by Jerry Dunleavy
The Singham Network and its beneficiaries like the far-left Code Pink played key roles in anti-ICE protests, pro-Maduro demonstrations, and anti-Iran War rallies. It is seeking to defend the regime in Cuba as well.
The now-infamous scenes of far-left activists descending
upon Cuba in recent days were preceded by high-level meetings between
leaders within the Singham Network and the strongman head of Communist
Cuba earlier this month.
Earlier in March, in the lead up to this past weekend’s
events, the leaders of the Singham-linked People’s Forum, Tricontential:
Institute for Social Research, Act Now to Stop War and End Racism
(ANSWER) Coalition, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and
the International Peoples’ Assembly all traveled to Havana for a warm
“solidarity” meeting with Miguel DÃaz-Canel, the First Secretary of the
Communist Party of Cuba.
The so-called “humanitarian” trips to Cuba over the weekend
— which continue to unfold this week — were in large part organized by
groups within the activist network tied to and funded by wealthy Marxist
and China-based businessman Neville Roy Singham, as well as by the
far-left Progressive International (which counts the leftist anti-war
group Code Pink, which is personally and financially tied to Singham, as
one of its member organizations).
Just the News has previously reported on how these and other radical activist groups
have leadership links or financial ties to the funding network backed
by Singham, who himself is linked to the CCP and whom some in his
network call "Comrade” — and who has also been scrutinized by Republican congressional investigators.
An outlet tied to the Singham Network, the leader of Progressive International, and Code Pink all said that the first ship carrying supplies had arrived in Cuba on Monday.
Progressive International, the Singham Network
organizations, and the Cuban Embassy did not immediately respond to a
request for comment from Just the News.
Trump and Rubio say Cuba needs new leadership
Trump said
on Air Force One earlier in March that “Cuba's a failed nation. Cuba
also wants to make a deal. And I think we will pretty soon — either make
a deal, or do whatever we have to do. And so we are talking to Cuba […]
So I think something will happen with Cuba pretty quickly.” The
president made similar remarks in the Oval Office this month.
“All my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and
Cuba. You know, ‘When will the United States do it?’ I do believe I’ll
be having the honor of taking Cuba. That’d be good. That’s a big honor,”
Trump said. The president added, “Whether I free it, take it — think I
could do anything I want with it, you want to know the truth.”
Trump: "Actions of the government of Cuba constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat"
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who comes from a Cuban refugee family, also weighed in
last week. “Cuba has an economy that doesn’t work and a political and
governmental system that can’t fix it,” Rubio said. “So they have to
change dramatically […] They’re in a lot of trouble. And the people in
charge don’t know how to fix it. So they have to get new people in
charge.”
Trump had signed an executive order in late January where he declared
that “I find that the policies, practices, and actions of the
Government of Cuba constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat, which
has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States,
to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
“The Government of Cuba has taken extraordinary actions
that harm and threaten the United States,” the president said. “The
regime aligns itself with — and provides support for — numerous hostile
countries, transnational terrorist groups, and malign actors adverse to
the United States, including the Government of the Russian Federation,
the People’s Republic of China, the Government of Iran, Hamas, and
Hezbollah.”
The White House quickly put out a fact sheet
which noted that Trump “signed an Executive Order declaring a national
emergency and establishing a process to impose tariffs on goods from
countries that sell or otherwise provide oil to Cuba, protecting U.S.
national security and foreign policy from the Cuban regime’s malign
actions and policies.”
The fact sheet noted that Trump “may modify the Order if
Cuba or affected countries take significant steps to address the threat
or align with U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives.”
Singham Network affirms “solidarity with the Revolution” in meeting with Cuban leader
The Cuban government’s official website
in early March wrote that “the First Secretary of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel
Diaz-Canel Bermudez, received members of the delegation of the
International Peoples' Assembly, who have been developing a program on
the Island since last Sunday motivated by cooperation and solidarity.”
The Cuban government wrote that “the purpose of the above,
the dignitary said, is to confront with coordinated actions the
ideological, cultural and media war of the United States government,
which is an expression of its hegemonic ambition.”
