ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Salvatore Mancuso By Daniel Edgar The following is a translation of an open letter from Salvatore Mancuso to the ultra-right wing presidential candidate in Colombia, Ivan Duque, protégé of former president (from 2002 to 2010) Alvaro Uribe. Salvatore Mancuso was one of the most notorious paramilitary commanders from the late 1980s until their official demobilization in 2005. He was extradited to the United States several years later in contravention of the terms of the accord pursuant to which the main paramilitary groups formally agreed to demobilize. *** Mr Iván Duque Márquez, Esteemed Doctor, I was extradited to the United States during the government of Álvaro Uribe Vélez, in order to avoid [the possibility that we might reveal information about] our patron and all of his associates. We were condemned for crimes against humanity, of which you are very familiar, the abundant cases of massacres, selective assassinations, etc., and I was only convicted for drug traffick

FILE IMAGE: REUTERS/USAF/Tech. Sgt. Taylor Worley/Handout via Reuters Early on June 18, the Syrian state-run news agecny SANA accused the US-led coalition of striking government forces’ position near the Syrian border town of al-Bukamal. According to the SANA’s report citing a military sources, US-led coalition warplanes carried out strikes on a position in the village of al-Hiri, located southeast of al-Bukamal. “ The new aggression comes three days after that the Syrian army liberated an area extending from the road of Haqel al-Wared (field of roses), al-M’aezleh and al-Tammah, to Ibn Muwain’e with 40 km-long axis  and combed an area estimated at 2000 square kilometers in al-Mayadeen western Badiya. The coalition has been targeting the military positions in  a desperate attempt to raise the collapsed morale of the terrorist organizations  due to the achievements of the Syrian army. The field reports confirm that  Washington provides Daesh organization with various kinds

In this interview recorded the morning after U.S. President Trump’s ‘historic’ meeting with Chairman Kim Jong-Un of the Democratic Republic of Korea,  Professor Michel Chossudovsky  of the Centre for Research on Globalization gives his assessment of the meeting, outlines the threat of a reunified Korean peninsula to U.S. military and economic interests, comments on the coincidence of the G7 and other international summits taking place in the same week, and elaborates on the cross-cutting economic alliances which are challenging U.S. autonomy in the region. Prof. Michel Chossudovsky, Reporting from  Seoul, South Korea

On June 15, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) released a statement claiming that at least 15 Turkish soldiers and Turkish-backed militants had been killed in YPG attacks in the district of Sherawa in the northwestern Syrian area of Afrin. According to the statement, on June 13 the YPG destroyed a vehicle of Fiirqat al-Hamzah on a road between the villages of Qimara and Barada. 3 militants were allegedly killed on the scene. On the same day, the YPG reportedly attacked two vehicles belonging to Turkey-led forces in the village of Khaltah. 12 members of Turkey-led forces, including a Turkish soldier, were reportedly killed. The YPG statement claimed that 2,479 Turkish-backed militants and Turkish soldiers have been killed since the start of the Turkish operation in Afrin. Rojava Defense Units | YPG @DefenseUnits 15 # Turkish -backed mercenaries killed in # Afrin . english: https:// bit.ly/2JFL89R   ⁰kurdî: https:// bit.ly/2LN9NFO   türkçe: https://

While on some maps ISIS formally controls no areas in Iraq, indeed, lots of ISIS cells operate on the both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi border. ISIS has executed 90 own fighters for their unwilligness to fight the Syrian Army near the Iraqi border, Qutri al-Obeidi, a leader of the Popular Mobilization Units in the Iraqi province of Anbar,  told Almaalomah news website . According to al-Obeidi, the incident took place in the area of Hegeen, located 40 km away from the Iraqi border town of al-Qaim. The dead bodies were reportedly thrown to the Euphrates River. If al-Obeidi’s words are confirmed, this will be another signal that the remaining ISIS leadership is loosing its control over the terrorist group’s cells and units across Syria and Iraq. This is especially clearly seen in Syria where ISIS cells operate on their own and even have no contact with the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq.  This is why they release videos and photos via own media accounts instead of providing them to

If you’re able, and if you like our content and approach, please support the project. Our work wouldn’t be possible  without your help: PayPal:  southfront@list.ru  or via:  http://southfront.org/donate/   or via:  https://www.patreon.com/southfront ,  BTC:  13iYp9CDYZwgSnFXNtpEKgRRqaoxHPr2MH,  BCH: 1NE49pQW8yCegnFCMvKuhLUnuxvTnxNUhf,  ETH:  0x962b312a9d41620f9aa0d286f9d7f8b1769bfae6 The changing geopolitical situation around the world, especially the Middle East, the intensified cultural-ideological and class struggle both within individual countries and globally, continue to provoke reactive political processes. Recently, a new crisis has erupted in Armenia, a state in the South Caucasus. The balance of power, self-perception of local ethnic groups, and the influence of socio-economic and cultural ideological groups on public policy have significantly changed in the country. These changes are multidirectional, increasing the risk of a new armed conflict. On April 12, an acute i

FILE IMAGE: Colombian Police Written by  Daniel Edgar  exclusively for  SouthFront Over the last few weeks three workers employed by Nestlé subsidiaries in Colombia have been murdered in circumstances that indicate they were deliberately targeted for assassination; in one case, the victim had been warned (along with several other Nestlé workers in the region) that he would be considered a military target if he did not renounce his membership of the trade union SINALTRAINAL (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores del Sistema Agroalimentario – the National Food Industry Trade Union). SINALTRAINAL has been the victim of official and extra-official persecution, threats and selective assassinations since its foundation in the early 1980s. At least 28 of its members have been murdered, including 17 members who were employed by Nestlé subsidiaries and seven employed by subsidiaries of Coca Cola. The efforts to destroy the trade union have taken many forms over the years, and demonstrate