Author Archives: Jim Hodgson

Drone attacks in the Caribbean have Canadian connections

By Jim Hodgson

Separate incidents of use of explosive drones by the U.S. military to attack alleged Venezuelan drug-traffickers and by Haitian police to attack local gang leaders may have Canadian connections.

The Canadian ecumenical coalition Project Ploughshares reported Monday (Oct. 6) that a Canadian-made high-tech camera system was used to attack two boats that the United States said were carrying drugs. CBC News analysed the Ploughshares report, compared it to product manuals and previously released videos and spoke with former military and defence industry experts, concluding that it is highly likely Canadian tech was involved in surveillance during the operations.

Project Ploughshares and CBC reports on the U.S. attacks and their Canadian connection. The full Ploughshares report is here.

“There has to be more human rights oversight,” said Kelsey Gallagher, a senior researcher with Project Ploughshares. “We are seeing Canadian weapons being misused.” Founded in 1976, Project Ploughshares is the peace research institute of the Canadian Council of Churches. 

Global Affairs Canada told CBC that it is “aware of the U.S. operation and is monitoring the situation.”

The United States has said it used drones three times to attack boats it alleges were carrying drugs, but provided no evidence of drug-trafficking. The Ploughshares report shows that the U.S. military used a Canadian-made L3Harris WESCAM MX-Series sensor system for tracking and surveillance of boats that were struck as they sailed from Venezuela in the first two of three strikes reported last month.

Drone attack in Haiti’s capital kills 8 children

Meanwhile, a police-directed drone strike on a birthday party in Port-au-Prince that killed at least nine people (most of them children) and wounded 17 others has drawn attention to drones provided to Haiti by Canada. 

The explosions happened Sept. 20 in Cité Soleil, a large, impoverished neighbourhood controlled by Viv Ansanm, a powerful coalition of criminal gangs that the U.S. has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

Al Jazeera news service said the drones used in the operation were supplied by Canadian police. Successive Canadian governments have long maintained programs of assistance and training to Haitian police. 

Months earlier, Global Affairs Canada told CBC that it was “concerned” about reports of extrajudicial executions, a violation of international human rights law. GAC did not clarify if Ottawa knew of cases in which Canadian-provided drones had been used for lethal purposes in Haiti. It said Haiti had agreed that the equipment provided would not be used “to commit or facilitate any violation of international humanitarian law or international human rights law.”

On Oct. 2, UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk said Haiti’s use of lethal force against gangs was disproportionate and likely unlawful.

Volker Türk (left); Google News headlines in June regarding Erik Prince and his new role in fighting the gangs of Haiti.

Speaking in Geneva to the UN Human Rights Council, Türk said police units had summarily executed 174 people for alleged gang affiliation this year while government drone strikes against alleged gang members in Port-au-Prince had killed at least 559 people to date, including 11 children.

“Most of these drone strikes are likely unlawful under international human rights law,” Türk added.

Canada is legally bound to ensure that its export of military goods does not contribute to violations of international law. Compared to ongoing controversy over Canada’s arms exports to Israel – often shipped via the United States – Canada’s indirect involvement in these drone incidents in the Caribbean may be relatively limited, but seem to reveal a pattern of disregard for human rights consequences of commercial deals in our neoliberal world.

In March this year, the Haitian government hired Vectus Global, a company run by Blackwater founder Erik Prince, to operate drones.

Two days after the drone strike on the birthday party, the UN Security Council approved a new Gang Suppression Force for Haiti. I’ll share more about that (and Canada’s contribution) in days ahead.

Trump revives “big stick” approach to Latin America

by Jim Hodgson

With all of my passion for justice and in the face of so many gross injustices, I can get paralyzed. And with Trump in power next door, there is always something new to distract us from what went before or from demanding freedom for captives or the release of the #EpsteinFiles.

Just today, he threatened Canada again. #ElbowsUp, still.

Yesterday, it was a plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza that even the New York Times admits “checks every box on Israel’s wish list.” It does nothing to strengthen Palestine or assist recovery after the genocide, and will impose a new, colonial-style authority on the people. 

Let’s step back for a moment.

Last week, I was going to write about Trump’s efforts to rescue his far-right cronies in Argentina and Brazil. Here’s a short version.

Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, faces a collapsing peso and political setbacks. Milei’s chainsaw approach to slashing government was a model for Trump and Elon Musk. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sept. 22 that Washington is ready to do “whatever is necessary” – from central bank swaps to direct peso purchases or buying Argentine debt through the Treasury’s Stabilization Fund. The moves are intended to ease political opposition to Milei that has grown as the economy collapses. Milei – already dependent on a $20 billion IMF package – sought U.S. support ahead of congressional elections in October. Investors have been pulling money out from Argentina since Milei’s party lost an election in Buenos Aires province on Sept. 7, provoking worry that he will soon lack legislative support to advance his agenda. 

