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Bogotá, Colombia — On Saturday, January 24th, and Sunday, January 25th, over one hundred current and former politicians, ambassadors, trade unionists, activist luminaries, and representatives from grassroots and youth organizations across the Western Hemisphere (and some from the Eastern) attended the Progressive International’s two-day summit, Nuestra América. The urgent gathering was a much-needed response to intensifying U.S. imperial aggression in Latin America.

In keeping with its founding mission to “unite, organize, and mobilize the world’s progressive forces,” the Progressive International (PI) convened the event following the illegal invasion of Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Maduro and First Lady Celia Flores. The speed and efficiency with which it was assembled testify to the urgency of the moment, the organizing capacity of the facilitators, and, above all, the felt necessity for regional unity in the face of an ever-more-brazenly expansionist Yankee regime.

The speed and efficiency with which it was assembled testify to the urgency of the moment, the organizing capacity of the facilitators, and, above all, the felt necessity for regional unity in the face of an ever-more-brazenly expansionist Yankee regime.

PI’s stated goals for the summit were to “articulate a shared diagnosis of the present conjuncture and lay the foundations for coordinated action in defence of peace, sovereignty, and democratic self-determination” in a region recently racked by extrajudicial killings of fishermen in the Caribbean and threats of further military action from Donald Trump and his cabinet against Colombia, Mexico, and Cuba—not to mention two centuries of aggression, coercion, coups d’etat, financial strangling and hostage-taking, and outright military incursions from the north.

The summit kicked off on Saturday at 9 AM with speeches by PI’s Co-General Coordinator (and U.S.-born) David Adler and Colombia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rosa Yolanda Villaciencio. The tone of the preliminaries shifted between buoyant camaraderie—Adler, to laughter from the room, referred to himself as a “gringo” or “preferred gringo”—and a gravity befitting the seriousness of the moment. Villaciencio’s remark that “the world is changing, or more precisely, the world has already changed,” referring to the no-holds-barred turn U.S. imperialism has taken, was a stark but necessary reminder of the magnitude of the stakes at hand.

There are many ways to judge the success of such a summit: its perception by the public, the distinction of its attendees, the productivity of the deliberations, the breadth and depth of the resolutions, etc. I return to Adler’s opening speech, his words (delivered in impeccable Spanish) and aspirations, as the metric of choice:

What the delegates did commit to in the San Carlos Declaration—those resolutions enshrined in writing—were less “concrete pathways for action” and more like the wooden planks used as guide rails when pouring the concrete. That is not to discount the agreed-upon resolutions as insignificant. On the contrary, they represent a sound and comprehensive platform from which to launch future action.

“I trust that these days will allow us to move forward with clarity, honesty, frankness, and determination. That we will leave the capital of Bogotá not only with words, but also with commitments, not only with diagnoses, but also with common actions.”

The question, then, becomes: Did the delegates leave Bogotá having made not just statements but also commitments? Not just diagnostics but also plans for common action? Or, better still in PI’s own words, did they engage in “a tactical exploration of concrete pathways for action”?

To answer that solely by examining the final product of the day-and-a-half of deliberations—the San Carlos Declaration, named after the Palacio de San Carlos where the summit was held—would be unfair, even misleading. The vast majority of Saturday was spent in closed-door discussions where delegates brainstormed and debated proposals free from press scrutiny. Having spoken with a number of delegates, it seems a great deal was discussed regarding material plans for regional cooperation that were not reflected in the Declaration in any tangible way.

Uruguayan Senator Bettiana Díaz reads the San Carlos Declaration Photo: Seth Garben

What the delegates did commit to in the San Carlos Declaration—those resolutions enshrined in writing—were less “concrete pathways for action” and more like the wooden planks used as guide rails when pouring the concrete. That is not to discount the agreed-upon resolutions as insignificant. On the contrary, they represent a sound and comprehensive platform from which to launch future action. For instance, the promises to:

• “Pursue coordinated engagement in multilateral forums…”
• “Establish mechanisms for enhanced hemispheric coordination and mutual support…”
• “Defend the rights of Latin American migrants…”
• “Defend workers’ rights…”
• “Support the documentation and analysis of coercion and disinformation…”
• “Strengthen regional dialogue”
• “Examine options for greater financial and trade autonomy…”
• “Promote cooperation on energy and food sovereignty…”
• “Revitalize regional integration efforts by exchanging experiences, identifying areas of convergence, and pursuing cooperative initiatives…”

…among others, are all important and timely. However, to claim these commitments rise to the level of material action or solid planning would be disingenuous.

In truth, the only firm organizational step outlined in the Declaration was to schedule the next Nuestra América summit in Havana, Cuba—no doubt to the delight of Cuban Ambassador to Colombia, Carlos de Cespedes. The ambassador applauded the declaration and the international support that birthed it, but in the same breath insisted on the importance of giving form to those commitments so that “they do not stay confined to the document.”

