The Revolutionary Communist Group and our solidarity campaign Rock around the Blockade (RATB) wholeheartedly denounce the mass deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador by the imperialist US Trump administration. We share below a statement produced by the Venezuela Solidarity Network, of which RATB is a member. Furthermore we note that Britain is complicit in the economic warfare meted against Venezuela which is the root cause of migration from the Bolivarian Republic. The Bank of England continues in its theft of 31 tonnes of Venezuela's gold and has imposed sanctions on over 50 Venezuelan officials adding to the more than 1,000 unilateral coercive measures, led by the US, that are designed to strangle the economy. Viva Venezuela! End the criminalisation of Venezuelan migrants! End the blockade and return the gold NOW!
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The United States’ illegal blockade of Cuba has long been used as a tool in the power struggle between the two dominant US political parties, the Democrats and Republicans. Florida, with its significant counterrevolutionary Cuban American population, plays a pivotal role in US elections, making the state a battleground where policies toward Cuba are often tailored to secure votes. Having promised in his 2020 election campaign to ‘promptly reverse the failed Trump policies that have inflicted harm on the Cuban people and done nothing to advance democracy and human rights’ (Americas Quarterly, 4 March 2020), throughout his presidency Joe Biden allowed the Cuban people to continue to suffer under those policies until four days before leaving office, before rushing through a series of last-minute executive orders which did little more than inconvenience the incoming second Trump administration.
Ever since President Trump added Cuba to the state sponsors of terrorism list, Cuba’s economy has suffered as most banks worldwide would not risk interacting with Cuba or Cubans for fear of fines. In addition to over 60 years of the genocidal US blockade, the listing made trade and banking even more difficult for Cuba. By locking Cuba out of the international financial system, the US ensured shortages of food, fuel and medicine and scarcities in every sector. It is for this reason that President Biden’s surprising removal of Cuba from the list should be celebrated as a victory for the Cuban people and all those around the world who stand for justice and self-determination.
Sam McGill from the Revolutionary Communist Group and Rock Around the Blockade was interviewed by TeleSUR English on their programme: Venezuela Decides 2025. Sam speaks about the need to fight the media war and and imposition of sanctions against Venezuela, and emphasises the need to fight against this economic warfare on the streets of Britain. Watch the interview here:
On Friday, December 20, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, Leader of the Cuban Revolution and President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez led a march in Havana against the 65-year-old U.S. blockade and the unfounded inclusion of Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
In October, comrades and supporters of the Revolutionary Communist Group and Rock Around the Blockade hosted a National Weekend to bring together all of their supporters from around the country. One of the many educational sessions was titled "Fight For Socialism!" and featured three fantastic speeches, all of which are linked below:
Firstly Sam McGill from the RCG spoke, making a powerful case for Latin American socialism and why it is so important to fight for socialism everywhere.
Then Ismara M. Vargas Walter, Cuban Ambassador to the Britain, gave an overview of Cuba's current political situation and the necessity of solidarity with Cuban socialism.
Lastly, Wilfredo Hernández, Counsellor at the Venezuelan Embassy in London, spoke. Wilfredo provided us with an overview of Venezuela's current situation and the necessity of solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution.
By Sam McGill
4 December 2024
Comrades from the Revolutionary Communist Group and our Cuba solidarity campaign Rock around the Blockade were invited to attend the World Conference of Anti-Fascist Youth and Students in Caracas at the end of November 2024, a recognition of our consistent solidarity over decades with the Bolivarian Revolution. Over two weeks, we had the opportunity to exchange ideas with 500 delegates from 75 countries, as well as hundreds of Venezuelan socialists and activists from across the country. On the fringes of the meeting, we were able to speak to the Palestinian revolutionary, Leila Khaled. On 23 November, the conference was addressed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, with the words:
‘Study, study, study! Fight, fight, fight! Open paths of struggle in the networks, in the streets, in the media, on the walls, study, fight and, importantly, for all the ages, find a way!‘
At El Panel 21 commune Jorge Arreaza, former Vice President and leading PSUV politician and organiser addressed the crowd. 'We have to ensure the death of fascism...we all have our own tools and methods...for us here we are in a war against the bourgeois state...we have different paths (in this international movement)...as commander Hugo Chavez said in 2005, the only way to leave behind capitalism is to build socialism. Long live socialism! Long live the Bolivarian revolution! Long live Palestine! Long live international solidarity!'
The Revolutionary Communist Group and Rock around the Blockade send our solidarity to the people of Cuba in the face of the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the eastern part of the island on 10 November. This comes on the heels of Hurricane Rafael, which landed in eastern Cuba on 6 November, and Hurricane Oscar on 20 October, which killed eight people. October also saw a major electricity grid failure that plunged millions into darkness.