millions in
drug profits
to the
CIA-backed
Nicaraguan
Contras. This
arrangement
helped to
destroy the
lives of
people in Los
Angeles
neighborhoods
and the lives
of Nicaraguan
peasants
thousands of
miles away. A
<a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/Td594dac7-160f-43fe-a3bd-9e93ede05c23/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="d594dac7-160f-43fe-a3bd-9e93ede05c23" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">Justice Department investigation </a>confirmed
much of Webb’s
findings. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> The
strategy of
the Nicaraguan
Contras was
shaped and
directed by
Abrams and
others who
referred to it
as
“low-intensity
conflict.” It
was anything
but
low-intensity
for the
Nicaraguan
people who
lived through
the nightmare.
The strategy
was to target
not the
Nicaraguan
Sandinista
army but
rather the
civilian
population,
especially the
small farmers
and peasants
in hundreds of
rural
communities
throughout the
country; to
make life
unbearable so
that the
people would
turn against
the Sandinista
government or
be unable to
support it. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> The CIA
wrote and
distributed to
Contra
soldiers and
others a <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T648221a1-d3de-4da8-84fe-10613d318651/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="648221a1-d3de-4da8-84fe-10613d318651" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">how-to manual </a>for performing acts of
sabotage
against daily
life,
especially
anything that
was related to
the Nicaraguan
government. It
was a manual
on how to
conduct
“psychological
operations” to
terrorize the
Nicaraguan
population.
CIA Director
William Casey
defended the
manual as an
“educational”
tool. When
Nicaragua
brought a <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T099d6f80-62eb-420d-adf5-6dbe651c9e4f/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="099d6f80-62eb-420d-adf5-6dbe651c9e4f" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">case against the U.S. in the World Court </a>in
1984, the
manual was one
piece of the
evidence
against the
Reagan
Administration.
The World
Court directed
the U.S. to
pay Nicaragua
for damages
caused by the
war, but the
Reagan
Administration
ignored the
Court. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> I was in
Nicaragua
during the
Contra War,
witnessing and
documenting
its effects in
rural
communities.
Putting aside
all of the
bureaucratic
and political
rhetoric of
the
instigators in
far-away
Washington,
this is what
the Contra War
was like for
so many
Nicaraguan
communities.
This
description of
one out of
hundreds of
such incidents
is taken
almost
verbatim from
my field notes
written at the
time. The
names are
real, not
pseudonyms; I
think these
people should
be remembered.
</p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> At 7 p.m.
on the night
of May 20,
1986, Contra
forces
attacked the
small rural
community of
Teodosio
Pravia (twelve
families),
east of the
city of
Estelí. A
small group of
Nicaraguan
army soldiers
and local men
held off the
full Contra
attack until
most of the
women and
children could
flee up the
hill on a path
in the dark to
the
neighboring
community of
Sandino
(fifteen
families). The
Contra forces
swept into
Pravia,
capturing one
woman and
holding her as
a human
shield. They
burned to
ashes almost a
dozen wooden
houses, two
storage sheds
full of seed
potatoes, and
the
schoolhouse.
</p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> Then they
turned their
attention to
the Sandino
community.
They attacked
with mortars
and grenades,
shooting and
looting
houses.
Hermida
Talavera, 12,
and her
brother
Rafael, 10,
were in the
house of their
cousin Jesus,
15, when a
mortar shell
struck the
roof. It is
uncertain
whether the
three children
were killed by
the bursting
shell, the
collapse of
the roof, or
the grenade
that a Contra
soldier threw
into the
house. When I
visited the
scene a few
days later, I
saw the blood
of the three
children
splattered on
the wall of
the house. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> Silivio
Chavarria, a
Ministry of
Agrarian
Reform worker
with a wife
and children
in Estelí,
happened to be
in Sandino
community that
night after he
and his work
partner,
Julio, had
spent the day
working with
the people. A
Contra soldier
threw a
grenade that
injured
Silvio’s leg
so he could
not move.
After the
attack, his
badly
mutilated body
was found.
Some people
said they
heard screams
that night and
thought he
might have
been tortured.
When I visited
Julio a few
days later in
Estelí, he
recounted
these details
about Silvio.
