Empire on the Rocks: Rubio's Red Scare

Welcome to Empire on the Rocks, I'm Marcy Winograd on Code Pink Radio and today we're going to talk about growing opposition on Capitol Hill to Pete Hegseth, war secretary and this unprovoked war on Iran. Also, is it true that we are really going to fuse the US and Israeli militaries? Oh, no, no, no. And on the second half, we will take a look at Marco Rubio's obsession with Cuba in his now documented Cuba 21st Century Communism. Let's look at who he's attacking on the left. Code Pink? Uh, yeah, I think so and some others. Stay tuned. >> [music] [music] >> Welcome Medea. Medea Benjamin, you're with me. Great to see you. >> Great to be with you, Marcy. >> Yeah, so you're on Capitol Hill every day and you're leading a group of about, I don't know, 20 to 30 people. You're visiting offices, you're disrupting a few hearings. There's so much going on. What's the latest? >> Well, the latest is that we, along with people all over this country, have been trying to find ways to get our government to sever its ties with Israel. And you know, Marcy, I wish we had an in with the White House where we could have some influence there. But unfortunately, we don't have any access there. So our access is really to Congress. And that's where we've been putting a lot of our energies to translate this incredibly growing public opposition to Israel into policy. And I don't know how much you look at these public opinion polls, Marcy, but it's really amazing that, you know, different organizations put out different ones, and it just keeps growing and growing and growing the opposition to Israel. And that has to be translated, you know, we're seeing that in some uh races for Congress. Um we're seeing it in but we're also seeing it in votes in Congress. And that's important. Um we had the Massie vote where it was an amendment to cut off 3.3 billion to Israel and got 104 members. You know, that's what is that? Like a quarter of the the Congress, which you could do the half glass the glass half full or half empty, you know, say, "Wait, what about that other three quarters?" But you can also say, "Wow, I never thought I would see those people like the the whip Katherine Clark or Nancy Pelosi or Adam Smith uh voting to cut off aid to Israel." We might want to talk about why they did it. Uh and then there's also these uh votes against the NDAA, the National uh the Defense Authorization Act. And maybe you could talk about that, Marcy. >> Sure. Well, yeah. I mean, the Trump administration ultimately, I believe the number is they want a 1.5 trillion-dollar military budget. And for the time being, they're asking for 1.12 trillion. I think that's part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which is basically an outline for the military budget, a policy outline. And of course, they want more money for Iran. Now, recently, Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War, Mr. Testosterone, went before Congress, as you know, to ask for more money for these this unprovoked US war on Iran. How much? Let's go to the first quiz question. Are you ready, Medea? Here we go. Number one. How much has the Iran war cost US taxpayers? A, $39 billion. B, $39 million. C, $132 billion. What do you think? >> Well, it's certainly not the million. It's certainly not B. And it depends who you listen to, but I think it's way more than the $39 billion that is put out there officially. So, I'll go with C, $132. >> Very good. Well, you and Moody's are going with that number. Moody's is the credit rating service and they look at risk level and they don't just look at military spending. So, Hexeth says it's $39.5 or something billion dollars that the war has cost us already. But, Moody says, "No, when you look at the total picture, including energy costs, we're looking at $132 billion that we have spent on this unprovoked war with no seeming end on Iran." Now, Medea, tell us about the disruption at the Hexeth hearing. >> Well, the I don't want to sound like it was a conspiracy to get people in there, but we had a lot of people who were really rearing to go, wanting to show their opposition. And how often do we get the Secretary of War appearing before Congress? So, we had a two Iranian-Americans who really were so heartbroken at the number of civilian casualties that we don't hear about and particularly wanted to focus on the 168 girls from the day one, and Manab school uh, killing. And so, they had photos of those girls, uh, and got up and said, "Stop killing my people." And, uh, also talked about how the American people don't want this war. And then, we had a nurse who said, "People need health care." Uh, and she talked about how, uh, the people that she treats can't afford their medicines. And then, we had a veteran who got up as well. Now, all of them were quickly thrown out and arrested. Uh, but I think they felt really good that they were able to speak for so many millions of us to say no to this war. Do you have any any video of that? >> Yes, we do. Let's Let's go to the video. >> against this illegal war. This is against the Iranian people, 90 million people. Your hands are bloody of 17 Americans and and 4,000 Iranians. >> The witness will >> 25 minutes. >> Stop protesting, man. >> Stop bombing our children IN IRAN AND PALESTINE. This is illegal. Iranians don't want this. Americans don't want this. >> Suspended until order is restored in the hearing room. We will begin the timing clock since you've been interrupting. >> Stop protesting. Stop protesting. >> And he's a veteran. Be careful. >> How do you treat that veteran? >> Veterans over end this war right now. I'm a nurse. I'm watching people literally die, rationing their insulin. Unhoused people getting