New York shows support for Cuba, Venezuela

Rev. Lucius Walker and Ileana Núñez Mordoche.

A program full of politics and culture was held in solidarity with Cuba and Venezuela on July 29 at a packed hall at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Labor Center in Man hattan. This event coincided with the 53rd anniversary of the heroic assault on the Moncada Barracks, which helped to launch the July 26th Movement. This movement was in the forefront of organizing the victorious Cuban Revolution in 1959.

Today, socialist Cuba, led by President Fidel Castro, and the anti-imperialist Venezuelan government, led by President Hugo Chávez, are viewed as the beacons of hope and inspiration for millions of workers and oppressed peoples throughout Latin America and the rest of the world seeking national self-determination and liberation.

Leonard Weinglass and Bonnie Massey.

The speakers at the event included Ileana Núñez Mordoche, ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations; Leonard Weinglass, an attorney representing the case of the Cuban 5 political prisoners; Rev. Lucius Walker, Friendshipment Caravan/IFCO Pastors for Peace; Bonnie Massey, Venceremos Brigade; and a representative of Francisco Arias Cárdenas, ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations.

—Story and photos by Mike Eilenfeldt