Diaz-Canel reportedly directed a message to “Brian Becker
and Manolo de Los Santos - from the Party for Socialism and Liberation
of the United States — and other brothers from Africa, Europe and Latin
America” and stated that “we expected no less from you as
representatives of the International Peoples' Assembly.”
Diaz-Canel shared a message on X in early March touting the meeting with the far-left Singham Network leaders.
“I held a fraternal meeting with the delegation from the
International Assembly of the Peoples, who are carrying out a visit to
our country, to reaffirm their permanent support and solidarity with the
Revolution, at this moment when the threats of Yankee imperialism are
intensifying,” the Cuban leader said, in a tweet translated by Google
and by X.
Diaz-Canel specifically described “Brian Becker and Manolo
De Los Santos, from the Party for Socialism and Liberation of the United
States” as among the “friends of our people” who “reaffirmed their
solidarity.”
“The accompaniment of spaces such as the International
Assembly of the Peoples demonstrates the broad support that the
Revolution possesses, and that we are never and will never be alone in
the struggle for the defense of our sovereignty in the face of the
constant imperial pretensions,” the leader of the Communist-run island
added.
The International Peoples’ Assembly quickly reshared the X message from the Communist leader.
“Cuba is not alone!” the Singham Network group declared.
“Movement leaders from across the world, part of the International
Peoples' Assembly delegation, met with President Miguel DÃaz‑Canel to
reaffirm unwavering solidarity with the Cuban Revolution and its people,
who are facing the ongoing illegal US blockade.”
Manolo De Los Santos, a founder of the People’s Forum and a researcher at Tricontinental, tweeted
a photo of himself hugging the Cuban leader in early March. “Today, we
met with President Miguel Diaz-Canel not to make statements, but to
stand shoulder to shoulder,” De Los Santos said on X. “Trump’s extreme
fuel blockade is a brutal act of economic warfare, and we refuse to be
silent bystanders. We are comrades with the Cuban people in the fight to
dismantle it.”
The People’s Dispatch — also part of the Singham Network — reported that ANSWER leader and PSL founder Brian Becker was also at the meeting. The Cancilleria de Cuba — Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs — also shared photos from the meeting, including of De Los Santos, Becker, and others.
“International Assembly of the Peoples' Delegation, made up
of representatives from various countries, visits Cuba and holds
exchanges with diverse sectors to learn about the country's reality and
reaffirm international solidarity,” the Cuban government account said on
X.
One day after De Los Santos met with Cuba’s president, the People’s Forum tweeted that “this month, we’re going to Cuba with 40 young organizers!”
“Our delegation of young people will meet, exchange, and
stand together with Cuban youth — building bonds of solidarity at a
moment when the Cuban people face the full force and brutality of the
U.S. blockade,” the Marxist forum said on X. “This brigade is part of a
broader wave of solidarity — one that has moved over 3k people to donate
more than $500,000 to send solar generators & panels to Cuban
hospitals.”
The People’s Forum added: “Along with other delegations of
people from around the world part of the "Nuestra America Convoy," we
will deliver humanitarian aid to the Cuban people and reaffirm that a
blockade will never sever the ties between peoples who share a common
struggle for dignity and justice.”
Progressive International — linked to Singham Network — takes lead in Cuba convoy
James Schneider, the communications director for Progressive International, said on the socialist Workers Lit podcast
in mid-March that “the Nuestra America ‘Convoy for Cuba’ brings
together people of conscience from around the world to bring
humanitarian aid to Cuba by air, land, and sea.”
The “Nuestra America — Convoy to Cuba” website contends
that “we are mobilizing to Cuba, bringing critical humanitarian aid for
its people” and that “the Trump administration is strangling the
island, cutting off fuel, flights, and critical supplies for survival.”
Code Pink is one of the eleven North American member organizations within Progressive International.
Progressive International’s advisory council also includes
a top member of the Communist Cuban government. Mariela Castro Espin is
a Deputy of the National Assembly of People's Power and is also the
director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education in Havana. She
is the daughter of former Cuban Communist leader Raul Castro, and the
niece of former Cuban Communist dictator Fidel Castro.