cross fit and disciplined. >> I would ask that the Capitol Police >> No more money for war. We need health care, not war. >> remove those who are seeking to disrupt the hearing. >> Susan Collins, she's on the hot seat as well, running in Maine. And now, I think what, Troy Jackson is, uh, a Bernie a Bernie, uh, person who's running against her, but, you know, I'm so glad that you were there and Code Pink was there and the veteran was there because we can't allow these people to monopolize the microphone completely. >> Well, that's right, and it was good that some of the members of Congress did grill them. Uh, I must say the Democrats who have been so bad in general on this, uh, Israel and and watching and supporting the genocide, uh, they are coming out against the Iran war. And even at that hearing, uh, they did ask him a lot of very important questions that he was not able to answer. Unfortunately, some of them, uh, actually do it from the right of saying, "Well, wait a minute, you know, you you didn't knock them out. You didn't, um, uh, you weren't successful in getting, uh, a new government in there." Uh, but for the most part, they are reflecting the opposition to US spending more money and supporting this war. >> Yes, and there's even growing opposition amongst Republicans, although most, if not all, are too afraid to speak out. But Tom Tillis, the Republican from North Carolina who says he's not running again, he is, uh, speaking out and saying, "You know what? This there's no end in sight. Uh, you've dragged us into this unprovoked war. Uh, what's the plan? There's no there's no strategy here to get out, to end this this horror show." We'll see if other Republicans join him in that criticism. Uh, Hekseth certainly has been criticized and not just by Code Pink. So, what has Hekseth been criticized for? This is our number two quiz question. So, the possibilities, Medea, are A, executing Trump's illegal order to attack Iran. B, failing to answer questions about the Manab school bombing. C, undercounting the number of troops killed and wounded. D, ordering testosterone testing for all military members 30 and older. E, all of the above. >> Well, it's obviously all of the above and that D one is just incredible. Testosterone, but of course the A, B, and C are more horrific because people are dying because of it. >> Yeah, I'm wondering if his days are numbered. Well, I wouldn't want to take I wouldn't want to gamble on that. Not that I [clears throat] gamble in Las Vegas, but you know, you have to wonder. I mean, people are are sick and tired of these forever wars and the midterms are approaching. >> Well, yeah, Marcy, you would think that Trump would want to get rid of somebody high up just to put the blame on somebody else. And you know, we hear all this talk about divisions in the White House around the war and there's got to be divisions. I mean, how can they be watching this disastrous and Trump just flailing about trying to figure out what the heck he's going to do. And of course Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance thinking about their opportunities to become president and where do they want to be on this spectrum of insanity. So, yeah, there's got to be some divisions and somebody's got to take the fall for this. >> Yeah, so it'll be interesting to see who does take that fall and I I think Pete Hegseth is a good candidate. I'd like to go back I think it was about a month ago, there was another hearing with Hegseth where a congresswoman Goodlander from New Hampshire, a Democrat, was grilling him about this war on Iran. So, let's listen. >> I recognize the gentlelady from New Hampshire, Ms. Goodlander. >> I want to thank our witnesses for being here today and I want to begin um by getting right to it since my time is limited on this 1.5 trillion-dollar budget request. Mr. Hagseth, you testified last year and you testified again today uh that you will be accountable for every American taxpayer dollar that comes to the department, where it goes and why. Um that's really important since as has been pointed out the department has failed eight audits. Uh the department remains on GAO's high-risk list. The Inspector General just last year alone identified billions of dollars that could have been put to better use and in questioned costs, that is spending that raised red flags. Uh so this is this is a crisis right now in accountability of where the dollars of the American taxpayers who are in the middle of a cost crisis where this money is going. I want to I want to ask about your war in Iran. And Mr. Hurst, you testified earlier today that 25 billion dollars has been spent to date. I just want to clarify that that is money that taxpayer dollars that have been spent already in this war. >> $25 just reflects the costs of the war, right? So we've already spent the dollars on munitions and things like that. So we're factoring in cost of munitions expended in that total. >> So how much of that has gone towards munitions? Does that include the munitions that have been spent to date? >> Yeah, that reflects the munitions that have been spent to date and other operational costs. >> Um can you give us a breakdown of those costs are? >> Uh we'll work to get you guys a product that has a detailed breakdown of those costs. >> Yeah, my concern here is Mr. Hagseth, you've testified repeatedly that you're going to be accountable for each and every American taxpayer dollar that you spend, you're going to be accountable for the rationale. Here we are 60 days in to your war of choice in Iran, and you can't give us an answer on a breakdown of the basic breakdown of American taxpayer dollars that have been spent in your war of choice. >> Well, I'm glad she kept calling