Cuba’s illustrative history of embodied solidarity—exemplified in the export of medical brigades to epidemic-stricken countries and the forty martyred Cuban soldiers who died defending the Maduros, to name a few—adds irrefutable ballast to the ambassador’s remarks. We can only hope his admonition is realized, and as soon as possible.

^From Left to Right: Cuban Ambassador to Colombia Carlos de Céspedes, Harol González Duque Director de la Academia Diplomática, Colombia Minister of Foreign Affairs Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio Mapy, David Adler Photo: Seth Garben

In retrospect, perhaps it is too much to ask of delegates that they prepare a detailed, ready-to-implement declaration in under 24 hours. However, hearing from some of them about the closed-door deliberations at the very least reveals an appetite for such swift action and uncompromising conviction.

Two other delegates confirmed the proposal was indeed brought up, noting though that specifics remain in development. Should it set sail, it could, like the Sumud Flotilla before it, elevate the cause of international solidarity for Latin America and put on full display the terrorist lengths the U.S. is willing to go to in order to retain regional dominance (as if that were needed).

“One of the proposals at the conference today,” a delegate who preferred to remain anonymous told me, “was to extend the Gaza flotilla strategy into the Caribbean. They’re planning a flotilla to Cuba because Trump is talking about a full naval blockade….” Two other delegates confirmed the proposal was indeed brought up, noting though that specifics remain in development. Should it set sail, it could, like the Sumud Flotilla before it, elevate the cause of international solidarity for Latin America and put on full display the terrorist lengths the U.S. is willing to go to in order to retain regional dominance (as if that were needed).

Another remarkable proposal came from Colombian Education Minister Daniel Rojas, who closed out the third panel of speakers (in the unenviable position following the crowd favorite María José Pizarro’s rousing speech) at Saturday night’s public forum at the Teatro Colón. Harking back to Hugo Chávez and his plan, Rojas floated the idea of a shared Latin American currency as what he views as one of the potential “concrete and real mechanisms of integration.”

“It is important that our generation advances [these] mechanisms. And this is related to what is happening in the rest of the world. We are talking now, for example, about how the African Union is considering making the African currency backed by the African continent’s own assets and resources to counter the hegemony of the dollar.”

Such a plan (extensive and idealistic as it may be) would surely satisfy the declaration’s commitment to “examine options for greater financial and trade autonomy,” but similarly was absent from that resultant text. Not surprisingly, for, as Rojas concedes, neither the political will nor the might to confront and circumvent corporate power structures is present at the present time. That said, it was one of the few tangible remedies I heard over the course of the summit, and should not go without commendation.

Nor need we project too far into the future to see how some of the declaration’s objectives are already being given shape by some of the delegates’ own countries, namely Mexico, which has taken up the mantle as Cuba’s largest exporter of oil after the U.S. hog-tying Venezuela and in defiance of mounting Yankee pressure to desist. Though recent reporting from (hegemonic mouthpiece) Reuters would appear to cast doubt on the relationship, Morena party member and delegate Veka García reiterated President Claudia Sheinbaum’s commitment to continued energy support for Cuba, saying that “The president has said no one will interfere with the decisions [to export oil] that have been made.”

This is all to say: though the declaration may have opted for more thematic, high-level calls for regional solidarity rather than outlining specific courses of action (that likely would have enjoined delegates and their respective countries and organizations to efforts they’re not necessarily prepared for) the proposals considered over the course of the weekend demonstrate the existence of a willingness to entertain such plans, a requisite ingenuity to craft them plans, and an eagerness to implement them.

Senator María José Pizarro Rodríguez and Education Minister José Daniel Rojas Medellin Photo: Seth Garben

And, as one of the younger—if, at 24 years old, not the youngest—delegates to Nuestra América, Juan Álvarez of Juventudes Revolucionarias de Panamá (JR) summarized, if with some detectable disappointment, the declaration is only “a first step.”

“At the institutional level, you can never expect a radical solution. That’s how liberal democracy works: it will never give you a direct confrontation or direct preparation for conflict—which I feel is what we should be doing.”

Yes, but que bajón!

Further action, Álvarez stressed, reflecting his and his organization’s Marxist-Leninist spirit, would depend on organizing the masses, on raising their class consciousness and their appetite and readiness for militancy, to confront the growing but not inexorable threat of rapacious U.S. colonial acquisition. The masses must, as Álvarez says, be made aware that the US has their sights on their sovereignty and very explicitly intends to convert their territories into future colonies, and that they must act accordingly. This point is foregrounded in the declaration, when it recognizes that “intergovernmental coordination, while indispensable, will remain insufficient without the popular power of social movements, peoples organisations, trade unions, and youth.”