Julio himself
was injured;
his leg
bandaged. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> The
Contras also
killed Marta
Tinoco, 21, a
Nicaraguan
Army soldier
and daughter
of peasant
farmers, and
they destroyed
the
communications
radio she was
using to call
for help. They
killed a
Nicaraguan
army
lieutenant,
Marco
Cascante, and
two Ministry
of Housing
workers who
were in the
community
helping to
build
houses—Juan
Francisco
Lumbi and
Concepción
López Vargas.
In all, eight
were killed,
including six
civilians,
three of whom
were children.
Sixteen others
in the
communities
were injured,
and more might
have been
killed if they
had not
managed to
escape into
the forest in
the dark. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> The
Contra forces
also destroyed
or damaged at
least fourteen
houses, three
storehouses,
several
thousand
pounds of seed
potatoes, a
schoolhouse,
and three
trucks
belonging to
the Ministry
of Housing.
They
slaughtered
animals
belonging to
community
members,
looted
personal
belongings and
small personal
savings, and
took an
estimated ten
thousand
dollars (seven
million
Córdobas) the
Sandino
community had
gotten from
the sale of
potatoes. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> When I
visited, it
was a scene of
bizarre
devastation.
Bullet holes,
blood, dead
animals. In
the mud beside
a path was a
basket of
eggs. A
picture of the
Virgin Mary
was propped up
against a
wooden post
outside the
blood-stained
wall of a
destroyed
house. People
said a Contra
soldier
carefully
removed the
picture before
he shot up and
grenaded the
house. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> Officials
at the U.S.
Embassy in
Managua had
been searching
for a way to
rationalize
this attack.
They said in a
statement that
communities
such as
Sandino and
Pravia are
“militarized
if not
actually
military
targets.”
Apparently
seed potatoes
are a threat
to national
security. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> Why does
all this
matter now?
Elliott
Abrams’
appointment at
this time to
the State
Department
Advisory
Commission on
Public Policy
is not a
coincidence.
Despite his
past and
recent efforts
and the
enormous
damage they
caused, his
work is not
complete; the
U.S. empire is
not “secure.”
The revolution
continues in
Nicaragua, the
Guatemalan and
Honduran
peoples have
elected
reformist
democratic
governments
that pose a
threat to the
established
network of
resource
extraction,
corruption,
and repression
that the U.S.
has supported
in these
countries.
Abrams would
be
instrumental
in efforts to
assure “regime
change,”
ensuring the
continued
colonization
of Honduras
and Guatemala,
and destroying
the “threat of
a good
example” in
Nicaragua, a
country that,
has
experienced <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T796f6956-cfe6-48e1-b615-3bc502d04900/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="796f6956-cfe6-48e1-b615-3bc502d04900" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">continual improvements </a>in many basic
services,
infrastructure,
and conditions
of daily life,
despite heavy
economic
sanctions
imposed by the
U.S. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> We are
witnessing an
intense
negative news
and propaganda
campaign in
which
Nicaragua is
cast as a
brutal
dictatorship
that represses
human rights,
religion, and
all political
expression.
This media
campaign makes
ample use of
distortions of
fact, outright
fabrications
of “truth,”
and erasure of
any context
that might
allow us to
evaluate
events
clearly. It
has succeeded
in dividing
solidarity for
Nicaragua and
polarizing
attitudes
towards the
Sandinista
government in
general and
Daniel Ortega
in particular.
Any action by
the Nicaraguan
government to
respond to
provocation
and threat is
denounced as
brutal or
extreme. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> The
Nicaraguan
government’s
measured
response to
the uprising
of April 2018
was denounced
in Washington
and the
mainstream
media as an
extreme
repression of
an uprising
that was
painted as
“peaceful.”
despite ample
evidence that
it was
anything but
peaceful. An <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/Tc52585c2-cdc0-4051-9d3b-48666d7ffe92/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="c52585c2-cdc0-4051-9d3b-48666d7ffe92" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">alternative narrative </a>from eyewitnesses in
Nicaragua
paints a very
different
picture of
events, a
narrative that
the U.S. has
tried very
hard to
suppress and
keep out of
the media.