it a war of choice cuz that's really important that people recognize an unprovoked war of choice. >> Yes. >> And yeah, a Pentagon accounting for money. How about the fact that they could never pass an audit? They certainly can't account for not just billions. It seems like there's trillions of dollars and if you add it all up over the years that they can't account for. >> Yeah, I appreciated that she mentioned the Pentagon has failed eight audits. And yet here he's got his hand out for what he's asking how much he's asking something like he wants to seven another 70 billion for the war on Iran, just the war, I think. >> Yeah, 67 billion, part of a larger package that they threw other things into to make it more appetizing. But, you know, it's still absolutely absurd that we spend a penny on this war. They should have to pay us from their own pockets, but of course we wouldn't get to the billions. >> [laughter] >> Agreed, 100%. So, let's talk about Israel, Gaza, Palestine for a minute. Uh I'm watching these posts on Instagram of settlers setting fire to homes, Palestinian homes in the West Bank. And And journalists, activists warning us that this is the next Gaza. I certainly hope not, but it's it's just horrific to watch. >> Well, just as it's horrific to watch the destruction of entire villages in Lebanon and people in this quote certain uh experimental return going home to find that they have no village left. In the West Bank it's horrific. Everyday there are these violent settlers together with the IDF or IOF as we call them doing it together in tandem of this just inhumane harassment throwing setting people's homes on fire with their children inside destroying the ability of people to even go to their lands burning their olive trees. The the level of violence is has been escalating and think that it was really fascinating that the Congressman Ro Khanna was there and witnessed a tiny taste of it when he's his convoy was stopped by these settlers who started to rattle them and wouldn't let them pass and he came back so so angry about it but I really did was thankful to him that he did say that this was just a small taste of what happens to the Palestinians and the fact that they were able to get through in 90 minutes was because they were from the US and he was a Congressman. But yes Marcy we are seeing a horrific escalation of this violence and you know people like the Mike Huckabee the US ambassador to Israel saying nothing about this. >> It's stunning when you look at the gap between the Republicans on Capitol Hill and the and the American people. I mean I mean you know it's just so much growing opposition to US militarism, brutality, and domination, really, of the world. So, I I think that we just have to encourage people to keep it up, you know, don't don't give up, right? We need to be vocal, we need to be visible, and there are elections coming up. Uh you know, >> Mhm. >> Yeah, I am really thankful to um those people, both the Palestinians as well as the international observers in the West Bank who have been sending us these videos so that we can see. Uh and I don't know if you have any to show the uh viewers because it is so important that people do see what's going on on a daily basis. >> Yes. Uh well, we have a video from a guy named Andre who has been reporting from the West Bank about the settlers and their violence and the IDF IOF complicity for a long time, and he's got, I think, over 600,000 followers. So, let's take a look. >> him all the time. I am so grateful to him. >> Let's take a look at his latest post. >> Cleansing becomes genocide because something happened in the West Bank today, and we might be witnessing this process right now, today, in the West Bank. This afternoon, Israeli settler terrorists launched an attack on the village of Tel in the West Bank. During the attack, Sheikh Farouk Ramadan, one of the residents of the village, managed to overpower one of the attackers. He grabbed his weapon and shot and killed two of the settler terrorists. In response, the Israeli army, who were standing by and watching the settlers attack the Palestinians, massacred four of the residents of the village, including Farouk himself. The Israeli government and media quickly jumped on this, framing the victims of the attack as terrorists, and the settlers and the army immediately launched a wave of pogroms across the West Bank. Another Palestinian man was killed near Qalqilya. Settlers set fires to cars and houses in Sarra, and the IDF raided a hospital in Nablus, kidnapping several Palestinians from there. But this is just the beginning. Israeli politicians, including the so-called left opposition, are setting up conditions for a massive wave of settler attacks and army raids across the West Bank, perhaps on a scale that we have never seen before. They fully intend on turning the West Bank into Gaza, and only international pressure can stop them. So, now, more than ever, all eyes on the West Bank. >> All eyes on the West Bank, indeed. You You think that we we witnessed a genocide in Gaza, and that's got to be the end, right? And now this? >> Now we're watching it, and we're eyes are off Gaza, unfortunately, and we've got to find more ways to put the eyes back on Gaza. And what we didn't mention, Marcy, was this in the NDAA, this section that is to designed to intertwine the US and the Israeli military, and I think we should focus on that for a minute, because even though the NDAA did pass with that section in it, >> In the >> in the house. Yeah, so there's still a chance to stop it in the Senate. And that's where I think we need a massive, massive campaign that's not just coming from people who are consider themselves progressives, because there