That does not, however, as Adler mentioned to me before departing the Palacio de San Carlos on Sunday afternoon, absolve the PI coordinators from their own organizing work. “What we accomplished today,” says Adler, “firmly was to establish a plan of action for Nuestra America as an initiative.”

And it’s not light work either, as Adler assures me:

“The task for the next week, basically, is to take all the proposals that were tabled here and agreed by the delegates in the closed door sessions, and put them on paper as a calendar of actions that are going to continue to convene these forces, whether it’s from the trade union perspective, heavy emphasis here on trade unions as the front line in the fight against fascism, whether it’s these more diplomatic, coordinated diplomatic interventions.”

So indeed, there are still many proposals to be aired that will (hopefully) give teeth to the valiant if, as of yet, mere aspirational resolutions put forth in the San Carlos Declaration. This reporter, along with the region and entire world, will be waiting attentively to see that calendar and how the proposals develop, if only to confirm the Hegelian formula that the seed of this significant document contains the whole power of the tree—nay, the forest—of Latin American resistance to Yankee barbarism.

Seth Garben is a writer, poet, musician, filmmaker, playwright, and activist/organizer based in the US and Mexico City. He is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and a core team lead with immigrant rights group Danbury Unites for Immigrants. He composes and performs music in Mexico City and internationally as Goldy Head.

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  News Briefs

  Solidarity Après la Lettre Dispatch #1

  January 26, 2026January 26, 2026

  The Progressive International’s Nuestra América Summit, the San Carlos Declaration, and What Comes Next

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  News Briefs

  The San Carlos Declaration of the Nuestra América Emergency Summit

  January 26, 2026January 26, 2026

  Full text of the declaration arising from the Progressive International’s Nuestra América summit held on January 24th and 25th, 2026 in Bogotá, Colombia.

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  Mañanera

  People’s Mañanera January 26

  January 26, 2026January 26, 2026

  President Sheinbaum’s daily press conference, with comments on approval ratings, Grupo Salinas tax debt, PROFECO vs Ticketmaster, and FIFA World Cup 2026.

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has garnered a lot of attention for a speech he delivered at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, in which he condemned Donald Trump’s threats and announced that Canada will “fundamentally shift our strategic posture” and “diversify” away from the United States.

These remarks came just a few days after Carney took a high-profile trip to China, to try to mend relations. He was the first Canadian leader to visit since 2017.

At a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing, Carney said foreign relations must shift in a “new world order”.

Geopolitical Economy Report editor Ben Norton discussed these events in detail with independent journalist Daniel Dumbrill:

These two events were indeed significant, and historic.

But many observers have overlooked the most revealing admission that Carney made in his 2026 World Economic Forum (WEF) speech, which exposed the blatant hypocrisy of Western imperialism.

The Canadian prime minister acknowledged that the so-called “rules-based international order” was always deeply hypocritical and biased, serving the interests of the imperialist West.

Carney said (emphasis added):

We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false, that the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient, that trade rules were enforced asymmetrically. And we knew that international law applied with varying rigour depending on the identity of the accused or the victim.

This fiction was useful, and American hegemony, in particular, helped provide public goods, open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security and support for frameworks for resolving disputes.

So, we placed the sign in the window. We participated in the rituals, and we largely avoided calling out the gaps between rhetoric and reality.

This bargain no longer works. Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.

In other words, Carney was admitting that what he called Western “middle powers” (such as Canada or European countries) willingly went along with US hegemony and supported the US-led imperialist system — which is predicated on the systematic subjugation and exploitation of Global South countries in the periphery — because these Western middle powers also benefited from this pillage of the Global South.

It must be noted that Carney said they always knew that the so-called “rules-based international order” was hypocritical and exploitative.

But he emphasized, “This fiction was useful” for Western imperialist countries. They benefited from imperialism, as the US hegemon’s junior partners in crime.

Carney understands very well how this system operates. The neoliberal technocrat got his start working at Wall Street mega-bank Goldman Sachs, before going on to lead the central banks of both Canada and England.

However, “This bargain no longer works”, Carney stressed.

Now that the US empire has turned against these Western imperialist middle powers that it previously called its “allies”, and now that they are getting just a glimpse of what it feels like to be on the receiving end of what they have been doing to the Global South for centuries, they are (ostensibly) turning against the exploitative system that they had helped to sustain for so long.

Canada assisted the genocide in Gaza by sending weapons to Israel.

Canada helped NATO wage war on Libya in 2011, destroying its central government.

Canada has been a key part of colonial military occupations of Haiti, and has supported US-led coups across the Global South.

Carney was himself governor of the Bank of England in 2019, during the first Trump administration’s coup attempt in Venezuela, and he illegally froze (read: stole) billions of dollars worth of gold belonging to the Venezuelan government.