Elliott
Abrams’
special
talents would
lend
themselves
perfectly to
this ongoing
effort to
undermine and
remove Ortega
and the
Sandinistas
from power,
again as in
the 1980s, to
thwart the
will of a
people and
substitute the
will of the
U.S.
government in
its
place—regime
change and
forms of
intervention
by any means
at any cost. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> As for
Honduras, the
new government
of Xiomara
Castro is
facing
enormous <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T7ef13087-6c6a-4416-aec4-5f0d0519cca0/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="7ef13087-6c6a-4416-aec4-5f0d0519cca0" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">dilemmas</a> as it tries to repair the damage
done to the
country by its
predecessor
and to
dismantle the
entrenched web
of corruption
of the past
decade. But
the U.S. has
issued veiled
and more
direct
warnings to
the Castro
government. A
campaign of
increased
violence and
negative
criticism is
underway, and
Castro is
under enormous
pressure to
abandon most
of her
election
promises of
reform. Here
also, Abrams
would be in an
excellent
position to
help ensure
that the
Honduran
government
answers to the
demands of
U.S. economic
interests
rather than
the needs of
the Honduran
people. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> The
larger issue
in all of this
is not any
single person,
even Elliott
Abrams. The
same mindset
that helped
orchestrate
the genocide
in Guatemala,
the murders of
Church people
in El
Salvador, the
death squads
and
militarized
state in
Honduras, and
the Contra War
in Nicaragua
is still
infecting
Washington.
Some of its
purveyors are
still in
place, shaping
and effecting
policy and
practice. A
real step to
security for
the US and the
hemisphere
would be to
bar people
like Elliott
Abrams from
holding any
office or
responsibility
in any level
of government
anywhere. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> <b>For
more
information
and to send
email messages
to President
Biden and your
Senators
opposing the
Elliott Abrams
nomination, </b><a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/Ta8887f41-b3d4-47c3-8230-4ed3048df625/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="a8887f41-b3d4-47c3-8230-4ed3048df625" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true"><b>click here</b></a><b>! </b> </p>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-divider-element"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;border-width:0;padding:0;">
<table width="100%"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td
id="id_199173ab-6ead-4b0d-b4b4-dfed5cc43965"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;padding:1em
0em 1em 0em;">
<div
class="sli-divider"
style="background:none;border-bottom:1px solid
rgb(255,165,0);height:1px;width:100%;margin:0px
0px 0px 0px;">
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-text"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;border-width:0;padding:0;">
<table
style="display:table;"
width="100%"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody
style="display:table-row-group;">
<tr
style="display:table-row;">
<td
id="id_e66f8433-2051-4ec8-b2c1-dc9ee5a49592"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;display:table-cell;padding:0em
0em 0em
0em;border-color:#000000;border-width:0px;border-style:none;border-radius:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:center;background-attachment:scroll;background-size:cover;max-width:100%;height:auto;margin-left:0;margin-right:auto;float:none;clear:both;">
<p
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;">
<b>Briefs<br>
By Nan McCurdy
</b> </p>
<p
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;">
<b>Nicaragua
and China Sign
Free Trade
Agreement</b><br>
A Free Trade
Agreement was
signed on
August 30
between China
and Nicaragua
that will
enter into
force on
January 1,
2024. The two
countries
resumed
diplomatic
relations just
20 months ago,
which has been
enough time
for
delegations
from both
governments to
negotiate the
treaty which
will allow
Nicaragua to
access the
largest market
on the planet
with its
agricultural
and fishing
production,
coffee, dairy
and meat
products,
among others.
In turn, China
will be able
to export to
Nicaragua high
quality
industrial,
electronic and
other
products.
Since China
and Nicaragua
began trade
negotiations
in July 2022,
it has only
taken one year
to finalize
the
negotiations
and reach a
beneficial
result. (<i>Radio
La Primerisima</i>,
30 August
2023) </p>
<p
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;">
<b>Nicaragua
First Central
American
Country to
Export Sugar
to China</b><br>
With the
signing of the
Free Trade
Agreement with
China,
Nicaragua will
be the first
Central
America nation
to export
sugar to
China. Mario
Amador,
general
manager of the
National
Committee of
Sugar
Producers
pointed out
that countries
such as Costa
Rica, which
signed an
agreement with
China a long
time ago, have
not obtained
access to the
Chinese market
to export
sugar. He said
that the
negotiations
went well for
Nicaragua and
the country
was able to
include all
its main
export
products such
as meat,
sugar, coffee
and other
items that
will help
develop
Nicaragua’s
economy. For
the sugar
sector, the
quota is
50,000 tons
paying a 15%
tariff, which
is a good
opportunity.