is a lot of opposition among Republicans and independents to the idea that we would have this kind of level of connection that has no ending end date, that it's an ongoing uh connection in the production, in the uh in the research, in the use of both the military hardware as well as in the the uh AI, the intelligence, um that that's this would be in that NDAA, and um it would be then codified, and Congress would not have to year after year um be looking at this relationship. And I don't know if we explained before, but we perhaps we should again, that this is uh Netanyahu's idea that he said instead of fighting about the 3.3 billion that we just saw 104 members of Congress say no, um let's look at the bigger pot, which is in the Pentagon budget itself, where there's hundreds of billions of dollars that go into research and development that can now be used by the Israelis. >> Yeah, so to be clear, the House version of the NDAA that did pass included this section to establish a coordinator in the Pentagon who would ensure that the United States and Israel were co-developing weapons. They are now, but this is, you know, on steroids, okay? And uh sharing all sorts of intelligence, technology, uh quantum physics, on and on. Now, the Senate version is even more egregious because it makes it very difficult for a president, whoever that might be, to reverse this kind of fusing of the US and Israeli militaries. So, yeah, all hands on deck. Make sure we've got to get to our senators, and you know, we'll see. Uh maybe it will be taken out of the NDAA before that vote. Who knows? Um you know, I want to go back to the Iran war for a minute. >> froze on you. >> Medhi, I want to go back to the Iran war conversation for a minute because I think there's a lot of confusion out there. First, a question. First, a multiple No, this isn't a multiple choice. This is a true or false question. Uh, and it's number three. Both the House and the Senate have passed an Iran war resolution to remove the United States from hostilities with Iran. True or false? >> Well, actually it's a little bit false because they have passed many Iran war resolutions. Well, and in fact, in the Senate, it's quite remarkable that Senator Kaine has been bringing up war resolute war powers resolutions over and over and over again. But yes, there is one identical resolution that was passed in the House and in the Senate. And so that, one would think, would be law, wouldn't you >> You think, but but what I'm reading is that the White House says it's not binding, uh, and they can do what they want. >> Well, that's right. And you know, we we know they don't care a bit about international law. They've proven that. Uh, but also they have this stupid sneaky thing where when they had signed this memorandum of understanding, they said, "Okay, the clock ends there. That war is over." And then when they started fighting again, that's a new war. So we're only less than two weeks into the new war, and they've got 60 days. >> How absurd is that? I want to uplift Senator Van Hollen from Maryland for a moment, who spoke about the Iran war resolution and the urgency of passage on the floor of the Senate. Let's listen. >> 11 times on resolutions to end the war. And finally, last month both chambers passed House Concurrent Resolution 86 directing the president to terminate hostilities against Iran. It was a historic vote. It marked the first time since the War Powers Resolution was enacted in 1973 that Congress successfully used this mechanism that was designed to halt the unauthorized use of force by a president, by any president. That resolution was not a suggestion. It is legally binding. >> Well, I don't know who is going to make the final determination about that. It might It might be the American public and political pressure because I don't see Trump paying much attention to that war resolution, do you? >> No, absolutely not. Obviously not. Uh and I think we're going to keep seeing more of these resolutions passed in the Congress because they want it to be clear um that they have said no to this war. But, yeah, the president will keep doing what he wants to do. But, he can't figure out what he wants to do, Marci, so um we never know from one day to the next what is going to be happening. And I wanted to bring up a very recent example of how the president doesn't know what the heck he wants to do. And that is the this quote agreement that they had with Saudi Arabia. Have you followed that, Marci? >> Oh, yeah. They're going to uh let or allow or sell, I don't know what what the plan is, but it's okay for Saudi Arabia to develop nuclear uh fuel. Uh that could possibly be used to in the enriched uranium for weapons someday, although that's was supposedly not going to happen. Uh meanwhile, they're bombing Iran because Iran has agreed to a deal to stop enriching uranium. I don't get it. >> Well, yeah, it's it's ridiculous on that front, but what I wanted to point out was the fact that obviously the the Saudis and the US had been negotiating this for quite a long time, and they came out with a statement saying that they had signed an agreement, which would then have to go to the Senate for ratification, but that they had signed an agreement, and then the next day Trump came out and he said, "Oh, but it has to be connected to the Saudis signing the Abraham Accords with Israel. Uh sort of we forgot to put that in the agreement." And all of a sudden, that whole agreement blew up, and that's because Netanyahu gave a call to Trump and said, "Hey, what are you doing signing that agreement with the Saudis without making them make friends with us?" And so, it's just another example of how Netanyahu, the incredible amount of influence he has