SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro in an interview with the BBC that aired Tuesday, February 12, 2019. (Image: BBC)
Venezuela's Maduro Denounces Warmongering by 'White Supremacist' Trump and His 'Gang of Extremists' Promoting Fascism Worldwide
The Trump administraion, said the nation's leader, "has encouraged fascist tendencies, the neo-fascists and the neo-Nazis, in the United States, in Europe, and Latin America. It's an extremist grouping that hates the world."
Feb 12, 2019
Calling President Donald Trump a person who is "publicly and openly" a white supremacist and accusing the current U.S. government of being run by a racist "gang of extremists," Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on the people and leaders of the world to speak out against foreign intervention and instead back efforts for the nation to solve its problems peacefully from within.
In an interview with the BBC that aired Tuesday night, Maduro characterized U.S. efforts--including recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as "interim president" and gestures of foreign aid--as part of a "political war of American empire" being pursued by the "interests of the extreme right" (which he equated with the Klu Klux Klan) who are "warmongering in order to take over" his country.
Trump, said Maduro, "has encouraged fascist tendencies, the neo-fascists and the neo-Nazis, in the United States, in Europe, and Latin America. It's an extremist grouping that hates the world. They hate us and they belittle us because they only believe in their own interests and in the interests of the United States."
Watch (with subtitles):
While the U.S. is openly coordinating with the Venezuelan opposition to remove Maduro from power, the embattled president said he views the country already in conflict with hostile external forces, but said "it's a battle that goes further than our country. I call upon the people of the world to wake up, open your eyes to see that it is an aggression against a peaceful country."
While acknowledging that his nation has problems--"like many other countries in the world"--Maduro said "we can only resolve these ourselves peacefully. If you really want to support Venezuela, you have to support peace. Say no to intervention. Tell the United States to keep its hands off Venezuela and that Venezuela should be allowed to resolve its own problems through dialogue."
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Calling President Donald Trump a person who is "publicly and openly" a white supremacist and accusing the current U.S. government of being run by a racist "gang of extremists," Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on the people and leaders of the world to speak out against foreign intervention and instead back efforts for the nation to solve its problems peacefully from within.
In an interview with the BBC that aired Tuesday night, Maduro characterized U.S. efforts--including recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as "interim president" and gestures of foreign aid--as part of a "political war of American empire" being pursued by the "interests of the extreme right" (which he equated with the Klu Klux Klan) who are "warmongering in order to take over" his country.
Trump, said Maduro, "has encouraged fascist tendencies, the neo-fascists and the neo-Nazis, in the United States, in Europe, and Latin America. It's an extremist grouping that hates the world. They hate us and they belittle us because they only believe in their own interests and in the interests of the United States."
Watch (with subtitles):
While the U.S. is openly coordinating with the Venezuelan opposition to remove Maduro from power, the embattled president said he views the country already in conflict with hostile external forces, but said "it's a battle that goes further than our country. I call upon the people of the world to wake up, open your eyes to see that it is an aggression against a peaceful country."
While acknowledging that his nation has problems--"like many other countries in the world"--Maduro said "we can only resolve these ourselves peacefully. If you really want to support Venezuela, you have to support peace. Say no to intervention. Tell the United States to keep its hands off Venezuela and that Venezuela should be allowed to resolve its own problems through dialogue."
Calling President Donald Trump a person who is "publicly and openly" a white supremacist and accusing the current U.S. government of being run by a racist "gang of extremists," Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on the people and leaders of the world to speak out against foreign intervention and instead back efforts for the nation to solve its problems peacefully from within.
In an interview with the BBC that aired Tuesday night, Maduro characterized U.S. efforts--including recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as "interim president" and gestures of foreign aid--as part of a "political war of American empire" being pursued by the "interests of the extreme right" (which he equated with the Klu Klux Klan) who are "warmongering in order to take over" his country.
Trump, said Maduro, "has encouraged fascist tendencies, the neo-fascists and the neo-Nazis, in the United States, in Europe, and Latin America. It's an extremist grouping that hates the world. They hate us and they belittle us because they only believe in their own interests and in the interests of the United States."
Watch (with subtitles):
While the U.S. is openly coordinating with the Venezuelan opposition to remove Maduro from power, the embattled president said he views the country already in conflict with hostile external forces, but said "it's a battle that goes further than our country. I call upon the people of the world to wake up, open your eyes to see that it is an aggression against a peaceful country."