The tariff
paid by other
nations that
export to
China is 50%;
that is,
Nicaragua has
a 35% tariff
benefit. (<i>Radio
La Primerisima</i>,
1 Sept. 2023)
</p>
<p
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;">
<b>Honoring
Memory of Poet
Rubén Darío</b><br>
The United
Nations
Educational,
Scientific and
Cultural
Organization
(UNESCO)
announced that
the archive
and collection
of the Rubén
Darío House
Museum in León
has been
certified and
incorporated
into the
Memory of the
World Program.
The press
release states
that “the
archive and
collection of
the Rubén
Darío House
Museum has
most of the
personal
objects and
writings of
the Nicaraguan
poet known as
the 'Prince of
Castilian
Letters.’” The
UNESCO Memory
of the World
Program is an
initiative
that seeks to
preserve and
raise public
awareness of
the importance
of world
documentary
heritage. (<i>Nicaragua
News</i>, 5
Sept. 2023) </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> <b>Nicaragua
Leader in
Health
Policies in
Central
America</b><br>
Nicaragua
leads the
Central
American
countries with
the most
public
hospitals and
the second
largest health
budget,
according to a
study of the
region's
health system
carried out in
Honduras. The
study reports
that Nicaragua
has 77 public
hospitals for
a population
of 6,850,540.
Guatemala
follows with
44 hospitals
for 17.11
million people
and Honduras
in third
position, with
31 hospitals,
and a
population of
9.5 million.
El Salvador
has 30
hospitals for
6.3 million
people, and
Costa Rica has
29 hospitals
for 5.1
million
people. <i>(Radio
La Primerisima</i>,
5 Sept. 2023)
</p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> <b>Electricity
Coverage at
99.34%</b><br>
The Minister
of Energy and
Mines Salvador
Mansell
reported that
national
electricity
coverage was
99.341% at the
end of July,
with 70%
generation
based on
renewable
sources.
Mansell said
that "9,906
electrification
projects have
been carried
out over the
last 15 years,
benefiting
3,666,959
people through
coverage that
has expanded
from 54% in
2007 to
99.34%." (<i>Nicaragua
News</i>, 1
Sept. 2023) </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> <b>Contribution
of Solidarity
to Renewable
Energy </b><br>
Representatives of the Climate Change Secretariat and the Ministry of
Energy and
Mines (MEM)
made a site
visit to
evaluate
operations at
the Benjamin
Linder Small
Hydroelectric
Power Plant in
San José de
Bocay,
Jinotega
Department.
The head of
the MEM
Environmental
Unit, Luis
Molina, stated
that “Since
1994 the small
hydroelectric
plant has
provided 190KW
of energy,
benefiting
11,000
inhabitants.
This project
represents the
dream of
murdered
solidarity
worker
Benjamin
Linder to
provide clean
energy to the
population and
is one of the
models for the
entry of
Nicaragua into
the
development of
renewable
energy, which
to date
represents
almost 70% of
the
electricity
produced in
the country."
The
hydroelectric
plant
guarantees a
stable supply
of electricity
to thousands
of families
and
contributes to
the reduction
in use of oil
in keeping
with the
climate change
mitigation
goals of the
country.” (<i>Radio
La Primerisima</i>,
30 August
2023) </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> <b>Indigenous
Community
Leaders
Approve
Actions to
Protect
Environment</b><br>
The leaders of
22 communities
of the Wangki
Maya
Indigenous
territory of
the
municipality
of Waspam,
North
Caribbean,
approved the
continuation
of the
government’s
Integrated
Climate Action
project. This
project
strives to
reduce
deforestation
and strengthen
resilience in
the Bosawas
and Río San
Juan
Biospheres. A
total of 179
people
participated
in the
meeting. To
facilitate the
participation
of women with
children
during the
territorial
assembly, a
day care
center was set
up, attending
129 children.
In addition,
health
personnel
provided 156
consultations.