Jeremy Corbyn, a far-left member of Parliament in the
United Kingdom and a former leader of the Labour Party, is also on the
advisory council. Corbyn had said
on Instagram late last week that “the United States is suffocating the
Cuban people with its criminal and inhumane blockade” and “that’s why we
are mobilizing to Cuba, bringing critical humanitarian aid for its
people. Honoured to join this historic mission.”
Corbyn also tweeted
late last week that “the United States is intentionally starving the
people of Cuba with its illegal and barbaric blockade” and “that’s why
I’m joining the Nuestra America convoy to Cuba.”
Communist activists seek to link Gaza and Cuba
Last year’s “Gaza Sumud Flotilla” — a so-called
“humanitarian” boat convoy which included leftwing activist Greta
Thunberg and Progressive International leader David Adler — allegedly
helped inspire last weekend’s Cuba-related effort. Ironically, Thunberg,
who made her name and fortune opposing fossil fuels, has now demanded
that the U.S. end its blockade of oil imports to the island regime.
The People’s Forum drags Palestine into it
Adler was part of the Gaza flotilla last year, and was imprisoned in Israel for a few days before being deported to Jordan. Adler late last week attempted
to link Gaza and Cuba, tweeting, “We need to talk about Miami’s capture
of US-Cuba policy in the same terms that we talk about AIPAC’s capture
of Israel: corrupt, anti-democratic, and fundamentally contrary to our
genuine national interests.”
The Gaza flotilla was also promoted by the Peoples Dispatch and supported by the People’s Forum, Code Pink, the International Peoples’ Assembly, the PSL, Prashad, and others within the Singham Network.
The People’s Forum’s “Political Education” webpage notes
that “we have launched “Let Cuba Live”, an emergency relief fundraiser
in light of the electric blackout, hurricane and the 60+ year U.S.
brutal blockade.”
Poverty tourism disguised as activism
Despite the blackout, notably, the People's Forum and Code Pink supporters, including Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans, founders of Code Pink reportedly stayed in a 5-star hotel. According to The New York Post,
the hotel was the only building in Havana with power as "they pretended
to bring food and medicine to the suffering Cuban people."
The Post Millenial reported that "Many were seen staying at high-end accommodations, including the Gran Hotel Bristol Meliá
Collection, where rooms range from roughly $130 to $520 per night.
Others traveled in air-conditioned buses and attended official meetings
in the capital." Meanwhile, the island still suffers an electrical
blackout.
"While nearly the entire country is suffering from power
outages lasting over 20 hours, the left is welcomed with air
conditioning and wasteful electricity consumption,” Mayra Dominguez, a
Cuban living in exile in the U.S. told The Post Millenial.
The Marxist forum has run multiple fundraisers related to this effort. The group’s “Let Cuba Live” donation page
tells its followers: “We must act and send aid. Help us stop the Trump
Administration from creating famine in Cuba. Donate now. Send power.
Save lives.”
The forum’s tips for donating include: “*Please do not
write ‘Cuba’ in donation comments or on the memo line of checks. Simply
write ‘Urgent Aid.’ Donations by check are to be made directly payable
to The People’s Forum, with the group noting that “all donations are
tax-deductible.”
Granma, the official newspaper
of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, said late last
week that “medical supplies and other materials have arrived in the
country as part of the Solidarity Convoy, which joins other global
campaigns in support of the island.”
The Communist outlet quoted
De Los Santos, who claimed that "the Cuban people have made immense
sacrifices for humanity, for the dignity of all the peoples of the
world, including the people of the United States” and so he and other
activists wanted to show “above all, a militant solidarity that says
‘No’ to the genocidal attempt to crush the Cuban people."
The Cuban Embassy in the U.S. on Saturday said
that “hundreds of people are arriving in Havana as part of the ‘Nuestra
América’ Convoy in solidarity with Cuba” and so “let’s hear what
motivates its protagonists to join this humanistic initiative.”
