Dear John,

Exciting news is on the horizon! A groundbreaking House resolution, H. RES. 943, aims to end 200 years of the United States’ policy of domination and intervention in Latin America. So grab a shovel: We’re burying the Monroe Doctrine with H. RES. 943!

Under the Monroe Doctrine, the U.S. government has conceived of Latin America and the Caribbean as its “backyard,” pushing exploitation and control over the region for most of the past two centuries. CODEPINK has been advocating for an end to the outdated Monroe Doctrine, which has been used to justify American intervention in Latin American affairs, and to instead adopt a hemispheric policy that respects nations' sovereign equality, ends unilateral coercive measures and engages in complementary trade. Tell your Representatives to Support H. RES. 943.

This exciting resolution, boldly introduced by Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez, in collaboration with Congress Members Casar, Ramirez, Garcia, and Ocasio-Cortez, aims to deconstruct the Monroe Doctrine and shift towards a more just and collaborative future in the Americas. This, friends, is our long-discussed New Good Neighbor policy, a policy that seeks to enhance collaborative and respectful relations between the United States and Latin America & the Caribbean. We are embracing this promising development, which could transform the region. 

Years of dedicated advocacy by CODEPINK supporters like you that have led us to this pivotal moment. Now we need you to contact your Representative asking them to co-sponsor this important Resolution!

RES. 943 is essentially trying to reshape how the US relates to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. A few highlights are: 

• Ending sanctions put in place by the US, such as the Cuba embargo, which is basically a block on trade and diplomacy. 
• Releasing US government documents relating to past coup d'états, dictatorships and human rights violations in these countries.
• Reforming the Organization of American States, an international organization that has promoted coups and destabilization in the region, to make it more transparent, accountable and independent.
• Encouraging reforms in global financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank so that developing countries have a fair say.
• Creating a Loss and Damage Trust under the United Nations to support climate action in these countries, and securing regular contributions to it.

Finally, the legislation suggests working closely with regional groups in Latin America and the Caribbean to tackle major issues like climate change, inequality, arms trafficking, and promoting the rights of Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendent communities.

It’s time to join forces to breathe life into this crucial legislation! Please contact your Representative asking them to co-sponsor this important Resolution, and sign-up here if you are interested in making virtual or in-person visits to Congress. We can leave no stone unturned to get this resolution passed and turn the page on the past two hundred years of failed U.S. policy in Latin America!

👉 Other ways to engage:

• Read: Redefining US-Latin American Relations: From Outdated Monroe Doctrine to a 21st Century Good Neighbor Policy
• Join the Americas Without Sanctions Campaign 
• Learn more about Cuba's SSOT designation from ACERE
• Let’s get one million signatures to demand that Biden take Cuba off the State Sponsors of Terrorism list
• Join our Latin America ListServ!

Towards Peace,
Medea, Michelle, Teri and Ysa