Endemic Power Outages in Puerto Rico – The Legacy of US Imperialism 

On Wednesday, April 16th, a massive blackout hit Puerto Rico, swathing the predominantly Catholic island in darkness before this weekend’s Easter celebrations. Outages are nothing new – the people of Puerto Rico have been forced to contend with an inadequate and crumbling power grid for decades. Critical damage inflicted by hurricane Maria in 2017 has deepened the crisis. No progress has been made since Maria carved a path of destruction across the Caribbean, with the primary concern of the US empire and its majordomos in Puerto Rico being the protection of the US colony’s creditors. Aid has been insufficient, debt restructuring plans left PREPA, Puerto Rico’s previous energy monopoly, still in debt, and the outages seem to accelerate. The last catastrophic power failure was a mere four months ago. LUMA, Puerto Rico’s new and very much privately owned energy monopoly is just as inept and just as beholden to its shareholders – not to the people of Puerto Rico. There is, and cannot be, any change on the horizon under the colonial order imposed on Puerto Rico by the US Empire.

The US War on Yemen – All Part of the US Empire’s Genocidal War Against the World

On Friday, April 18th, US imperialist forces struck the Ras Isa oil port in Yemen, killing 80 people and wounding 150 others. The attack is the latest in a campaign to force Ansar Allah (aka the “Houthies”) to relent in its blockade of the Red Sea – the sole purpose of which is to put an end to the US-Israeli genocide in Gaza. From any moral perspective, Ansar Allah is in the right – genocide must be prevented by any means necessary and the strenuous efforts of the people of Yemen to do so should be lauded. The people of the world must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the people of Palestine and of Yemen, and condemn any imperialist aggression against them, no matter the target, military or civilian.

The US-Israeli Genocide in Gaza Continues Unabated

At least 142 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces since Monday, the 14th of April, with 29 Palestinians murdered in the early hours of the 21st – mostly in the tent cities erected by those whose homes have already been destroyed. Since outright murder is apparently not cruel enough for the IOF, the blockade of all food, fuel and humanitarian aid, including medical supplies, continues, enforced since March 2nd. Many Palestinians are down to less than one meal a day – including children, for whom a sufficient intake of food is necessary for their physical and cognitive development, assuming they survive the US-Israeli genocide of their people. The devastating truth is that Palestine nearly stands alone – save for Yemen. All other would-be friends of Palestine are too weak and scattered, terrified of US reprisals or mired in bourgeois legalistic proceduralism – unless people of conscience chose not to abrogate their responsibility to the people of Gaza, and stand up to the US war machine by any means necessary.