The video on X from the Cuban Embassy included an interview
with multiple people wearing “Let Cuba Breathe” t-shirts, including De
Los Santos.
“We’re in Havana’s Pogolotti neighborhood, not in hotels,
living what Cubans endure regularly: no power since last night,” De Los
Santos tweeted
Saturday. “Our neighbors are living under the US govt's economic
warfare, denied water, food, internet connection by Trump’s fuel
blockade. The U.S. is waging a cruel, genocidal siege with the hope of
crushing the Cuban people into submission. The world must act now.”
Cuban diplomat Pedro Pablo Prada on Sunday reposted
the People’s Forum leader, saying, “Our gratitude for your outstanding
solidarity and for bringing a real picture of #Cuba to #US and to the
world. #HandsOffCuba #LetCubaBreathe.”
The People’s Forum shared Facebook posts from Cuba over the weekend touting their “internationalist solidarity” and proclaiming their efforts “directly challenging the U.S. Blockade!”
The Marxist group also said
on Facebook this weekend that “the lessons we learn from seeing the
inhumane and barbaric U.S. blockade on Cuba & Trump’s insistence on
tightening the measures—whether through fuel blockage or colonial
threats—is that we must commit to the long-term struggle to end the
blockade and stand with the Cuban people.”
“We want a world without sanctions, without blockades,
without genocides, without war against the people of Iran,” De Los
Santos said in his Cuba speech posted by the People’s Forum. “We want a
world where Palestine is free.”
The People’s Forum on Saturday shared photos of De Los Santos and others in Cuba.
“Together in a historic mission of solidarity, people from
across the globe — from the Nuestra América Convoy — have gathered in
Havana to declare that Cuba will never be alone,” the group said on X.
Singham Network groups parrot communist propaganda
The People’s Dispatch late last week cited Mirthia Brossard of the Young Communist League of Cuba, who said that “we are ready to defend our land at any cost” and that “this is the commitment of the young Cuban people.”
The article by the Singham Network outlet also quoted De
Los Santos, and said that “40 young organizers from across North America
traveled to the island as part of the Let Cuba Live Youth Brigade.”
“This is not the end of the revolution; this is another
stage. This is our Moncada, our Bay of Pigs. The young people of Cuba
trust in the revolution and have confidence that we will overcome this
moment … we are building the future with our own hands,” the outlet
quoted Brossard as saying.
The far-left outlet also reported
on Friday that “Cuban President Miguel DÃaz-Canel addresses a gathering
of over 400 people from over 30 countries participating in the Nuestra
América Convoy in solidarity with Cuba.”
Luis De Jesus, a correspondent for the Singham Network-linked BreakThrough News, also tweeted on Friday about Diaz-Canel and the convoy, stating that it “includes a flotilla of ships that in the coming days will arrive at the port of Havana with humanitarian aid.”
PSL also tweeted repeatedly about the Cuba convoy. “LIVE
FROM HAVANA: The Let Cuba Live brigade is joining with hundreds of
others from more than 30 countries in a massive display of solidarity
with the Cuban people,” the PSL proclaimed.
“As Trump threatens and strangles the Cuban people with inhumane
economic and fuel blockades, the people of the world are bringing
urgently-needed humanitarian aid to demonstrate that Cuba is not alone!”
Congressional Republicans have long called for
investigations into the Singham network, its links to the CCP, its
leadership in nationwide leftwing protests, and its role in anti-Israel
encampments, vandalism, and violence on campus. The GOP — especially
then-Senator Marco Rubio — has for years asked the DOJ to look into possible Foreign Agents Registration Act violations and has called upon the Treasury Department and IRS to consider revoking the tax-exempt status for Singham’s network of non-profits.
The GOP-led House Oversight Committee also voted this year to subpoena
Singham for information about this sprawling activist network. It is
still unknown whether that subpoena was issued or served on Singham.
Jerry Dunleavy
Source: https://justthenews.com/government/security/singham-network-coordinates-communist-cuban-government-save-regime-amidst-trump
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