Canada and other Western “middle powers” supported the US-led imperialist system as long as it benefited them.

They were fine with the US-sponsored colonization of Palestinian land, but Trump’s flagrant attempt to colonize Greenland (an autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark) is a bridge too far for them.

Now that that imperialist system no longer benefits these middle powers, they suddenly pretend to be acting in a principled way, supposedly to uphold international law and defend sovereignty.

But Canada’s prime minister has publicly acknowledged that they never truly cared about that. It was just the public relations narrative.

It would be objectively good for the majority of the world population (which is in the Global South) if the Western imperial alliance broke apart, but it is hard to take Carney’s rhetoric about a “new world order” seriously, given Canada’s track record.

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In an era of ruptured global order, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s much-anticipated visit to China, scheduled for later this week, marks the culmination of London’s “re-engagement” strategy with Beijing, prioritising trade and growth amid escalating geopolitical risks, according to observers. Beijing said on Friday that Starmer would visit from January 29 to 31. A Downing Street spokesman confirmed the dates on Monday, telling reporters “he will depart for his travel to China and Japan on...

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“The best they can do is shoot the guy in the back?” That’s not the voice of some liberal commentator. That’s what a homeland security officer told me this weekend, one of over half a dozen who have reached out to express their alarm over the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and beyond.

I’ve listened to the stories and the beefs of immigration officers in Minneapolis across the country, and to a person, they all blame the shooter, one of their own. The major media is stuck on framing the killing of Alex Pretti as some national and partisan battle, highlighting Republicans breaking ranks, the NRA protesting, MAGA wavering, and Chuck Schumer doing whatever he’s doing, but no one is really capturing what the federal law enforcement officers on the ground are thinking. The truth is that they’re fed up and have been for weeks.

They paint a picture that is more Police Academy (or even Reno 911!) than a Gestapo on the march. Yes, they agree that Washington is a huge problem and are uncomfortable with the mission creep that is taking them away from actual immigration enforcement. But internally? Theirs is also a story of gung-ho 19-year-olds, drunken stakeouts, and senior officers disappearing into meetings and all of a sudden needing time off.

They are also frustrated with the narrative unfolding and the information war being waged from Washington, including the flamboyant defense of the shooting and other controversial moves on the ground.

“As much as I support this administration there needs to be more common sense in situations like this, not a knee jerk damage control narrative that does not line up with the evidence on video,” one Border Patrol agent said in a private chat group that was shared with me. “This individual was shot 8 to 9 times while unarmed.”

“We can’t always support what happens just because it’s one of us,” he adds.

An ICE agent was even more critical. “Yet another ‘justified’ fatal shooting … ten versus one and somehow they couldn’t find a way to subdue the guy or use a less than lethal [means],” the agent said. “They all carry belts and vests with 9,000 pieces of equipment on them and the best they can do is shoot a guy in the back?”

Overall, as someone who has been covering this for months, I am struck by how angry homeland security officers with their own agencies, and their blunt dismissal of the Washington leadership. All of the immigration officers I interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Sagging morale and declining standards are a constant theme I picked up, problems that these sources say have been festering long before the deaths of Pretti and Renee Good (and ones that very much contributed to these outcomes).

More than one ICE agent in particular complained about how Washington’s focus on labeling protestors as “impeding” federal functions (and thus breaking the law), and the vilification of “Antifa” and others labeled paid agitators, leftists, radicals, extremists, and terrorists is confusing the ranks while also distracting everyone from the immigration enforcement mission.

“I can go on and on but overall it’s been a ridiculous experience,” one ICE agent told me. He says that many agents on the ground are just going along with the expanded mission because they are more interested in their away-from-home per diem pay and collecting overtime than whatever the mission is.

Others express the cynicism typical of everyone who toils at the bottom of any bureaucratic food chain, pooh-poohing rapid expansion of the ICE army and shaking their heads over the ridiculous budget increases being fought for in Washington that will have no impact where they work.

“The brand new agents are idiots,” an experienced ICE agent assigned to homeland security investigations told me. This same sentiment was echoed by virtually everyone I talked to, with several conveying the view that Pretti’s death was the fault of some skittish young recruit who panicked when he heard the word “gun” (if that’s what happened).

Even one of the new ICE recruits agreed with the experienced agent’s low assessment of the Trump freshman class. “A lot of the guys,” he said, referring to the new ICE recruits he worked alongside, “are honestly pretty sketchy.”

The new ICE officer continued: “I thought federal agents were supposed to be clean cut but some of them pass around a flask as we are watching a suspect,” observing as well that the new guys “have some weird tattoos.”

Those tattoos, I’m told, are symbolic of the fact that the new recruits tend to be more ideologically motivated than those of the past. This problem is compounded by the fact, raised by several officers, that ICE is relying on volunteers to go to Minneapolis and other Democratic cities on these temporary deployments. This tends to favor new recruits and those who are chasing overtime pay.