See photos: <a
href="https://default.salsalabs.org/Tdb05bf6c-e7b7-41ad-9936-b8da35ce23d5/424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
lid="db05bf6c-e7b7-41ad-9936-b8da35ce23d5" track="true" target="_top"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://radiolaprimerisima.com/lideres-de-comunidades-indigenas-aprueban-acciones-para-proteger-medio-ambiente/</a> <i>(Radio
La Primerisima</i>,
1 Sept. 2023)
</p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> <b>National
Police with a
Strong
Revolutionary
Ideology </b><br>
Approaching
its 44<sup>th</sup>
anniversary on
Sept. 5, the
Nicaraguan
National
Police
highlighted
that one of
the
achievements
of the
institution is
peace, the
security of
the population
- manifested
in a rate of
seven
homicides per
100,000
inhabitants,
one of the
lowest in
Latin America
and the world.
Likewise, the
reduction in
robberies and
dangerous
crimes. These
represent less
than 4% of the
crimes (out of
every 100
crimes 96 are
minor or
misdemeanors).
These
achievements
in security
matters are
the result of
government
policies,
strategies,
programs and
plans to
protect the
lives of the
population. </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> The
National
Police is a
new police
institution
that broke
with all the
traditional
schemas. It
was formed
with humble,
revolutionary
young people
who were
creating a
different
model from
other police
forces in the
region. The
Nicaraguan
Police emerged
from the
people, to
serve the
people, with
principles,
values and
ideals that
are preserved
44 years later
and that are
transmitted to
the new
generations.
New units and
Women's Police
Stations
continue to be
built in the
municipalities,
improving
police
services to
the citizens.
The
professional
training
programs
implemented by
the government
continue to be
strengthened,
including: the
Leonel Rugama
University of
Police
Sciences; the
Julio Briceño
Dávila
University of
Medical
Sciences;
Georgino
Andrade Online
High School
and the
Angelita
Morales Avilés
Online
Technical
School. The
National
Police is
planning to
hold its main
anniversary
event on
September 11
and the "Con
la Paz no se
Juega" (Peace
is not a Game)
Parade on
September 12.
Sports
activities are
also planned,
including
softball,
athletics,
volleyball and
soccer
tournaments. (<i>Radio
La Primerisima</i>,
31 August
2023) </p>
<p
class="MsoNoSpacing"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;border:none;"> <b>Guatemala
Executes
Fraudulent
Maneuver
against
Nicaragua</b><br>
On September 2
the Nicaraguan
government
denounced a
maneuver by
Guatemala to
take away
Nicaragua's
right to
assume by
rotation the
Executive
Secretariat of
the Center for
Disaster
Prevention in
Central
America and
the Dominican
Republic. In
the Central
American
Integration
System (SICA),
there are
rules and
procedures
recognized by
the
participating
countries.
Nicaragua
noted that it
is not
possible to
alter the
order of
rotation or
force the
substitution
of one
government for
another, when
it is not a
legitimate
procedure of
SICA. “The
Government of
Nicaragua
formally
denounces this
maneuver that
alters and
eats away at
the legal
framework of
SICA, and
communicates
that it
rejects it as
illegitimate
and contrary
to the
principles,
values and
statutes that
govern and
legally order
the Central
American
Integration
System. We
call upon the
General
Secretariat to
conduct these
processes in
accordance
with the SICA
Rules, and
ensure
compliance
with them.
