On May 10 the Communist Party of the Philippines condemned the murder of five peasants by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), in Sorsogon province.

On May 8, 1945, at 11:01 pm Central European Time – already May 9 in the USSR – the German surrender took effect, ending World War II in Europe. The war with Germany and her fellow members of what we now call fascist allies in Europe – Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Slovakia and Finland – had already claimed the lives of perhaps 50 million people. In the ensuing years, oceans of ink have been spilled by right-wing historians and polemicists in an attempt to distort or even minimize the significance of this date. The purpose of this rewriting of history is in some cases to defend fascism, but in many more it is simply to diminish the prestige of the Soviet Union, the first socialist state. We think it is appropriate to call to mind a few facts.

The U.S.-backed regime of Philippines President Duterte has launched a wave of repression against the militant and powerful trade union grouping, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)/May First Movement. We urge members of unions, community groups, student and other progressive organizations to stand with our brothers and sisters in the Philippines by demanding an end to this repression.

Minneapolis, MN – The Twin Cities Anti-War Committee sent a letter to Minnesota’s Representative Ilhan Omar, May 6, urging her to withdraw her support for a letter that furthers AIPAC’s lobbying efforts to continue sanctions against Iran.

Chicago, IL – In a dramatic development on May 4, two U.S. mercenaries were captured among an invasion force on the coast of Venezuela. Luke Denman and Airan Berry, ex-U.S. soldiers from Texas, were captured by the Venezuelan Navy and can be seen in photos, face down with their hands behind their backs on the shoreline. This failed “Bay of Piglets” comes as the U.S. Navy continues to patrol aggressively along the coast of Venezuela.

45 years ago, on April 30, 1975, the heroic struggle of the Vietnamese people came to a successful conclusion: a small and determined country defeated the imperialist goliath, the United States. Ho Chi Minh, an outstanding Marxist-Leninist and the architect of Vietnam’s struggle for national liberation, famously stated, “Nothing is more precious than freedom and independence.” On that spring day, Saigon, the capital of the south, was no more. Ho Chi Minh City was born.

Chicago, IL – While the U.S. Navy aggressively patrols their coast, another U.S.-inspired attack on Venezuela failed during the morning of May 3. Venezuelan military and police captured two, and killed eight, armed mercenaries during the confrontation. Traveling by speedboat from Colombia, the invaders’ plan was to join local accomplices near the port of La Guairá. La Guairá is next to Venezuela’s international airport and only 20 miles from Caracas.

Minneapolis, MN – On April 30, 1970, President Richard Nixon, elected on promises to end the war in Vietnam, instead announced U.S. ground troops would invade neighboring Cambodia to prevent another Tet Offensive.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines.

According to April 23 report in Granma, “On Havana's Lenin Hill, a small group of trade union leaders, headed by Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, Party Political Bureau member and general secretary of the Cuban Workers Federation (CTC), dedicated a floral tribute to the legendary Bolshevik, who played a key role in the Russian Revolution, the greatest lesson in the annals of history of what the emancipated working class can achieve in unity of thought and action, guided by socialist principles.”

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Luis Jalandoni, Member, Executive Committee and National Council, National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

San José, CA – Earlier in the day, I glanced at oil prices and saw that they were down 40% for the day at about $10 a barrel. Pretty bad, I thought. Then after financial markets closed, I got a call about it. I looked and saw that the closing price was negative $37.63 and let out an f-bomb, the first of about a half a dozen in my three minute conversation.

On April 20, Marco L. Valbuena, the Chief Information Officer of the Communist Party of the Philippines denounced the arrest of former Anakpawis Representative Ariel Casilao and 12 other volunteers and residents by elements of the Philippine National Police in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

Fight Back! interviewed Charlotte Kates, International Coordinator of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, on the fight to free Palestinian political prisoners in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We ask that all of our readers to support this important effort.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Labor Party. Turkey (EMEP).

Fight Back! interviewed Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) Organizational Secretary Tom Burke, who led the FRSO labor delegation to Venezuela on March 8.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the International League of Peoples’ Struggle – US chapter.

Over the past few days the Armed Forces of the Philippines (APF) has stepped up in its propaganda drive against the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People's Army (NPA) in a desperate attempt to discredit the ongoing public health and economic campaign of the people's army and the mass organizations to help the efforts to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by the Political Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (Partido Comunista de los Pueblos de España).

Shenzhen, China – Car horns, construction projects and the hustle of people heading to work: these are the sounds I’m greeted with every morning as life has mostly returned to normal in China. This is in stark contrast to only a month and a half ago when the streets were completely barren in Shenzhen, the sixth largest city in China and a city of 13 million people. If not for everyone wearing medical face masks and temperature checks at the entrance to every building, no one would believe we were still in the middle of a global pandemic. However, this is the reality in China, which has almost completely defeated COVID-19.