While acknowledging that his nation has problems--"like many other countries in the world"--Maduro said "we can only resolve these ourselves peacefully. If you really want to support Venezuela, you have to support peace. Say no to intervention. Tell the United States to keep its hands off Venezuela and that Venezuela should be allowed to resolve its own problems through dialogue."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
LATEST NEWS
Memo Show Trump Admin Targeted Mahmoud Khalil 'Solely Because It Disagrees With His Speech'
"Controversial speech is not illegal, and political speech that criticizes the Israeli government or U.S. foreign policy is constitutionally protected," said the NYCLU's interim legal director.
Apr 10, 2025
An attorney for former Columbia University student organizer Mahmoud Khalil said Thursday that a memo submitted to an immigration judge shows that the U.S. government "is clearly going after Mahmoud and persecuting him for exercising his First Amendment rights."
"After a month of hiding the ball since Mahmoud's late-night unjust arrest in New York and taking him away to a remote detention center in Louisiana, immigration authorities have finally admitted that they have no case whatsoever against him," the lawyer, Marc Van Der Hout, said in a statement about a two-page memo from the U.S. Deparment of State that was published by The Associated Press.
Plainclothes federal agents accosted Khalil, a green-card holder who finished his graduate studies at Columbia last year, and his pregnant wife—Noor Abdalla, a U.S. citizen—at their building in New York City on March 8 and took him into custody. Abdalla has said that "this felt like a kidnapping because it was," and Khalil calls himself a "political prisoner."
As Van Der Hout explained Thursday: "The government has charged Mahmoud with a rarely used provision of the immigration laws targeting the deportation of even lawful permanent residents like Mahmoud—but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has provided no proof or evidence that these charges bear any viability against Mahmoud. Further, Secretary Rubio has shown that this is merely about targeting Mahmoud's free speech rights about Palestine."
"If anything, this document only underscores the startling escalation of Trump's war on dissent and efforts to remove people who disagree with him or U.S. policy."
The AP noted that "a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, did not respond to questions about whether it had additional evidence against Khalil, writing in an emailed statement, 'DHS did file evidence, but immigration court dockets are not available to the public.'"
Rubio's memo was submitted to Judge Jamee Comans ahead of an immigration court hearing scheduled for Friday in Jena, Louisiana—and after the judge said earlier this week that the federal government "either can provide sufficient evidence or not," and "if he's not removable, I'm going to terminate this case."
The memo suggests campus protests against the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were inherently discriminatory against Jewish people, stating that Rubio determined the activities and presence of Khalil and another lawful permanent resident whose name is redacted "would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest."
"These determinations are based on information... regarding the participation and roles of [redacted] and Khalil in antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States," the memo continues. "The public actions and continued presence of [redacted] and Khalil in the United States undermine U.S. policy to combat antisemitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States."
Van Der Hout said that "an immigration judge would have to find that the secretary of state has 'reasonable ground' to believe that the immigrant's presence or activities in the U.S. 'would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences,' and that his presence—though he has only engaged in lawful conduct that is protected by the First Amendment—'compromise[s] a compelling United States foreign policy interest,' which purportedly justifies the government's ability to override the U.S. Constitution's free speech clause. But Rubio cites no real foreign policy issues or evidence whatsoever, and it is critically important to note that the U.S. government is always constrained by the Constitution, regardless of what its officials might think."
"The two-page memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil" "Rather, Rubio wrote Khalil could be expelled for his beliefs." Free this man immediately. apnews.com/article/mahm...
[image or embed]
— Adil Haque (@adhaque.bsky.social) April 10, 2025 at 2:13 PM
In addition to Van Der Hout's firm, Khalil is represented by Dratel & Lewis, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) project, New York University Immigrants' Rights Clinic, and the national, New Jersey, and New York arms of the ACLU.
Molly Biklen, interim legal director at the NYCLU, said that Rubio's memo "underscores that the government has ripped Mahmoud Khalil from his home and nine-months pregnant wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, solely because it disagrees with his speech. Controversial speech is not illegal, and political speech that criticizes the Israeli government or U.S. foreign policy is constitutionally protected."
The New York Times reported earlier this week that under President Donald Trump, nearly 300 students have had visas revoked and could face deportation. Biklen said that "if anything, this document only underscores the startling escalation of Trump's war on dissent and efforts to remove people who disagree with him or U.S. policy. It's nothing more than a naked attack on all of our free speech rights."