This maneuver
is
illegitimate,
completely
irregular, and
Nicaragua
condemns it,
protests, and
rejects it and
does not join
consensus.” (<i>Radio
La Primerisima</i>,
2 Sept. 2023)
</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-divider-element"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;border-width:0;padding:0;">
<table width="100%"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td
class="sli-text-center-for-small"
id="id_738f651c-4fda-4342-8b64-a9fed46aa3cb"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;padding:1em
0em 1em
0em;border-color:#000000;border-width:0px;border-style:none;border-radius:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:center;background-attachment:scroll;background-size:cover;max-width:100%;height:auto;float:none;clear:both;">
<div
class="sli-divider"
style="background:none;border-bottom:1px solid
rgb(255,165,0);height:1px;width:100%;margin:0px
0px 0px 0px;">
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-text"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;border-width:0;padding:0;">
<table
style="display:table;"
width="100%"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody
style="display:table-row-group;">
<tr
style="display:table-row;">
<td
id="id_d9d5f8c3-b360-46ba-8392-9a8945bcf981"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;display:table-cell;padding:0em
0em 0em
0em;border-color:#000000;border-width:0px;border-style:none;border-radius:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:center;background-attachment:scroll;background-size:cover;max-width:100%;height:auto;margin-left:0;margin-right:auto;float:none;clear:both;">
<p
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;text-align:center;">Having
trouble
viewing this
email? <a
href="https://afgj.salsalabs.org/nicanotes-09-07-2023?wvpId=424acc16-08a3-4cae-bdf5-0ee8fd652d2e"
ignite-page-id="EMAIL_WEB_VERSION" track="true"
style="color:rgb(152,0,0);overflow-wrap:break-word;word-wrap:break-word;-ms-word-break:break-all;word-break:break-word;"
moz-do-not-send="true">View it in your web browser</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-callout"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;border-width:0;padding:0;">
<table
style="display:table;"
width="100%"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody
style="display:table-row-group;">
<tr
style="display:table-row;">
<td
class="callout-without-border-bg"
id="id_c59e6b10-208f-4823-8780-fefbd9268a5d"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;display:table-cell;background-color:rgb(255,165,0);padding:1em;border-color:rgb(34,34,34);border-width:0px;border-style:none;border-radius:8px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:center;background-attachment:scroll;background-size:cover;max-width:100%;height:auto;margin-left:0;margin-right:auto;float:none;clear:both;overflow-x:hidden;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr
id="id_519ddfdd-964a-475d-a30d-119dc731f100"
style="border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td class="two-column"
style="text-align:center;overflow:auto;width:100%;">
<table class="column sli-medium-6
sli-small-12 sli-col-1"
style="max-width:300px;border-width:0;padding:0;vertical-align:top;width:50%;"
width="100%" cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" align="left">
<tbody>
<tr
style="border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td class="inner"
style="border-width:0;padding:10px
!important;overflow-x:auto;">
<table class="contents"
id="id_6e2e7ad6-3572-41e5-8566-a721474adbf6"
style="border-width:0;padding:0;border-collapse:separate;border-spacing:0
10px;width:100%
!important;text-align:left;"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-social-icons-element"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;text-align:center;margin:1em
0;">
<td
id="id_6b43624a-f44a-42cc-afc1-1578ad2aafbc"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;border-width:0px;padding:0em
0em 0em
0em;border-color:#000000;border-style:none;border-radius:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:center;background-attachment:scroll;background-size:cover;max-width:100%;height:auto;margin-left:0;margin-right:auto;float:none;clear:both;">
<div
class="sli-social-icons-element
sli-element
sli-orientation-HORIZONTAL
sli-iconColors-AUTO
sli-iconSize-MEDIUM
sli-alignment-CENTER" id="id_6b43624a-f44a-42cc-afc1-1578ad2aafbc"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:center;margin:1em
0;">
<table
class="sli-social-icons-list"
style="border-spacing:0;border:0px none;display:table;width:0%
!important;margin:0
auto !important;"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0"
align="center">
<tbody
style="display:table-row-group;border:0px
none;">
<tr
style="display:table-row;border:0px
none;">
<td
class="sli-social-icons-item"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:30px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;display:table-cell;padding:0px
5px;border:0px
none;text-align:center;margin-left:0;"><br>
</td>
<td
class="sli-social-icons-item"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:30px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;display:table-cell;padding:0px
5px;border:0px
none;text-align:center;"><br>
</td>
<td
class="sli-social-icons-item"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:30px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;display:table-cell;padding:0px
5px;border:0px
none;text-align:center;"><br>
</td>
<td
class="sli-social-icons-item"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:30px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;display:table-cell;padding:0px
5px;border:0px
none;text-align:center;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="column sli-medium-6
sli-small-12 sli-col-2"
style="max-width:300px;border-width:0;padding:0;vertical-align:top;width:50%;"