over Trump. And we should be shaking in the fact that Netanyahu is coming to the United States this week. He's going to be here for Lindsey Graham's funeral, but who imagined the talks that he's going to have with Trump while he's here. And by the way, I don't know if you saw Marcy how this leaked call that Lindsey Graham had with Netanyahu about Lebanon. >> I haven't swear >> where Lindsey Graham said, "Hey, buddy, how you doing?" I was thinking of telling Trump that we should get involved with you in Lebanon. We should join you in the bombing of Lebanon. And Netanyahu wasn't all that. He was more like, "Well, why don't you take care of Iran?" Um but here it is, Lindsey Graham encouraging uh the US to join with Netanyahu and, you know, uh I don't want I We're going to be out in the streets protesting Netanyahu when he's here, but just the fact that he's here again and that he won't be arrested like he should be arrested and that he'll he'll have the ear of Donald Trump once again. >> Yeah, apparently uh you know, Mom Donny had to walk that back about arresting Netanyahu if he showed up in New York at the United Nations because his legal team said he didn't have the authority. Uh you know, I know we're not a party to the International Criminal Court. So, uh I'm not a lawyer, but I I certainly don't want Netanyahu anywhere near this country um anywhere actually. [laughter] >> Well, as as Mondami said said in a what I thought was a beautiful statement about it. He said the federal government does have the authority to do that and they should. Of course, they're not going to um and, you know, here we're going to have him in Washington, D.C., but he does definitely belong in The Hague and hopefully we'll see him there one day, right, Marcy? >> I hope so. You know, the Trump administration, of course, Marco Rubio, they want to do everything they can to destroy the International Criminal Court and to destroy international law, but we're fighting back and the world is fighting back. So, before we move on to the second half of our program, I wanted to give us some hope and bolster our spirits a little bit with a post that was also uh on Instagram about resistance in Gaza. Let's listen. People there are showing a lot of resourcefulness. Recently, you visited a man who built a home out of clay with his own hands. >> The day that I visited this potter, it was about 35° and the minute that I stepped inside this home that he is building, the temperature went down instantly. He said, "Sometimes I sit by this window and I can see my tomato plants and I imagine that I'm in Italy." Um that window there, it's not unusual, for example, to see a cafe or or a business literally emerging from the rubble. Like the rubble becomes part of the foundation. I've been interpreting this through the lens of re-composition and they're re-composing it into the life that they can live under these circumstances. And I don't mean to romanticize by any means, but small acts of resistance matter. They contribute to the culture, they contribute to the narrative, and they keep the community going. >> And speaking of romanticizing or or romance, let's say, people in Gaza are still getting married. >> I have a friend who opened up his own wedding hall and he called it a new beginning. It is booked until October. And so I think to myself, there are certainly moments that we feel hopeless, but that's a choice. It's a choice for us to feel hopeless. Palestinians don't have that choice. They see something that is worth working towards and we too need to continue to see something to work towards a more just and peaceful future. Um because if they're not stopping, then neither should we. >> Neither should we is right. And we're going to talk more about the resistance on the second half of our program. I'm Marcy Winograd. I'm with Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink. You are listening to Empire on the Rocks, a segment of Code Pink Radio. Now, we are going to turn to this report. I think it was a 100-page report that the State Department issued. I think Marco Rubio probably, you know, was >> [laughter] >> spending many a night laboring on this ridiculous report. Cuba, the capital of 21st century communism. What was your response, Medea? >> It was such a wild report to read. I mean, it felt like we were going back in time to the 1950s. This is the most McCarthyite report that you could imagine in which it's this vast conspiracy on the international level. Cuba, the tiny country, is in the center of it. And then you have China, Russia, Iran, and then you have all of these groups in the United States that are Black Lives Matter groups, union organizing, peace groups, all kinds of groups that are supposedly directed by Cuba as part of this international conspiracy. And it is so absurd. And this idea like Black Lives Matter are directed by Cuba is insane and and acts as if there's no real oppression in the United States. Oh, it even it even linked ICE opposition to ICE as something that is directed by Cuba. So, um a document, Marcy, that's extremely dangerous on two levels. To try to paint domestic dissent as domestic terrorism linked to a foreign country that's a threat to the United States. And the other is military invasion at this point. >> Yeah, pretext for military invasion. That was my thought. In reading this, I have to admit I didn't read the entire 100 pages, but I did read the section on the groups in the United States that Rubio is linking to this vast conspiracy with the center of it being Cuba, a country an island nation of what, 10 million people that has survived 60 plus years under horrible sanctions imposed by the United States and now an oil embargo. It's this country? I mean, it's