Israeli Cabinet Poised To Approve Lebanon Ceasefire Deal, With Biden Reportedly Promising 'Relief' From Delayed US Arms Shipments

Israel is reportedly poised to sign a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah that would pause hostilities for two months, remove fighting forces from both sides of the war-torn border, and deliver "significant relief from the arms embargo imposed by the U.S. on Israel."

The post Israeli Cabinet Poised To Approve Lebanon Ceasefire Deal, With Biden Reportedly Promising 'Relief' From Delayed US Arms Shipments appeared first on .

Bipartisan Group Launches Effort To Lift Trade Embargo On Cuba

A bipartisan group of lawmakers proposed new legislation that would lift America's trade embargo on Cuba

American officials travel to Venezuela to re-establish trade and further isolate Russia



Senior American officials traveled to Venezuela to try and drive a wedge between Venezuela and its longtime ally Russia.

The New York Times reported that this trip is the highest-level visit to Venezuela by American officials since 2019.

In 2019, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with the socialist government of Nicolas Maduro due to allegations of electoral fraud. The Trump administration closed the American embassy in Venezuela and issued sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports and senior members of the country’s government.

The Trump administration also moved to officially recognize the leader of Maduro’s opposition — Juan Guaido — as the lawful president of Venezuela. In a direct slight to the Maduro regime, Trump hosted Guaido at the 2020 State of the Union Address.


WATCH: Trump praises Venezuela’s Juan Guaidó at the State of the Union | 2020 State of the Union youtu.be

In response to American sanctions, Venezuela sought economic relief and diplomatic assistance from its counterparts in Russia, Iran, and China.

Russian energy companies have played a crucial role in allowing Venezuela to continue exporting oil throughout the world.

With Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine, the Biden administration is paying closer to attention to the allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin in South and Latin America. The Biden administration is concerned that Putin could leverage these relationships in ways that pose a threat to U.S. safety.

As sanctions from Western allies weaken the Russian economy, American leadership is lunging at opportunities to drive a wedge between Russia and its allies who rely on it for economic support.

The New York Times alleged that there is bipartisan support for reestablishing diplomatic relations with Venezuela in an effort to undermine Russia.

Scott Taylor, a former Republican congressman from Virginia, works alongside pro-Venezuelan lobbyists and said, “We should take this opportunity to achieve a diplomatic win and a wedge between Russia and Venezuela.”

Trish Reagan, a former Fox Business host, said, “Venezuela has the largest source of oil reserves yet, we’re handing that to the Chinese and Russians.”

In the past month, prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nicolas Maduro spoke with Putin by telephone and has hosted Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Yuri Borisov.

Maduro appears to be open to discussing re-establishing trade relations with the United States.

In a public speech he delivered this past week, Maduro said, “Here lies the oil of Venezuela, which is available for whomever wants to produce and buy it, be it an investor from Asia, Europe, or the United States.”

This past week, Venezuelan diplomats at the United Nations did not vote to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls for US to ditch 'absurdly cruel' embargo on Cuba



Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) issued a statement Thursday night in which she expressed support for the Cuban people and decried "anti-democratic actions" led by Cuba President Miguel Díaz-Canel, while also calling for an end to the U.S. embargo against Cuba which she described as "absurdly cruel."

"We are seeing Cubans rise up and protest for their rights like never before. We stand in solidarity with them, and we condemn the anti-democratic actions led by President Díaz-Canel. The suppression of the media, speech and protest are all gross violations of civil rights," Ocasio-Cortez said in the statement.

But then the Democratic lawmaker who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019 went on to say that the embargo should be eliminated and to claim that "cruelty is the point" of the embargo.

"We must also name the U.S. contribution to Cuban suffering: our sixty-year-old embargo. Last month, once again, the U.N. voted overwhelmingly to call on the United States to lift its embargo on Cuba. The embargo is absurdly cruel and, like too many other U.S. policies targeting Latin Americans, the cruelty is the point. I outright reject the Biden administration's defense of the embargo. It is never acceptable for us to use cruelty as a point of leverage against every day people," she declared.

We stand in solidarity with the Cuban people and condemn the suppression of the media, speech and protest. We als… https://t.co/R8fr6dQKeC

— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) 1626394170.0

The congresswoman's statement comes after Black Lives Matter recently issued a statement calling for the U.S. to lift the embargo.

"Black Lives Matter condemns the U.S. federal government's inhumane treatment of Cubans, and urges it to immediately lift the economic embargo. This cruel and inhumane policy, instituted with the explicit intention of destabilizing the country and undermining Cubans' right to choose their own government, is at the heart of Cuba's current crisis. Since 1962, the United States has forced pain and suffering on the people of Cuba by cutting off food, medicine and supplies, costing the tiny island nation an estimated $130 billion," the statement began.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is a child of Cuban immigrants, said in a tweet Thursday that socialism, not an embargo, is to blame for Cubans' suffering.

"The U.S. is the largest provider of food to #Cuba & each year sends $275 million in medicine & $3 billion in remittances to relatives," the senator tweeted. "The suffering in Cuba isn't because of an embargo,it's because socialism always leads to suffering."

In another tweet, Rubio shared an image of an article titled, "After widespread protests, Cuban government lifts restrictions to import food, medicines."

In his tweet, Rubio commented: "Wait… #Cuba had restrictions on importing food & medicine? How can that be? All week long the national media has been reporting it's the US embargo restricting food & medicine to Cuba. There is just no way these fine journalists would fall for the regimes spin that easily."

Wait… #Cuba had restrictions on importing food & medicine? How can that be? All week long the national media ha… https://t.co/b2sj0NsLRn

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) 1626385980.0