Task Force on the Americas
The Task Force on the Americas developed out of a February 2006 delegation to Venezuela, an effort sponsored by the NLG and National Latino/a Law Students Association. The delegation of 16 lawyers, 6 law students, and a filmmaker spent a week in Caracas and was inspired by the Bolivarian Revolution and its effort to further regional integration and an alternative to neoliberal trade policies in the Americas. The Task Force then sponsored a U.S. tour of Justice Fernando Vegas of the Venezuela Supreme Court.
We then sent a delegation to Bolivia in 2007 and have sent several groups to observe elections in Venezuela, El Salvador, Honduras, and Bolivia. We have also sent delegations to Guatemala, Honduras, and Colombia to investigate and report on human rights issues. The Task Force has sponsored numerous workshops at NLG conventions and works in conjunction with other progressive organizations on human rights campaigns. We have a listserv and hold annual meetings at the NLG convention.
Because Venezuela's revolution is based on that country's 1999 constitution and laws pursuant to it, and because constitutional change has been a key demand of progressive forces in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Honduras, lawyers and judges from the US can play an important role in explaining developments in left-leaning states, resisting US intervention, and countering US media disinformation.
Archives of TFA News, 2007-2014
Contact the Task Force
Chair Judy Somberg: judy_somberg@igc.org
TFA Updates
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URGENT: Act Now to try to Stop Trump from unleashing a “second embargo” re Cuba that may last for many years to come
The Trump administration is threatening in the next 15 days to unleash what no US. president has ever done, and which could be a huge obstacle to normalizing US/Cuba economic relations for decades to come. According to the National Lawyers Guild this looming threat to activate Title III of the 1996 Helms Burton and authorize tens of thousands […]
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NLG IC Condemns Trump Administration Threat to Unleash Unprecedented Lawsuits against Companies Doing Business with Cuba
Contact: Art Heitzer, CubaSC@nlg.org, Cuba Subcommittee Chair The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) International Committee (IC) condemns the Trump administration’s threat on January 16, 2019 to consider breaking with decades of precedent by activating Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act. This provision is so extreme and problematic that no US president has so far authorized thousands of private suits to […]
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Watch video: U.S. imperialist intervention in Latin America: Strategy and Analysis
On February 13th, the International Committee of the National Lawyers Guild hosted a forum on U.S. imperialist intervention in Latin America at The People’s Forum in NYC with a focus on recent events in Venezuela and ongoing intervention in Honduras, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Cuba and more. The event focused on sharing analyses and strengthening strategies […]
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Feb. 13, NYC: U.S. Intervention in Latin America
Wednesday, Feb. 13 6:30 pm The People’s Forum 320 W. 37th St, NYC Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2229227063765979 On February 13th, the International Committee of the National Lawyers Guild will host a forum on U.S. Imperialism in Latin America with a focus on recent events in Venezuela and ongoing intervention in Honduras, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Cuba and more. […]
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NLG Statement on the Illegal U.S. Interference in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is the oldest human rights bar association in the United States, with members in every state and a mission to value human rights and the rights of ecosystems over property interests. For more than a decade, the NLG International Committee has sent numerous delegations to Venezuela to observe nearly a dozen elections and research […]
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International letter against the attempted coup d’etat in Venezuela
The National Lawyers Guild joined the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), together with other organizations of jurists from around the world, social movements and trade unions, is a signatory of the following letter urging the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to denounce the coup d’etat that took place in Venezuela on January 23, […]
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AAJ: Rejecting the “Lima Group” on Venezuela: No to empires and colonies
The following statement was issued by the American Association of Jurists, a Non-Governmental Organization with consultative status before the ECOSOC and permanent representation before the UN in New York and Geneva: DECLARATION OF THE AAJ REJECTING THE DECLARATION OF THE “LIMA GROUP” No time for empires or colonies. It is time for people and dignity. […]
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Webinar Video: Why Do Refugee Caravans Exist? A Lesson in Geo-Political History of Central America
The National Lawyers Guild’s National Office organized a webinar on the situation of the refugee caravan on the U.S.-Mexico border on November 28, 2018. The NLG is working with many organizations to coordinate legal support for refugees and asylum seekers in the caravan as well as legal observers monitoring the situation of people in the […]
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Video: “Fighting Fascism” panel at the 2018 Law for the People Convention
The following video is an excerpt from the panel on the rise of global fascist threats at the 2018 Law for the People convention in Portland, Oregon. The presentations here highlight some of the key issues in the United States and around the world and are meant to spark discussion about strategies to defend peoples […]
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Honduras: Serious Irregularities Create Obstacles to Truth and Justice in Berta Cáceres Case
Tegucigalpa, October 25, 2018.- The Legal Observer Mission that is observing the trial for the assassination of human rights defender Berta Cáceres expresses its serious concern about the recent exclusion from the case of the victims’ private attorneys. This action compromises the principles of a fair and impartial trial, and is the latest in a […]
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