It is unclear how these task forces are organized in cities like Minneapolis or indeed “who” is in charge and in control, but those who I interviewed agree that the tide is turning, that some agencies (like the FBI) are increasingly no shows in the field, and others are expressing a reluctance to participate in non-immigration missions.

“Last I heard,” says one ICE officer, “FBI didn’t want to help us out much anymore, especially in Minneapolis, due to the bad press.”

Another branch of ICE, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) “is being squeezed heavily [to serve on the streets against protestors],” the officer says, adding that “lots of guys [are] totally exhausted out there with a lot of pressure on them” to conduct non-immigration missions.

Despite the bravado of an uncompromising operation and the absolute support Washington expresses for the shooters, there are signs that the Trump administration is growing worried about the public (and bipartisan) backlash. President Trump today posted an unusually conciliatory statement on Truth Social.

“Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota,” the post reads. “It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength.”

That’s a very different tone than the one adopted by his homeland security advisor Stephen Miller, who asserted shortly after Pretti’s death that the intensive care nurse (who actually was a federal government employee) was a “domestic terrorist.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, asked today if Trump agrees with Miller, replied: “I have not heard the President characterize Mr. Pretti in that way.”

And tonight, news broke that Border Patrol commander-at-large Greg Bovino has been demoted from his role and reportedly plans to retire.

There are even signs that Congress has also finally decided to get off its ass, perhaps to do something that captures the on-the-ground sentiment and works towards deescalation.

There’s a good news/bad news consequence of a new reluctance on the ground in Minneapolis, one officer told me. The good news is that leadership “is disappearing into urgent legal meetings,” increasingly worried about the possibility that they will oversee similar killings but also absent on the streets as leaders who might encourage deescalation and discourage the gung-ho and the overzealous.

Worse though, sources say, homeland security in Washington does its stupid thing of trying to divert criticism of their own behavior by raising the specter of protestors (and others) attacking ICE and Border Patrol in revenge for the Pretti and Renee Good killings.

“Threat briefings are now focusing on ‘retaliatory’ threats … , and now they’re scheduling more with contracted DHS attorneys tomorrow and the next day,” one officer told me this weekend. “I know managers got called into meetings all night.”

As the meetings are held, the ICE agents and others I’ve talked to say the government versus terrorists narrative is having a tangible (and negative) impact on the ground.

“Lots of people are freaking out,” one ICE agent told me. “Agents are getting seriously paranoid, afraid of being targeted by ‘retaliators.’”

Several agents described receiving briefings about retaliatory threats to ICE inspired by the Minneapolis shooting. “Guys take it really serious, like we are fighting insurgents,” as if Minneapolis is Baghdad, an ICE officer said.

Though all of the federal agents I’ve spoken to this weekend support immigration enforcement, they indeed see the Minneapolis operation as something else entirely — an open-ended counterinsurgency in a faraway land and under an out-of-touch leadership in Washington more concerned with optics than immigration.

“This is a no-win situation for agents on the ground or immigration enforcement overall,” a Border Patrol agent said in the private group chat shared with me.

He closed on a plaintive note: “I think it’s time to pull out of Minnesota, that battle is lost.”

“Fuck this,” a senior ICE officer said about the shooting of Pretti.

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New York, NY – The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) led a Midtown Manhattan rally and march of thousands through the bitter cold in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis, January 23. Many major local labor unions endorsed and attended the action, as well as many other progressive organizations.

The murder of Renee Nicole Good by a federal agent sparked a chain of events that included the raiding of a school by ICE, the subsequent closing of local schools, and the unequivocal condemnation of Trump’s attacks on immigrants by many Minneapolis unions, including the Minneapolis Federation of Educators (MFE).

Due to rank-and-file pressure, the UFT also condemned the attacks, and planned a rally and march for January 23, the same day that many unions and other organizations in Minneapolis planned to disrupt business as usual by refusing to work, shop, or go to school.

UFT members wore black to work that day, and many schools and other groups developed contingents to attend the rally together, and took time out of the workday to make signs and take pictures together showing their solidarity with Minneapolis.

The MORE Caucus (Movement of Rank and File Educators), the main progressive reform caucus within the UFT, also organized a contingent, largely made up of members who do immigrant rights work and Palestine solidarity work within the schools and within their union.

Militant teacher unionists marched and chanted “Money for jobs and education, not for war and deportation!” and “La migra, la policía, la misma porquería!”

The actions of teachers and students ranged far and wide throughout the boroughs of NYC. NYU students led by NYU Students for a Democratic Society led a walk out in solidarity.

