Under Lock & Key

Intensificando la amenaza de pandillas peligrosas con “súperpredadores.” Usando informantes confidenciales, tatuajes, y apariencia para catalogar personas como “pandilleros.” Usando esa conexión de pandilla para encarcelar y torturar a la gente. Estos métodos draconianos son familiares a lectores de ULK, y para esos que han pasado tiempo en cárceles estadounidenses en general. El régimen de Trump ha echo esta noticia para el país entero.

En las semanas recientes, cientos de venezolanos han sido deportados de los Estados Unidos a una megacarcel en El Salvador. El régimen de Trump ha justificado esto con La Ley de Enemigos de 1798, que permite la deportación de no ciudadanos durante tiempo de guerra, y fue usado durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial para deportar los alemanes y italianos y juntar los japoneses en campos de internamiento, apoderándose de sus activos para los euro-amerikanos. Trump reclamo que estas personas fueron parte de una pandilla conduciendo “guerra irregular” en los Estados Unidos, pero no hay evidencia que Tren de Aragua es una organización amplia y funcional aquí. En febrero, el Departamento de Estado estadounidense designaron Tren de Aragua, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), y una lista de carteles mexicanas como “organizaciones terroristas extranjeras.”

Una corte federal ha ordenado una pausa a estas deportaciones, pero el Departamento de Justicia esta desafiando la orden. Una batalla legal continua, mientras el poder ejecutivo continua a desafiar las cortes.

Venezuela ha sido un objetivo consistente del imperialismo estadounidense desde que obtuvo poder Hugo Chávez en 1999.(1) De resultado casi 600,000 venezolanos han sido aceptados en los Estados Unidos con Estatus Protegido Temporario (TPS). Trump intento a cancelar el TPS para los venezolanos, pero una corte federal ha determinado eso como un acto ilegal. Sin el TPS, muchos de Venezuela, Haití, Ucrania, Sudán, Afganistán y otros lugares no podrían continuar a trabajar en los Estados Unidos legalmente y podrían ser deportados legalmente.

Kilmar Armando Ábrego García esta recibiendo atención especial de que la administración de Trump admitió que su deportación fue un error, y que no lo pueden regresar de la custodia salvadoreña. Esto es a pesar de que había una orden del la corte que prevenía su regreso a El Salvador, donde se había escapado de violencia pandillera cuando era joven. Ábrego García no tiene cargos criminales, si sirve de algo, pero fue catalogado como un miembro de MS-13 por un puerco mencionando un “informante confidencial” cuando estaban acorralando trabajadores hace algunos años. Como resultado, Ábrego García ha sido desaparecido de su familia y mandado a una unidad de tortura en el mero país que huyo por razones de seguridad.(2)

El ACLU obtenido una copia del “Alien Enemy Validation Guide” siendo usado para deportaciones. Después de establecer que alguien es mayor de los 14 años, de origen Venezolano y sin ciudadanía estadounidense, un sistema de puntuación es usado para “validar” pandilleros. Un tatuaje de “TdA” te da 4 puntos mientras 8 puntos son requeridos para calificar como validado. La guiá del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional muestra una lista de imágenes de tatuajes como coronas y estrellas que son “TdA”. También, poniéndote mercancía de los Chicago Bulls y Michael Jordan está en la lista. Cuando fue la ultima vez que has visto alguien con un tatuaje de una estrella y portando Air Jordans?

Persiguiendo Activistas Estudiantiles

Instituciones educacionales desde Universidad de Columbia en Nueva York hasta es sistema de la Universidad de California están esforzando la represión fascista en sus campos, de expulsando estudiantes durante la presidencia de Biden, a haciéndolos desaparecer de las calles y de sus hogares bajo el régimen de Trump. Estudiante de Tufts University Rümeysa Öztürk esta detenida por escribiendo un articulo criticando el genocidio en Palestina causado por los Estados Unidos y Israel y el campamento estudiantil propalestina el año pasado, contó su historia en una declaración reciente del 18 de Marzo 2025:

“Me llamo Mahmoud Khalil y soy un preso político. Les escribo desde un centro de detención en Luisiana… Fui detenido el 8 de marzo por unos agentes del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS, por sus siglas en inglés). Se negaron a aportar una orden judicial y nos abordaron a mi esposa y a mí de manera agresiva cuando regresábamos de cenar.…

“Mi detención fue una consecuencia directa de ejercer mi derecho a la libre expresión, ya que abogaba por una Palestina libre y el fin del genocidio en Gaza; genocidio que se reanudó con fuerza el lunes por la noche. Con el acuerdo de alto al fuego que se pactó en enero ya roto, los padres y madres de Gaza vuelven a mecer mortajas minúsculas en sus brazos y las familias se han visto obligadas a escoger entre la hambruna y el desplazamiento forzoso o las bombas. Es nuestro imperativo moral persistir en la lucha por su libertad absoluta.”

“[La Universidad de] Columbia me fichó por mi activismo y abrió una dictatorial oficina disciplinaria con el fin de saltarse el debido proceso y silenciar a los estudiantes criticando a Israel. Columbia ha cedido ante las presiones estatales, proporcionando expedientes académicos de sus estudiantes al Congreso y acatando las últimas amenazas de la administración de Trump. Algunos ejemplos claros de esto son mi detención, así como la expulsión o suspensión de al menos veintidós estudiantes de la Columbia —algunos despojados de sus títulos pocas semanas antes de graduarse— y la expulsión de Grant Miner, presidente del sindicato Estudiantes Trabajadores de Columbia (SWC, por sus siglas en inglés), en la víspera de las negociaciones contractuales.”

“En todo caso, mi detención es un testimonio de la fuerza del movimiento estudiantil para cambiar la opinión pública hacia la liberación palestina…” (4)

Otros estudiantes que han sido perseguidos se han escondido. A la misma vez, estudiantes por todas partes del país están uniéndose para apoyar y defender los que puedan ser destacados después. Elogiamos la solidaridad que estamos viendo. Escuelas y prisiones son realmente únicos en nuestra sociedad dado de las identidades de sus poblaciones y sus habilidades a organizar. Con los anuncios recientes del régimen de Trump que van a deportar ciudadanos estadounidenses con récord criminal al Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo en El Salvador, prisioneros tienen que estar preparados para confrontar el enemigo juntos en la manera que lo están aprendiendo a hacer los estudiantes. Aunque hay muchos ejemplos recientes que dice lo contrario, hay una historia larga de prisioneros estadounidenses apoyándose debido a la consciencia del grupo que viene con confrontando un opresor común cada día.

Fascismo De Regreso a su Hogar

Los Estados Unidos ha usado el régimen de aislamiento de largo plazo por décadas a un nivel no visto en cualquier otra parte en la historia humana. Médicos para los Derechos Humanos (PHR por sus siglas en inglés) salieron con un reporte en 2024 exponiendo el uso del régimen de aislamiento en los centros de detención en contra de las direcciones del gobierno para limitar su uso cuando es absolutamente necesario. Documentaron alrededor de 14,000 casos de personas siendo puestas en aislamiento por ICE de 2018 a 2023. El régimen de aislamiento tardaba por un promedio de 27 días, con 42 casos tardando mas de un año. En 2024, ICE detuvo mas de 35,000 personas, ahora siendo el sistema de detención inmigratoria mas grande del mundo.(5)

Condiciones probablemente son peor para los que son transferidos a El Salvador, donde el Presidente Bukele ha declarado que la única manera que los pandilleros pueden salirse del Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) que construyo en 2023 sera en un cajón. Con una capacidad de mas de 40,000, hay 65 a 70 prisioneros mantenidos en cada celda. “Prisioneros de CECOT no reciben visitas y nunca están permitidos a salir. La prisión no ofrece talleres o programas educativas para prepararlos a regresar a la sociedad después de sus sentencias.”(6) Bukele ha estado promocionando fotos de pandilleros con la cabeza rasurada, vestidos de todo blanco, siendo maltratados por guardas enmascarados por linea desde que abrieron la prisión. Esta campaña de propaganda ha apelado a los elementos profascista de Amerika. Y con ese apoyo, Trump esta incorporando esta prisión en el sistema internacional de prisiones amerikanas y mandando cienes de personas ahí de los Estados Unidos. Este es un cambio cerca de la casa del interconexión de sitios oscuros, y prisiones famosas como Abu Ghraib y Guantánamo, que fueron usados para torturar y aguantar preso sin juicio personas oprimidas al través del mundo Musulmán.