ridiculous. That's driving all of these movements in the United States and around the world for peace and justice. And I noted that some of these groups it's almost it almost seemed like uh they were focused on people of color, right? Um certainly black people and black organizations. For example, uh they accused or he accused these following organizations like the Jericho Movement, Black Nationalist, Equality for Flatbush, that's what near Brooklyn or in Brooklyn, Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, and a a [clears throat] group called Changing Frequencies. These are all black-oriented social justice groups that supposedly linked to this vast conspiracy. I think that uh that in some ways, yes, this is very dangerous, but in some ways I thought in reading this, I thought, "Well, I'm so proud of these organizations and all the work that they've been doing all the all these years." >> Yeah, in some ways it was actually interesting to read uh the history of some of these groups. Of course, you know, from the point of view of uh the White House and whatever AI they used to generate this report. Um but I think um it also uh is important to talk about what's not in there, which is um not only the US sanctions that have been so detrimental to Cuba, but why is it around the world, not just in the US, have these links to Cuba? Why do they care about Cuba? And it's because of what Cuba has done uh, in the beginning years especially, to go from a country that was um, uh, a major uh, portion of the it didn't have access to healthcare, um, was uh, an extremely unequal society run by mafiosos connected to the US, uh, to a society that had a great infant mortality rate, took care of children, took care of the elderly, um, taught everybody to read and write, and not only that, was a major contributor to countries in Africa. You talk about uh, the black organizations that are in that report, well, many of the uh, blacks uh, groups around the world recognize what Cuba did to help liberate South Africa from from apart- heid, to help in the liberation of Namibia, to help stop South Africa from uh, its invasion of Angola, and then to send doctors and teachers all over Africa. So, there is tremendous love around the world for what Cuba has contributed, and I think that's one of the reasons that Marco Rubio and others hate Cuba so much. >> You know, they hate Cuba because it has withstood US pressure. It is a uh, it is a revolution, it was a revolution that had that has endured despite all this pressure. It It's almost like they are in disbelief, and so they have laid the groundwork for something much more sinister. It hasn't worked in the past and we have to make sure that it doesn't work this time either. So, that's our perspective. Let's hear more about Marco Rubio's report from first Rania Khalek on Cuba derangement syndrome and then Ana Kasparian with The Young Turks. >> nation that has been subjected for like what seven decades now to a US blockade is portrayed in this 100 page report as the one of the gravest threats to American civilization. Now, what makes this Cuba derangement syndrome different is that it doesn't stop at going after Cuba. It names dozens of people [music] and organizations. I'm talking American activists, popular streamers, journalists, [music] union organizers, sitting elected officials as being agents of the Cuban government. Their crime is traveling to Cuba, delivering humanitarian aid to Cuba, and basically just having the wrong politics. This is what red scare hysteria looks like. See, it's even more also [music] a fear of the American public. And the reason I say that is because what is the left advocating for in the US? They want to tax the rich to give free health care and free education to everybody. They want to end war so our resources can go to fixing our neighborhoods instead of destroying [music] neighborhoods in Gaza, and Iran, and Cuba. This is a popular agenda and people like Marco Rubio know that. Two birds with one stone with this ridiculous report. It's laying the foundation for a broader escalation against [music] the US left. And then the second part of this is laying a further groundwork [music] for escalation and regime change in Cuba. >> And then we have Ana Kasparian from The Young Turks. >> States State Department under the leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio is ramping up for possible war against Cuba and he is using one of the craziest excuses in order to make it happen. He's arguing that Cuba poses a a national security threat to the United States. And the State Department has even released a report on this matter basically attempting to draw a link between the government of Cuba and so-called left-wing extremism across the globe. Now, as we're all absorbing images of war crimes, crimes against humanity, just barbarism, barbaric behavior by Israel, [clears throat] you have the United States backing that barbarism while claiming that Cuba is spreading an extremist ideology that poses a threat to the United States. Okay. So, let's talk a little bit about their report on the matter. This is a State Department report. For nearly seven decades, the Cuban regime has waged a sustained campaign of subversion against the United States. It is a campaign that has infiltrated the highest reaches of the US government, recruited and cultivated generations of American activists, backed an unprecedented wave of left-wing terrorism on American soil and carried out one of the most durable and damaging foreign intelligence penetrations in American history. So, this 100-page report actually details the history of Cuban influence operations around the globe, most of which are literally decades old by