In Brooklyn, MORE Caucus teachers in collaboration with parents of immigrant students organized a multi-school “Children’s March”, which was attended by elementary school students, teachers and the parent communities of schools in the Flatbush/Kensington area. Featured at the action were anti-ICE opinion statements written by impacted students and parents, and speeches from teachers who connected the fight against ICE with the labor movement.

Beth McCune, one of the organizers of the Children’s March and a member of the MORE Caucus said, “Seeing this neighborhood action come together so successfully on such short notice was powerful because it shows us that educators, parents and our surrounding community are united in our desire to keep immigrants safe. We must continue to work together to hold the DOE and our city accountable with tangible measures that make it possible for families and children to attend school without fear.”

#NewYorkNY #NY #Labor #Teachers #ImmigrantRights #AlexPretti #ReneeGood #MORE

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A senior Hamas official says the resistance movement has fulfilled all its obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement after delivering the body of the last Israeli captive in the territory.

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MANILA – The International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I said that former president Rodrigo Duterte is fit to take part in pre-trial hearings on January 26, based on the medical experts’ report last year.

The confirmation of charges hearing is scheduled on February 23, 2026, rejecting the request of Duterte’s defense team to adjourn it.

“Mr Duterte has the capacities for the meaningful exercise of his procedural and fair trial rights,” an excerpt from the joint report of medical experts reads, citing that the accused has the mental and functional capacities to understand the charges, evidence, and the conduct of the proceedings.

For human rights lawyer Kristina Conti, ICC Assistant to Counsel, the decision ends the uncertainty. She said that they will be ready for the confirmation of charges hearing.

“This should also end the drama about an old and frail man; the Court clearly finds that Duterte is a perceptive person who has a broad understanding of what he has been charged with,” Conti said in a Facebook post. “The panel of experts even mention that his conditions do not prevent him from giving testimony.”

She urged the prosecution and the court to expand the acts attributable to Duterte to include not only victims of extrajudicial killings but also imprisonment, torture, and other inhumane acts, as part of the general charge of crimes against humanity.

ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I appointed a panel of independent medical experts to assess Duterte’s ability to follow and take part in the pre-trial proceedings, giving them a deadline until December 5. The medical details of Duterte are redacted since it contained confidential medical information.

Earlier, the principal counsel of the Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV), representing the collective interests of the potential victims, said that there are no obstacles that prevent Duterte from exercising his procedural rights.

Read: ‘Feigning cognitive impairments’ | Prosecution, victims urge ICC to proceed with hearing

Duterte is currently in the custody of ICC in The Hague after the Court found reasonable grounds to believe that he is responsible for crimes against humanity of murder committed under his term as a mayor of Davao City and as president in 2018, before the withdrawal of the Philippines from the Rome Statute took effect.

Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute in March 2018. But the court had jurisdiction over the crimes committed prior to the withdrawal, which would include the killings at the height of the so-called war on drugs and the killings committed by the Davao Death Squad during Duterte’s stint as a mayor in Davao.

“A State shall not be discharged, by reason of its withdrawal, from the obligations arising from this Statute while it was a Party to the Statute, including any financial obligations which may have accrued,” the Article 127 read, outlining the jurisdiction of the court despite its withdrawal from the Statute.

Of the 30,000 victims of the drug war extrajudicial killings recorded by human rights organizations, not even one percent resulted in conviction. The ICC Registry reportedly received more than 300 applications for victim participation in Duterte’s prosecution.

Lawyer of drug war families, Atty. Joel Butuyan, said in a statement sent to ABS-CBN that the recent ICC decision removes the “last of the multiple obstacles that the defense has tried to put up in order to prevent Mr Duterte from becoming liable for the crimes against humanity.”

He said that Duterte’s excuses are ruled as baseless and unfounded. “It is time for the victims to tell their stories.” (DAA)

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More than 30,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses and other healthcare professionals walked off the job Monday in two western states, accusing their employer of caring more about profits than patients and highlighting what they say are KP's unfair labor practices.

United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP)—a member of the Alliance of Healthcare Unions (AHCU)—said that 31,000 frontline registered nurses and other medical workers at more than two dozen KP hospitals and hundreds of clinics in California and Hawaii went on an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike that would continue indefinitely until they get a fair contract.

"On the picket lines, healthcare workers will call attention to what’s at stake in settling a fair contract: the growing crisis caused by Kaiser’s failure to invest in safe staffing levels, timely access to quality care, and fair wages for frontline caregivers," UNAC/UHCP said in a statement Monday.

Registered nurse and UNAC/UHCP president Charmaine Morales said: “We’re not going on strike to make noise. We’re striking because Kaiser has committed serious unfair labor practices and because Kaiser refuses to bargain in good faith over staffing that protects patients, workload standards that stop moral injury, and the respect and dignity that Kaiser caregivers have been denied for far too long."