La mayoría de la prensa están reportando que los amerikanos pagaron $6 millón dólares para que 238 prisioneros sean puestos en CECOT, que algunos señalan que es mucho menos de lo que costaría a encarcelarlos en los Estados Unidos. Pero es una cantidad que va a ayudar El Salvador inmensamente para que puedan fundar su monstruosidad de cárcel. No tiene sentido que los imperialistas están pagando para que aguanten a estos prisioneros, pero después reclamen que no pueden regresar personas como Ábrego García de regreso a sus familias.

En los 1980s, los Escuadrones de La Muerte patrocinados por los Estados Unidos, entrenados en la Escuela de las Américas en Georgia, mataron y desplazaron muchas personas en América Central que estaban luchando por el socialismo y por poder sacar el imperialismo de sus países.(7) Muchos niños de esta guerra en El Salvador fueron desplazados a Los Angeles donde se unieron a Barrio 18 o crearon la nueva Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), fueron perseguidos por el estado, y después mandados a regreso a El Salvador. Reportamos sobre los esfuerzos en haciendo paz entre estos grupos en 2013, que coincide con la inversión por USAID y el desarrollo de las prisiones en El Salvador inspiradas por los Estados Unidos.(8) Pero las condiciones para la gente de El Salvador no mejoraron, y votaron por el Presidente Nayib Bukele que utilizo las organizaciones lumpen en su organización política y después los traiciono como un chivo expiatorio por el mal del país en una campaña fascista de represión.(9)

La lucha contra el fascismo en este país depende en la reunión de personas para defender las poblaciones migrantes y estudiantes que están siendo atacados en este momento. En cuanto el fascismo continué a subir, vemos las campañas de grupos como el ACLU acercándose mas a los de MIM(Prisons). Mientras están pasando batallas legales importantes, también vemos el reconocimiento extendiendo que no podemos depender en las cortes para que nos salven. Debemos de tener un plan B. Debemos de crear nuestro plan B.

<sup>Notas:
1. Soso of MIM(Prisons), January 2019, Imperialists Push Coup in Venezuela to Secure Oil for Amerikans, Under Lock & Key 67.
2. Democracy Now!, 2 April 2025.
3. https://www.wlrn.org/immigration/2025-03-31/ice-tren-de-aragua-venezuela-deportation-el-salvador
4. https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/a-letter-from-palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil
5. Physicians for Human Rights, 6 February 2024, https://www.wlrn.org/immigration/2025-03-31/ice-tren-de-aragua-venezuela-deportation-el-salvador.
6. Aleman & Cano, 17 March 2025, “What to know about El Salvador’s mega-prison after Trump sent hundreds of immigrants there”, Los Angeles Times.
7. MIM(Prisons), June 2009, FBI Arrests Peacemaker, Under Lock & Key 9.
8. MIM(Prisons), March 2013, One-Year Anniversary of Peace Treaty in El Salvador, Under Lock & Key 31.
9. Badgreen of MIM(Prisons), September 2023, 8,000 Military and Police Deployed in Cabanas Province, El Salvador, Under Lock & Key 83.</sup>

In February and March, the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) underwent a multi-week lock down, imposing terrible conditions on prisoners, including a pause to all visitations, deprivation of food and medical care, and riots in two prisons. During the strike, at least 7 prisoners died, one of whom was beaten to death by staff just as Robert Brooks was. Other deaths seem to be the result of medical neglect from the information released so far. As of writing visitation has apparently resumed, but otherwise bourgeois media has not clearly reported to what extent the lockdown has ended yet, nor have our readers in New York. This situation was caused in part by a wildcat pig strike lasting from February 17 to March 11th which began due to alleged concerns about under-staffing and “working” conditions for correctional officers, namely increased violence towards staff.(1)