now. Um as for what's happening now in 2026, well, the report fear-mongers about Americans and organizations that are sympathetic to the Cuban government, kind of like the DSA, while simultaneously admitting that they aren't Cuban psyops. So there's no evidence that these groups like the DSA's like working with the Cuban government in some subversive way. And so I'm going to read you the part of the report that touches on this cuz it's hilarious. The DSA was not founded as a Cuban intelligence or influence front. It was born in 1982 as a fusion of socialist organizations and movements from both the old left and new left factions. Today it maintains a fierce, almost religious commitment to the cause of the Cuban regime, not because the group is controlled by Cuban agents per se, but because that commitment is now simply the de facto policy orthodoxy of the American far left. Well, in a democratic system, you know, we choose our representatives based on a democratic process. Our constitution protects our first amendment. If there's no evidence of DSA working with a foreign government, what what's the problem here? So these are people who just prefer to defend Cuba? Even as the United States tries to crush the Cuban people with just terrible sanctions and an economic embargo? Okay. >> It is absurd. And the report takes aim at these specific groups, among them Code Pink, DSA, the National Lawyers Guild, the People's Forum, organizations explicitly aligned with Cuba. And while Marco Rubio wants to attack them, I want to uplift these organizations and and the great work that they're doing. And in fact, DSA is going to use what House Speaker, Republican Mike Johnson said about the DSA, I think to raise money. So, listen to Mike Johnson on the DSA. >> The DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America, this is their platform. Listen, this this is actually quotes from their platform that they published I think about a day or two ago. Uh you can find this on the internet. Okay, here's just a sample of what they're about. They put this on paper. They're saying the quiet things out loud. Abolish the Electoral College, replace the two-party system with a multi-party democracy, expand the House of Representatives, implement proportional representation and rank choice voting in all elections. Uh uh abolish uh well, establish public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries to ensure democratic control and accountability to the people. Abolish ICE and grant amnesty for all. Uh end sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela and Iran. Free Palestine. Quote, for a free Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. End all military and economic aid to Israel, prosecute US and Israeli leaders responsible for the genocide in Gaza. Abolish the carceral state. Listen. Quote, redirect police and prison funding to public services as steps towards abolishing the carceral forces of the capitalist state. Y'all, it goes on and on and on. Defund the Department of War. Replace the president and the Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen and subordinate to Congress. >> I love it. What do you think, Media? >> [laughter] >> I don't know about the last one of the judiciary subordinate to Congress given how awful Congress is. Uh but wow, yeah, it sounds great. It's so funny that they're going to use that for fundraising. And it reminds me of Trump saying that um yeah, they call themselves Democratic Socialists, but they're communists. And anybody who objects to one of their horrific policies is communist. >> Yeah, the way Mike Johnson reads that, he he wants to make it sound sinister, but it sounds so uplifting and positive. And I understand why they would why DSA would want to use that in a fundraising pitch. So, why is Marco Rubio why is Mike Johnson so freaked out about the Democratic Socialists of America? Could it be that they are winning elections? Yeah. And they are challenging some uh entrenched incumbents, Democrats, and they're winning. >> So, wait a minute, Marcy. That's also why the establishment of the Democrats are so freaked out about the DSA as well. So, it's not just the Mike Johnsons, the Republicans, it's also the entrenched political uh people who want to keep this system going and are really horrified at the idea that there are going to be some more Democratic Socialists in the Congress. >> Yes. And we have two victories we can highlight for the Democratic Socialists of America. Two candidates that they they backed who won their primaries or won their elections. So, first we're going to hear from the candidate in Denver, Milagros, and then the one in New York City, Claire Valdez. Let's listen. >> Kiros will be speaking momentarily at her victory party tonight in Denver. The 29-year-old corporate attorney turned barista has defeated Democratic Congresswoman Diana DeGette, ending one of the longer careers in Democratic political history. DeGette held that seat for 15 terms and rarely had a challenger. This year, Milagros pulled off what was long thought to be impossible, And she has changed Denver's Democratic Party structure and Colorado politics in doing so. Let's listen in. >> THIS VICTORY BELONGS TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. >> [cheering] >> DENVER VOTERS OF ALL AGES, OF ALL RACES, OF ALL RELIGIONS SENT A CLEAR MESSAGE. WE [screaming] WILL NOT WAIT. >> [cheering] >> WE WILL NOT WAIT TO TAKE THE FIGHT TO DONALD TRUMP AND THE OLIGARCHY. WE WILL NOT WAIT. >> [cheering] >> WE WILL NOT WAIT TO ABOLISH ICE AND PASS MEDICARE FOR ALL. >> [cheering] >> WE WILL NOT WAIT TO PUT AN END TO THE POLITICS OF THE PAST, TO GET BIG MONEY OUT OF OUR POLITICS, AND TO REJECT CORPORATE PACS AND AIPAC. >> YES, MEL