Front-page of a Buenos Aires newspaper shows Trump managing the rescue plan for Argentina’s Milei. Right: response from Occupy Democrats.

Earlier, Trump imposed a 50% tariff on goods from Brazil, claiming that Brazil engages in unfair trade practices and that the government is engaged in a “witch hunt” against Trump’s ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro was convicted earlier this month of attempting a coup after voters dumped him from office. He was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison, sparking Trump’s ire. The present Brazilian government called the U.S. move “a new attempt of undue interference in Brazilian internal affairs.”

When he spoke of the U.S. rescue of Argentina’s Milei, Bessent told reporters that the Trump administration hoped to solidify what it sees as a rightward shift in Latin American countries, including potentially Colombia. (Colombia is now government by a left-centre coalition led by President Gustavo Petro, who cannot succeed himself. His party is currently selecting a new candidate.) 

New and old threats

Bessent’s move came hours before Trump took centre stage at the United Nations General Assembly to press his MAGA-style policies on the rest of the world. 

In the speech, Trump threatened to “blow out of existence” Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro. Maduro responded with a plan to declare a state of external unrest to enable rapid mobilization in defence of Venezuela. He had earlier sent a letter to Trump, proposing direct talks. When asked about the letter, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, said it was “full of lies” and said the administration still views Maduro as an “illegitimate leader.”

Trump’s threat came after he moved warships into the south Caribbean and after recent attacks on Venezuelan fishing boats (alleged without evidence to be carrying drugs). Trump and his minions seem determined to revive the worst applications of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America, from the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine to Teddy Roosevelt’s “big-stick” diplomacy in the early 20th century.

A recent US government document revealed the Trump administration plans to redirect $1.8 billion in foreign aid toward a new “America First” strategy, Reuters news agency reported Sept. 24. It would give priority to neutralizing “Marxist, anti-American regimes” in Latin America. The report said $400 million would support activities to end illegal immigration to the US, counter China, and “confront the Marxist, anti-American regimes of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.” The document, known as a Congressional Notification, follows news that the upcoming National Defense Strategy will also pivot the U.S. away from a focus on adversaries like China and Russia to instead prioritize efforts in the Americas.

But not everyone serving Trump is onside with these approaches. On Sept. 29, the Washington Post reported that eight current and former officials have said there is a deep rift between the political appointees at the Pentagon and the military leaders there. Reflecting on the Post report, historian Heather Cox Richardson said that War Secretary Pete Hegseth “is withdrawing forces from Europe, reducing the concentration of power and consolidating commands abroad while focusing on using the military in the U.S. and neighboring countries.“

Among Trump administration opponents to use of force to provoke regime change in Venezuela is Richard Grenell, Trump’s special envoy to the country, said Drop Site News on Sept. 29. Grenell has successfully re-opened channels for export of Venezuelan oil to the United States. Grenell and his supporters say diplomatic negotiation is the best way to protect U.S. economic interests. Among those who oppose Grenell is U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

International allies against mining in El Salvador applaud new “not guilty” verdict

by Jim Hodgson

I write to share the statement Wednesday, Sept. 24, celebrating a second not guilty verdict in the political persecution of five environmental protectors in El Salvador. They should never have been arrested. See below for an action request. The statement comes from allies around the world who came together more than 15 years ago to accompany communities in El Salvador in their defence of water resources against a Canadian mining company….

San Salvador – On September 24, the presiding tribunal in San Vicente, El Salvador, found five prominent water defenders from Santa Marta, Miguel Ángel Gámez, Alejandro Laínez García, Pedro Antonio Rivas Laínez, Antonio Pacheco, and Saúl Agustín Rivas Ortega, innocent of charges of murder,  kidnapping, and illicit association. 

Once again, the five prominent Water Defenders who faced politically-motivated charges have been declared innocent — and they should never have been arrested. International Allies against Mining in El Salvador calls upon the Salvadoran Attorney General to abstain from further legal action and demands that all civil liabilities are dropped.

Representatives from the governments of Canada, France, and Germany appeared at the court today to observe the ruling, a reminder that governments and international civil society are watching this case closely.

“We call on the Attorney General’s office to respect the decision of the tribunal, to abstain from appealing this decision and stop wasting government resources to keep up the farce,” stated Alfredo Leiva from the community of Santa Marta, whose leading members were among those on trial. “Rather than insisting on prolonging this process any further, the Attorney General’s office should apologize to the five and to the community, and should dedicate themselves to investigating the real war crimes, starting with the massacres that were committed against Santa Marta and other communities.”