“Striking is the lawful power of working people, and we are prepared to use it on behalf of our profession and patients," Morales added.

ON STRIKE: The UNAC/UHCP Unfair Labor Practice strike starts TODAY! 31,000+ Kaiser Permanente nurses and health care workers in CA and Hawai'i are holding the line for quality patient care and a fair contract! #TogetherWeWin #SafeStaffingSavesLives #PatientsOverProfits

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— AFSCME (@afscme.bsky.social) January 26, 2026 at 9:57 AM

The new strike follows last October's walk-off by over 75,000 nurses and allied healthcare workers at KP facilities in California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii over stalled contract negotiations and other issues including pay, staffing levels, and working conditions.

UNAC/UHCP had been negotiating with KP since last May. After KP management left the bargaining table last month, the union filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, which has cited KP for numerous violations in recent years.

KP is the nation's largest integrated managed care consortium of nonprofit and for-profit entities. According to a 2025 investigation by Matthew Cunningham-Cook for the Center for Media and Democracy in conjunction with the American Prospect, KP "is sitting on $67.4 billion in reserves, up from $40 billion just four years ago."

Kaiser collected $12.9 billion in net income in 2024 and $7.9 billion through the third quarter of 2025.

A new UNAC/UHCP report, "Profits Over Patients," details how KP "has strayed from its founding mission and moved towards profit, expansion, and Wall Street-style asset accumulation that has created real consequences for patient care and caregiver well-being."

Morales said that “when Kaiser says it doesn’t have resources to fix staffing, what we hear is that a nonprofit health care organization would rather protect an enormous financial cushion than protect patients and the people who care for them."

UFW in solidarity with the 31,000 nurses and health care workers who are on strike in California and Hawaii.#UnionStrong #1U

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— United Farm Workers (@ufw.bsky.social) January 26, 2026 at 10:47 AM

Zach Pritchett, an emergency room nurse at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles, told LA Progressive, “I see the end result of the poor staffing every single day."

“What I’m seeing in the ER are Kaiser members who can’t get appointments for months at a time with their own primary care physicians—so they wind up here," he added.

Some strikers drew attention to the killing by Trump administration immigration enforcers of intensive care registered nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.

"He is one of us." "He was trying to help a woman stand up and he was assassinated. He did what nurses do, take care of others." "There's so many people here that will do the same."

Kaiser nurses on strike in California speak against ICE murder of nurse Alex Pretti pic.twitter.com/2k54Ojuqn9
— World Socialist Web Site (@WSWS_Updates) January 26, 2026

KP responded to the new strike in a statement declaring, "Our focus remains on reaching agreements that recognize the vital contributions of our employees while ensuring high-quality, affordable care."

"We have proposed 21.5% wage increases—our strongest national bargaining offer ever—and we are prepared to close agreements at local tables now," it addded. "Employees deserve their raises, and patients deserve our full attention, not prolonged disputes."

On a picket line outside KP's Oakland Medical Center, San Francisco nurse anesthetist Jessica Servin told KQED that “we’re fighting for our livelihoods, we’re fighting for patient care."

“I believed their values and their mission statement,” Servin said of KP, where she's worked for 20 years. “It feels like they’re deviating from the foundation of why Kaiser was built. It feels kind of sad to be here and realize that Kaiser is choosing profit over patients.”

National figures supporting the strike include Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who posted on Bluesky, "I stand in solidarity with the more than 31,000 Kaiser nurses and healthcare workers on strike in California and Hawaii."

"It’s well past time for Kaiser to return to the table with a fair offer for their workers that includes safer staffing ratios and higher wages," he added.

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From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.

An outbreak of the highly fatal Nipah virus in India’s eastern state of West Bengal has sparked widespread attention and public concern in China ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday when millions will travel. While the virus has infected at least five people in West Bengal, including one in critical condition, Chinese health experts say it is difficult to transmit and less likely to cause an outbreak in China. With a fatality rate of up to 75 per cent and no effective treatment or vaccines...

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From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

Charleston, SC – Over 500 people gathered at Marion Square in Charleston, South Carolina on January 25 for an emergency protest after ICE shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis the day before.

“This is the third time this month that we’ve had to organize an emergency protest,” Erica Veal, of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Lowcountry Action Committee, remarked. “The violence of the Trump administration doesn’t let up but every time we rally together, more people show up and want to get involved. Their actions will be their downfall.”

The emergency protest was organized by a newly formed the District of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Lowcountry Action Committee, the Charleston Community Service Organization, Charleston Democratic Socialists of American, College of Charleston Students for a Democratic Society, the Charleston Climate Coalition, Indivisible Summerville, and others in another showing of the broad, united front against Trump in the Lowcountry.

Speakers at the action repeated their demands like “ICE out of our communities,” “End 287(g),” “Justice for Renee Good and Alex Pretti,” and “Legalization for all.”