Khalil's immigration case is occurring alongside a federal court battle in New Jersey, where his lawyers are arguing that he has been unlawfully detained. Referencing the latter proceedings, CCR staff attorney Samah Sisay said that the Rubio memo "shows that the secretary of state's determination that Mr. Khalil is deportable is based solely on his free speech activities as he has alleged in his habeas litigation."
"The government has not stated any legitimate foreign policy interest that is negatively impacted by Mr. Khalil but instead erroneously attributes prejudiced views to him for participating in the student encampment at Columbia University and speaking out against the United States' support of Israel's genocide in Gaza," Sisay added. "The government has not met its burden, and Mr. Khalil should be released."
Argentina General Strike Demands End to Milei's 'Chainsaw' Austerity Policies
"The Milei government has picked a fight with workers and pensioners, and now they will feel the full force of organized labor," said one union leader.
Apr 10, 2025
Increasingly fed up with economic policies under which poverty and inflation have soared while vital social services, wages, and the peso have taken huge hits, disaffected Argentinians took to the streets of cities across the South American nation Wednesday for the third general strike of right-wing President Javier Milei's tumultuous 16-month presidency.
Led by the General Confederation of Labor (CGT)—an umbrella group of Argentinian unions—the "paro general," or general stoppage, drew workers, the unemployed, pensioners, educators, students, and others affected by Milei's severe austerity measures and his administration's plans for more deep cuts. Demonstrations continued throughout Thursday.
"In the face of intolerable social inequality and a government that ignores calls for better wages and a dignified standard of living for all, the workers are going on strike," CGT explained ahead of the action.
Airlines canceled hundreds of flights as air traffic controllers and other airport workers joined the strike; many schools, banks, and other offices shut down; and ports, some public transport, and other services ground to a halt.
"The only thing the administration has brought is a wave of layoffs across state agencies, higher poverty rates, and international debts, which are the biggest scam in Argentina's history," the Association of Airline Pilots (APA) said.
Rodolfo Aguiar, secretary general of the Association of State Workers (ATE), said Wednesday that "after this strike, they have to turn off the chainsaw; there's no room for more cuts," a reference to both Milei's ubiquitous campaign prop and his gutting of public programs upon which millions of Argentinians rely.
"Right now, the crisis Argentina is facing is worsening," Aguiar added, warning about government talks with the International Monetary Fund. "The rise in the dollar will quickly translate into food prices, and the new deal with the IMF is nothing more than more debt and more austerity measures."
Milei's government is nearing agreement on a $20 million IMF bailout, a deeply unpopular proposition in a country left reeling by the U.S.-dominated institution's missteps and intentional policies that benefit foreign investors while causing acute suffering for millions of everyday Argentinians. Argentina already owes $44 billion to the IMF.
"We already have experience as Argentinians that no agreement has been beneficial for the people," retiree and striker Rezo Mossetti told Agence France-Press in Buenos Aires Thursday, lamenting that his country keeps getting into "worse and worse" debt.
CGT decided to launch the general strike during a March 20 meeting that followed a pensioner-led March 12 protest outside the National Congress in Buenos Aires. After fringe elements including rowdy soccer fans known as "barrabravas" joined the protests and committed acts of violence and vandalism, police responded by attacking demonstrators with "less-lethal" weapons including water cannons and tear gas. A gas canister struck freelance photojournalist Pablo Grillo in the head, causing a severe brain injury that required urgent surgery.
This, after Argentinian Security Minister Patricia Bullrich invoked controversial measure empowering more aggressive use of force against protesters and rescinding a ban on police use of tear gas canisters. The Security Ministry also filed a criminal complaint dubiously accusing organizers of the March 12 protest of sedition.
Milei and his supporters have portrayed the general strike as a treasonous assault on the fragile Argentinian economy and those taking part in the day of action as lazy and jobless.
When Clarín, the country's largest newspaper, cited a study by the Argentine University of Enterprise claiming that the general strike would cost the national economy around $185 million per day, University of Buenos Aires professor Sergio Wischñevsky retorted: "Very revealing. It means that's the magnitude of the wealth workers produce every day. It's the best argument to stop ignoring workers."
As he has done with past protests against his rule, Milei has also framed the general strike as "an attack against the republic" and repeated his threat that police would "crack down" on demonstrators.
Orwellian use of state infrastructure by Milei's "anarcho-capitalist" gvmnt. in Argentina. As the 36 hr. general strike begins, signs & loudspeakers at train stations across Buenos Aires read: "Attack against the republic! The syndicalist caste punishes millions of Argentines who want to work."