Regarding the second death by beating, a comrade reports:

“Just got the 411 on the killing of the prisoner at Mid-State C.F. The first state police who conducted the investigation lied in their report that the prisoner died of an overdose of K2. But the body was too badly beaten to death for that to stick. …The first investigator was moved from his post and transferred but not fired. Crazy!”

As we go to press, 10 more guards have been indicted for the murder of Messiah Nantwi in Mid-State C.F., which is across the street from Marcy C.F. As a writer to ULK pointed out in March, the strike came right after the indictment of ten NY pigs over the earlier murder of prisoner Robert Brooks on 9 December 2024.(2) The New York Focus reported a trend of C.O.s refusing to work, in protest against being held accountable for abuse:

“In 2013, New York City corrections officers (C.O.s) responsible for transporting people from Rikers Island stopped working the day an incarcerated person was supposed to testify about a caught-on-video beating he endured at the hands of guards, who were later acquitted. Two years later, DOCCS corrections officers staged a work slowdown after the prison agency tried to fire guards who beat an incarcerated man, breaking both his legs. Those officers pleaded guilty to misdemeanors, avoiding jail time.”(1)

Currently, six of the former correctional officers involved in killing Brooks are being charged with murder, three with manslaughter, and one with evidence tampering. All ten seem to be negotiating with the NY District Attorney towards settlements, their fortunes at trial not helped by body camera video evidence depicting the murder they committed.(3)

Five days before the pig strike, prisoners rose up at Collins Correctional Facility. As noted by The Real Movement Report, the extent of the uprising varies greatly depending on asking the DOC, former employees, or the press.(4) In response, the New York State prison system was placed on lockdown and Correctional Emergency Response struggled for 12 hours to regain control of the facility. There was another disruption at Riverview Correctional Facility on February 20th which also saw prisoners taking control of some areas and Emergency Response crews eventually reasserting control.(5)

In response to the strikes and riots, over 3500 National Guard members were mobilized by NY Governor Kathy Hochul to bring repression back to the staff-abandoned prisons. Then the state filed an injunction forcing C.O.s to return to work, resulting in an agreement with the C.O. union and termination and ban from future employment of 2000 employees who refused to return by March 4th. The deal reduced 24 hour mandatory overtime for pigs and modified the HALT Act.(6) This 2021 law set a maximum of 15 days solitary confinement for prisoners, established reporting guidelines, and prohibited solitary prior to a disciplinary hearing and access to legal counsel.(7) The state agreed with the union early in March to create a commission examining the HALT Act, and to suspend the portions of the act which require out-of-cell programming for prisoners, for 90 days.(8)

The wildcat strike was not sanctioned by the C.O. union and was illegal based upon a law preventing the striking of certain NY public employees. On March 27th many of the 2000 C.O.s who had been fired and barred from future employment rallied at the state capitol. Despite the pause of aspects of the bill, demonstrators called for further “improvements” to the HALT Act. Although the source in question does not name or count speakers behind each different position from the rally, some called for changes to “make our prisons safer” and others suggested the state follow the Mandela Rules, a series of UN-sanctioned standards for prisoner treatment including a list of “human rights” which are routinely denied to U.$. prisoners including recreation, medical care and healthy food. The Mandela Rules limit solitary to 15 days.(9)

The prisoner (support) movement should organize against the repeal of the HALT Act. Solitary confinement is torture, it harms people, it prevents rehabilitation and prevents prisoners from coming together in a productive way.