The Charleston Community Service Organization led the crowds in chants alternating between Spanish and English and gave moving speeches about the immigrant rights movement in Charleston.

“Filming ICE is not a crime. We must continue to stand up in solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters. We are not domestic terrorists, they are,” organizer Lucia Peña said.

During the rally, which was surrounded by nearly 50 police, one attendee was arrested for violating South Carolina’s anti-mask law by wearing a keffiyeh over her face. As law enforcement led the woman away, some of the attendees confronted police, who were unable to hold the line against the people advancing until officers on horseback arrived. The woman arrested has since been released.

“The law isn’t meant to protect us, it’s meant to hurt us and keep us down,” event organizer Matt Colburn told the attendees. “If ICE agents were at this protest, they’d all be hiding their faces with masks and the police surrounding us right now wouldn’t do a damn thing about it. You have to remember whose side they’re on!”

During her speech, Syd Loving, standing committee member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, reminded the crowd that they’re joined in protest by hundreds of thousands across the country. “Trump and his racist gang have done everything to snuff out the waves of protest against his anti-immigrant agenda, up to deploying the National Guard. But there's not less and less protests, there's more.”

Loving continued, “There's not less and less people taking the streets. There’s more! In spite of the danger, in spite of the fear because in our unity there's strength and we are going to build that unity against each and every attack. We are not going to stay home and be quiet like they want us to.”

Throughout the protest, speakers stressed the need to get involved with the organizations who helped plan the emergency rally.

“All of our struggles are connected,” said Nate Hubler, organizer with the Elbit Out of South Carolina Coalition and the Lowcountry Action Committee. “Whether you’re organizing for immigrant rights, fighting against Elbit Systems, building the campaign against our city’s unconstitutional First Amendment Ordinance, rallying to keep Dominion Energy out of the Santee, or working to end police violence, you need to be a part of an organization fighting for the liberation of all of us.”

#CharlestonSC #SC #ImmigrantRights #AlexPretti #ICE #KillerICE #LCAC #FRSO #CCSO

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From Fight Back! News via This RSS Feed.

Denver, CO – On Sunday, January 25, over 1200 protesters arrived at the Colorado Capitol in Denver, Colorado, to stand in solidarity with the fight against ICE in Minneapolis. The noon time action was led by the Denver Coalition Against Trump to protest the second ICE murder in Minneapolis in the past month.

Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis ICU nurse, was tackled to the ground by multiple ICE agents, and repeatedly shot. The people of Denver came together in the cold to protest and to fight back against Trump’s attacks on the people by saying no to more ICE activity.

Protesters gathered at the capitol steps to listen to speeches. Jeanette Vizguerra, a long-time activist and political prisoner who was detained and held by ICE for over nine months stated, “In case the situation in Minnesota comes here, the people are prepared!” While talking about the campaign that set her free along with the preparation from organizers to deal with ICE, Vizguerra encouraged the crowd saying, “I am very proud of my community! I am very proud of Colorado!”

Kyle Burroughs of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke on the difficulties shared by the people in the U.S. and the need to organize for a new society, stating, “Exploitation, inequality and oppression are rewarded in this system and we need to name it and shame it – I’m talking about capitalism,” to shouts of “Shame!” from the crowd. Burroughs continued, “Capitalism, the same system that produced Donald Trump and that will produce even more Trumps unless and until we stop it– until we turn this system on its head!”

After listening to speeches, the crowd walked down the steps of the capitol and into the streets to march. Throughout the march, the crowd made sure that downtown Denver could hear them loud and clear. While chanting, “Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE,” the crowd also joined in with blowing whistles and making noise downtown. The crowd joined in calling for justice for the victims of ICE murder. The emcees led the crowd in saying the names of the recent victims of ICE murder, Renee Good, Alex Pretti and Keith Porter.

After passing by the Denver Immigration Court, the location where ICE used to stage for deportations before being chased out by community organizers, the march returned to the Colorado Capitol steps.

The protest ended with a speech from Bailey Heaton of the Denver Students for a Democratic Society, “This is the third murder by ICE agents in three weeks! On top of this, they have started kidnapping toddlers and separating them from their families when they’re barely in kindergarten!” Heaton continued, “These attacks are what immigrant students at the Auraria schools are afraid of. They’re terrified of their parents, siblings, and themselves being taken by ICE and deported just because of their immigration status. They’re scared of being taken while they’re in class or walking to their car on campus.”

The protest ended with closing remarks from the emcees. who invited the crowd to check out the tables behind the protest truck so that demonstrators could learn more about organizing efforts in their community and how to fight back against the Trump agenda.

#DenverCO #CO #ImmigrantRights #ICE #KillerICE #DCAT #FRSO #SDS

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From Fight Back! News via This RSS Feed.