[image or embed]
— Batallon Bakunin ( @batallonbakunin.bsky.social) April 10, 2025 at 4:11 AM
General strikers largely shrugged off the threats of police violence and state repression.
"The right to strike is a worker right and I think there has to be more strikes because the situation with this government is unsustainable," Hugo Velazuez, a 62-year-old worker striking in Buenos Aires, told Reuters.
While the Argentinian mainstream media's coverage of the general strike was largely muted, images posted by independent progressive media showed parts of central Buenos Aires appearing practically empty.
Workers around the world showed solidarity with striking Argentinians.
"The Milei government has picked a fight with workers and pensioners, and now they will feel the full force of organized labor," said Paddy Crumlin, president of the London-based International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), which boasts nearly 20 million members in 677 unions in 149 nations. "The international trade union movement stands ready to fight back with our Argentine comrades. We will not rest until these attacks on workers' rights are defeated."
ITF noted that various sectors of Argentina's transportation sector "are under direct threat of privatization," including the national commercial airline, Aerolíneas Argentinas, the National Highway Board, and the Argentinian Merchant Marine.
Milei—a self-described anarcho-capitalist who was elected in November 2023 on a wave of populist revulsion at the status quo—campaigned on a platform of repairing the moribund economy, tackling inflation, reducing poverty, and dismantling the state. He made wild promises including dollarizing Argentina's economy and abolishing the central bank.
However, the realities of leading South America's second-largest economy have forced Milei's administration to abandon or significantly curtail key agenda items, leading to accusations of neoliberalism and betrayal from the right and hypocrisy and rank incompetence from the left. According to most polling, Milei's approval rating has fallen from net positive to negative in just a few months.
Particularly galling to many left-of-center Argentinians is Milei's cozying up to far-right figures around the world, especially U.S. President Donald Trump.
Andrew Kennis, a Rutgers University media studies professor specializing in Latin America, noted similarities between the protests in Argentina and anti-Trump demonstrations in the United States.
"It's no coincidence that 5.2 million people were in the streets in all 50 states just this past Saturday and that the U.S. is now catching up with the mass resistance that's long been going on in Argentina," Kennis told Common Dreams Thursday.
Kennis—who this week published a deep dive on Milei's "destructive chainsaw theory" in Common Dreams—added that in the cases of both Milei and Trump, "there was no real honeymoon period, as there almost always is" for most new presidencies.
"In both countries, people were in the streets pretty damned fast and furiously," he added.
Dems Demand Johnson Urge All House Members to Immediately Disclose Stock Trades Made During Trump Tariff Chaos
"The American people deserve to know if any representatives took advantage of their positions for personal gain," lawmakers said.
Apr 10, 2025
In the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to abruptly pause most of the sweeping tariffs he announced last week—a move that raised suspicions of possible insider trading and market manipulation—a group of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are urging Republican Speaker Mike Johnson to ensure any stock trades recently made by members of the chamber are immediately disclosed.
"We write to urge that you join us in requesting every member of the House of Representatives immediately file and release their Periodic Trading Reports (PTR) for any transactions conducted between April 2, 2025, and April 9, 2025," according to a letter the group sent Johnson, who represents Louisiana, on Thursday.
By law, lawmakers must file a form that is made public, known as a PTR, within 45 days of making a stock trade valued at over $1,000. The group of lawmakers is asking Johnson to join them in requesting that lawmakers immediately release their PTRs, rather than waiting for the end of the 45-day deadline.
"The public has the right to know whether anyone in the Congress profited from the considerable market instability and economic chaos caused by President Trump and his administration over the past week," according to the letter, which was penned by Reps. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Mike Levin (D-Calif.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and David Min (D-Calif.).
Trump on April 2 unveiled broad tariffs that rattled markets and heightened fears of a recession. Then, on Wednesday morning he wrote on social media: "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT." Hours later, he sent markets soaring when he declared a 90-day pause on tariffs for many countries—though a number of levies, including on China, remain in place. The bump resulted in the largest one-day percentage gain for the S&P 500 since the financial crisis of 2008.
"Over the past week, House Republicans met with President Trump at the White House, attended the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner (mere hours before pausing the tariffs), and were in regular communication with the president ahead of the vote on the budget reconciliation resolution," according to the letter. "The American people deserve to know if any representatives took advantage of their positions for personal gain."
"We reiterate our request for immediate consideration of legislation to ban members of Congress from trading stocks," the letter concludes.
Most Popular