KEYUROS reject AIPAC, absolutely. And now Claire Valdez, she ran in New York's 7th Congressional District in the 2026 election. Let's listen. >> I mean that when we organize together, we can take on bad bosses, we can get win good wages, we can win dignified working conditions. My goal in running for office is always how do we get as many people as possible into unions, how do we pass the PRO Act, how do we stand on the side of working people so that they have the power to fight for themselves and their co-workers and their neighbors. And that's the movement that I come out of. And what I wish is for working class people to have the dignity, the wages, the protections that they deserve. And if the Democratic Party is willing to stand for Medicare for all, is willing to fight for abolishing ICE and bringing them, you know, the billions, trillions of dollars we spend on forever wars back into our communities, then that's the Democratic Democratic Party I want to be part of. That's what we're fighting for in these races and I think we saw over the last, you know, several weeks, uh, months as progressives around the country are winning and last night, um, that this is what the working class and the Democratic electorate is also hungry for. >> Hungry is right. Yeah, it's inspiring to hear these women after their victories. So, stay tuned for more. Now, this report, as I mentioned earlier, also attacks the National Lawyers Guild. I'm a proud member. I have been for a long time and uh, I appreciate all the work that the National Lawyers Guild does with their legal observers. You've probably seen them with green vests, green caps, informing people of their rights, documenting abuses, ICE abuses, police abuses. So, they are one of the organizations that's also mentioned as well as The People's Forum. What can you tell us about The People's Forum, India? >> The People's Forum is a venue, uh, in New York City that has become a hub of organizing around all kinds of great progressive issues, uh, which is why the US government sees it as so subversive and really has attacked it. Uh, you go basically any night to The People's Forum and you will see hundreds of people there organizing and it's, um, a place where people go to learn. There are classes, there are, um, uh, there are, uh, lectures, um, there are all kinds of programs, but it really is a great group. It's also does its own organizing and when we worked, uh, with the Nuestra América trip that went to Cuba in March, The People's Forum had organized one part of that and their part was to raise a lot of money and they raised many hundreds of thousands of dollars to get solar panels. And they organized to get the solar panels through Mexico, to get a ship that would take them to Cuba, and to use those solar panels for the children's hospitals. So that when the lights go out, the incubators would keep working. So that is just some of the great work that The People's Forum has been doing. >> Yes. And in addition to attacking groups like The People's Forum, National Lawyers Guild, Democratic Socialists of America, Code Pink, this report from Marco Rubio on 21st Century Communism emanating from Cuba also lists some people. And I would like to uplift those people as well. One of them being the leader of The People's Forum, Manolo De Los Santos. Here he is. >> a US-engineered crisis. All of the politics of the region are actually being determined by Rubio's anti-Cuba agenda. One of the reasons why the US attacked Venezuela, kidnapped their president, was precisely to harm Cuba. When we look at [music] US interventions in elections in Peru, in Honduras, in Colombia, it is precisely to create a situation of no political support for Cuba in the region. >> [music] >> When we look at the case against Brazil, literally the US is trying to intervene in Brazil and to create an environment where Lula loses the presidency. We're seeing in Latin America and the Caribbean probably the boldest and the most aggressive stage of US-Latin America relations because the US is basically done with any proprieties that it kind of held in politics for the last 20-30 years. It's just going full out intervention mode. They're trying to change the map of politics in the region precisely to undermine the Cuban Revolution, but also to prevent any form of independence in the region. That is the ultimate goal. >> Well, good luck with that because the power of the people is very powerful, right? When we are organized. So, Medea, any final words before we wrap up this program? >> Well, the power of the people is powerful, but so is the power of those in government and we have to really unite in our different issues that we work on and as well unite internationally. There was a recent gathering at the UN to say to condemn the US policy towards Cuba and the US is putting pressure in so many ways on different countries to vote with the United States, to not trade with Cuba, to isolate Cuba, to go along with its horrible policy. And the US, as Manolo said, has been interfering in elections all over Latin America. So, it is a time where the the flailing US empire is trying so hard to keep its hegemony and that just means that we inside the United States and outside the United States have to get better, be more effective, be more coordinated as we try to stop the US from crushing Cuba and other attempts internally and around the world to build a better society. >> Amen. All power to the people. I'm Marcy Winograd with Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink. You've been listening to Empire on the Rocks on Code Pink Radio. Shout out to Michelle Ellner who co-produces this program and is our Latin America campaigner. Remember, peace with justice.