“The five Water Defenders should never have been charged, and the Salvadoran government’s willingness to pursue these accusations despite their clear innocence signals a worrying willingness to persecute the movement that these five water defenders represent. We call on the Salvadoran government to forgo future sham prosecutions and uphold the democratic rule of law in future pursuit of true justice,” said John Cavanagh, Senior Advisor at the Institute for Policy Studies. 

“We celebrate that the Water Defenders have on two occasions now been found innocent of all the charges laid against them. However, we are deeply concerned that the judicial system may continue to be used as a tool to persecute the leaders for their role in protecting the country’s scarce water resources. We ask that the findings of the two courts be respected. We look forward to the day when the Defenders can return to their community and families in full liberty, free from the threat of further persecution,” said Christie Neufeldt, Global Partnerships Coordinator for Latin America, The United Church of Canada.

“Despite the positive results, the international community should be aware that the struggle is far from over. The Attorney General still has the possibility of appealing the case and taking it all the way to the Supreme Court level, and it may take years before the Santa Marta Five are declared fully innocent,” said Pedro Cabezas, coordinator of the Central American Alliance on Mining.

“As was the case in their trial in Sensuntepeque in October 2024, the five water defenders of Santa Marta who were subjected to another trial have today again been found innocent of the charges of murder, kidnapping, and illicit association,” said Prof. Bernie Hammond, an international observer at the trial. “It is to be hoped that the Attorney General will have the good sense to let go of this case against the five. It has become clear to the legal community and to the general public that these charges were politically motivated and are a clear example of “lawfare” in which anti-mining advocacy on the part of the five were criminalized in order to change the 2017 law prohibiting mining in El Salvador.” 

In January 2023, police arrested the five prominent water defenders from the rural community of Santa Marta and the Association for Social and Economic Development of El Salvador (ADES) on charges allegedly dating back to the country’s civil war and held them incommunicado for over eight months and then placed them on house arrest until their trial date. The five had played an instrumental role in the country’s heroic and successful struggle to pass a historic 2017 law prohibiting toxic metals mining in El Salvador,  and were the first ones to denounce President Nayib Bukele’s intentions to  overturn it.

When the five were finally tried in October 2024,  after a long legal defense campaign that denounced a series of irregularities with the proceedings, the tribunal dismissed all charges against them due to lack of evidence, ruled that all five were completely innocent of the two sham charges of murder and illicit association that were laid against them. However, in aruling that has been widely condemned as a travesty of justice, an appeals court annulled the innocent verdict, allowing the Attorney General’s Office to try them again on the same charges.

Beyond the lack of evidence, the Salvadoran Attorney General’s pursuit of this case even after the original determination of innocence in October 2024 has dealt a serious blow to the Salvadoran government’s credibility, belying its claim that it remains a democracy and that it holds no political prisoners. The unceasing and courageous pressure from grassroots organizations in El Salvador – in concert with international solidarity – may have worked in favour of the Water Defenders today, but hundreds of political opponents, labour leaders and human rights defenders remain imprisoned. The community-led movement of water defenders still stands strong in the face of future attempts to undermine land and water protections for communities in El Salvador.

Our organizations support the call by Salvadoran civil society groups that the Salvadoran Attorney General should apologize to the five defendants, whose health has suffered greatly over the past two years that they have stood accused of false charges, and to the Santa Marta community, which suffered from genuine military atrocities during the Salvadoran Civil War in 1980-1992. 

Media contacts:

Action Request:

Can you join us in uplifting the calls of the community that the Attorney General [ @FGR_SV ] respect the tribunal’s ruling? The International Allies Against Mining in El Salvador is calling on our network to:

1) Share the International Allies against Mining in El Salvador’s statement with your networks (here in Spanish). You can also share posts from the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador on X and on Facebook.

2) Call on the Attorney General not to appeal the ruling and, in the words of the Santa Marta community, “end this judicial farce.”

Sample tweets:

  • I applaud this week’s ruling that found no basis for the charges brought against the #SantaMarta5 water defenders of El Salvador & call on the @FGR_SV to cease their unjust persecution. #NoALaMineria #EyesOnSantaMarta http://bit.ly/46Udt53
  • Aplaudo la decisión del tribunal que dejo absueltos de todas las acusaciones en contra de los defensores de agua de #SantaMarta y hago un llamado a la @FGR_SV que deje su persecución injusta en contra de ellos. #NoALaMineria #SantaMartaNoEstaSola http://bit.ly/4nlIZyD