width="100%" cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" align="left">
<tbody>
<tr
style="border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td class="inner"
style="border-width:0;padding:10px
!important;overflow-x:auto;">
<table class="contents"
id="id_ba9ae1d4-715c-40db-9c8e-2ab74ca77ae4"
style="border-width:0;padding:0;border-collapse:separate;border-spacing:0
10px;width:100%
!important;text-align:left;"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-social-icons-element"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;text-align:center;margin:1em
0;">
<td
id="id_f8039788-e2fe-403a-ac97-231118d119ef"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;border-width:0px;padding:0em
0em 0em
0em;border-color:#000000;border-style:none;border-radius:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:center;background-attachment:scroll;background-size:cover;max-width:100%;height:auto;margin-left:0;margin-right:auto;float:none;clear:both;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr
id="id_f0b1648e-a683-437a-9347-6012779af127"
style="border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td class="two-column"
style="text-align:center;overflow:auto;width:100%;margin:0
0;border-color:#000000;border-width:0px;border-style:none;border-radius:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:center;background-attachment:scroll;background-size:cover;">
<table class="column sli-medium-6
sli-small-6 sli-col-1"
style="max-width:300px;border-width:0;padding:0;vertical-align:top;width:50%;"
width="100%" cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" align="left">
<tbody>
<tr
style="border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td class="inner"
style="border-width:0;padding:10px
!important;overflow-x:auto;">
<table class="contents"
id="id_4768f3ee-1142-4894-b3a4-0041f0ae416b"
style="border-width:0;padding:0;border-collapse:separate;border-spacing:0
10px;width:100%
!important;text-align:left;"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-image"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td
id="id_d9b30b48-0db5-4e1a-ba08-706bccb5052b"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;border-width:0;padding:0;overflow:hidden;"
align="center"><img
entity-id="c2a450a3-bfde-4c96-b2da-4f9c93f8bf05"
id="id_d9b30b48-0db5-4e1a-ba08-706bccb5052b_img" max-width="291" alt=""
style="max-width:100%;border:0;display:block;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:39%;"
src="https://default.salsalabs.org/2f449b05-5683-4aa3-845e-6a6924409da7/c2a450a3-bfde-4c96-b2da-4f9c93f8bf05.png"
moz-do-not-send="true" width="109" align="middle"></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]></td><![endif]-->
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]><td width="300.0" valign="top"><![endif]-->
<table class="column sli-medium-6
sli-small-6 sli-col-2"
style="max-width:300px;border-width:0;padding:0;vertical-align:top;width:50%;"
width="100%" cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" align="left">
<tbody>
<tr
style="border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td class="inner"
style="border-width:0;padding:10px
!important;overflow-x:auto;">
<table class="contents"
id="id_f528be77-8c1a-411b-bacd-3b2d733482d6"
style="border-width:0;padding:0;border-collapse:separate;border-spacing:0
10px;width:100%
!important;text-align:left;"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-text sli-orgInfo"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;border-width:0;padding:0;">
<table
style="display:table;"
width="100%"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody
style="display:table-row-group;">
<tr
style="display:table-row;">
<td
id="id_c594fa56-886f-47f7-86f7-034cbad20bd9"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;display:table-cell;">
<h2
style="clear:both;margin:.5em
0;"> Contact
Us </h2>
<p
class="contact-info"
style="clear:both;margin:0;margin-bottom:1.25em;"> Alliance for Global
Justice<br>
225 E 26th St
Ste 1<br>
Tucson,
Arizona 85713<br>
202-540-8336<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:afgj@afgj.org">afgj@afgj.org</a>
</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]></td><![endif]-->
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]></tr></table><![endif]--></td>
</tr>
<tr
id="id_f4e3c0e0-d88a-4fef-b8df-3dc1c8f081dc"
style="border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td class="one-column"
style="overflow:auto;">
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]><table width="100%"><tr><![endif]-->
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]><td width="200.0" valign="top"><![endif]-->
<table class="column sli-medium-4
sli-small-12 sli-col-1"
style="border-width:0;padding:0;width:33.33333%;max-width:200px;"
width="100%" cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" align="center">
<tbody>
<tr
style="border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td class="inner"
style="border-width:0;padding:10px
!important;overflow-x:auto;">
<table class="contents
sli-unsubscribe"
id="id_4b125818-8162-49c7-b663-ada0038327d3"
style="text-align:left;border-width:0;padding:0;border-collapse:separate;border-spacing:0
10px;width:100% !important;"
cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr
class="sli-email-element
sli-html"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);border-width:0;padding:0;">
<td
id="id_d6b0e503-3efa-40a7-9f6b-583d0d72d133"
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:top;text-align:center;border-width:0;padding:0;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]></td><![endif]-->
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]></tr></table><![endif]--></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]></td></tr></table><![endif]-->
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</center>
</div>
</body>
</html>