“Colombia held presidential elections yesterday. Among a field of several candidates, far-right criminal defense attorney Abelardo de la Espriella leads with nearly 44 percent of the vote while left-wing Senator Iván Cepeda of the governing Pacto Histórico party came in second with nearly 41 percent. Since no candidate reached the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a second-round, the two candidates will proceed to a runoff on June 21.“

“Buried in the House’s version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) released [last week], is section 224, entitled ‘United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.’ The provision would arguably do more to intertwine the U.S. military with the Israeli military than the more than $200 billion (inflation adjusted) in military assistance Israel has received from the U.S. since its founding in 1948.”

While many focus solely on AIPAC as “the pro-Israel lobby,” a group of activists note the power of other groups like the American Jewish Committee. This weekend, these activists are protesting outside the AJC’s annual “Global Forum” in Washington, D.C.

“The chaotic Paz administration continues to give mixed messages on dialogue as it politically persecutes protest leaders and moves closer to the Bolivian equivalent of martial law. The right, the government and privileged Bolivians continue to stigmatize social movements as bloodthirsty, vandals linked to drug trafficking, although they are on the streets to guarantee subsistence and to force Paz’s resignation. The far right and rightwing para-state groups that enjoy impunity … push the Paz closer to repression, creating the potential for an acceleration and massification of human rights violations.”

“Israel carried out more than 180 strikes across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley on Tuesday, according to local media, despite the ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States.”

“Over 30 activists blockaded the entry point to the Maher Terminals of the Port of Newark-Elizabeth, attempting to prevent a shipment of ammunition and weapons components to Israel by the vessel ZIM Virginia. The activists called for the eviction of the Israeli shipping company Zim Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) and … the Danish Maersk — the two primary shipping-logistics companies responsible for transporting U.S.-manufactured weapons components to Israel.”

“There has never been a U.S. Congress investigation into the attack on the USS Liberty. Israel realized they could do whatever they wanted and the U.S. Congress, U.S. government would do nothing.”

After several months of saying he would not make it public, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin has released the party’s autopsy report on the 2024 election. 

“The posting comes as the U.S. Department of Justice prepares to indict Cuban leader Raul Castro for his role in the downing of the BTTR planes. At the time, General Castro served as minister of defense and was the highest officer in the military chain of command in Fidel Castro’s government. The documents offer a detailed historical context in which the aerial violence against the civilian aircraft occurred.“

“This has been going on for over two weeks now, and the city has essentially been shut down. And the government hasn’t shown an ability to negotiate with broad sectors. They blame everything on Evo Morales. They’ve issued a new arrest warrant for him, and there’s been a great deal of noise from the DEA about going after him — [there has been] this DEA obsession with capturing Morales after they were expelled in 2008.“