The New York State prison system is now attempting to release some prisoners early because of the staffing shortage resulting from C.O. layoffs. Releases may be available to those whose sentences end in 15-110 days and don’t have violent or “serious” felonies, but the scale is unclear.(10) Additional reforms proposed by the Hochul government include expanding programs for prisoners to reduce their sentences, also vague, and lowering the minimum age of C.O.s from 21 to 18 in order to attract more pigs to the workforce.(11) Democrats wish to slightly reduce the prison population and hire new C.O.s whereas Republicans wish to simply reinstate all the dismissed pigs.

This story saw two different NY prison riots develop in which prisoners took control of portions of their prisons for small periods of time. Beyond selfishness, the weakness of these C.O.s was put in full display, needing to depend on emergency responders and the national guard to quell prisoner uprisings. And before all that, a comrade explains:

“Gang members have placed a statewide hit on me all because I gotten myself in an argument with a prison guard at Green Haven C.F. …The gang members are helping the prison administration run the prisons, which you know has a pig shortage. …The head of security is a motherfucker and have you killed quick.”

C.O.s are powerful enough to murder a lone prisoner in an 18-versus-one fight but helpless against the unified actions of even a handful of inmates who are upset with the status quo, as they even rely on other prisoners to do their dirty work.

These events are related to a trend of increasing retaliation against C.O. abuse in NY prisons, 2024 assaults against staff having doubled those of the previous year in certain months.(12) One important question is the underlying reason for the recent increase in retaliation, between poorer conditions, increased repression, heightened class consciousness among the (imprisoned) lumpen, or a combination. A more speculative question is if these instances of prison takeovers represent growth towards prison occupations akin to Attica, complete with advanced leadership and political demands.

Whatever is changing in the relationship between the C.O.s and the state, it is evidently driven by factors within the prison population, in this case greater retaliation against oppression. Can the bourgeoisie resolve the under-staffing crisis without improving conditions in prisons or releasing prisoners? The imperialists need prisons for population control, and simultaneously want high wages, low taxes and high spending on guards to “keep the community safe?” This balance of contradictions parallels ongoing policy debates among the imperialists regarding “border control” and deportation of migrants.

Certainly, the labor aristocrats is favoring more national oppression as a solution to perceived scarcity, rather than the formation of internationalist consciousness. The C.O.s did not rally en masse to convict their murderous co-“workers” but to support them, demanding an increase of repression against prisoners, as well as for reduced mandatory overtime: the timeless labor aristocracy dream of receiving more money for less work relative to the global proletariat. Where is the demonstration for the C.O.s’ victims?

Prisoners and supporters should be organizing against solitary, and asserting more alliances and sovereignty in their prisons in the face of C.O.s who are more concerned with repression than providing food, healthcare or other prisoner needs. Spread ULK to friends, request our September 9th study pack on the history of the Attica rebellion, and please submit any reports regarding conditions in New York or other prisons experiencing neglectful or abusive C.O.s and fighting back.

<sup>Notes:
1. https://nysfocus.com/2025/02/19/why-new-york-prison-guards-strike
2. https://apnews.com/article/new-york-prison-strike-guards-fired-f5700f3437b9021f1435fa90fb8e7f08
3. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/prosecutor-makes-offers-to-10-new-york-prison-guards-charged-in-inmates-death/ar-AA1C0BDP
4. https://therealmovementreport.substack.com/p/new-york-jailer-strikes-enter-7th
5. https://www.wwnytv.com/2025/02/20/inmates-take-over-what-happened-riverview/
6. https://www.northcountrynow.com/stories/after-terminating-2000-corrections-officers-state-plans-to-release-inmates-early-due-to-staffing,292130
7. https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/senate-passes-halt-solitary-confinement-act
8. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/former-ny-correction-officers-rally-for-prison-safety-reforms-amid-mass-firing-controversy/ar-AA1BNMIc
9. https://gothamist.com/news/new-york-prison-strike-ends-as-75-of-officers-return-to-work-officials-say
10. https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/crime/new-york-to-release-some-prison-inmates-early-over-shortage-of-guard-staff/ar-AA1C6dCv
11. https://www.wrvo.org/2025-04-02/ny-gov-kathy-hochul-proposes-new-prison-reforms-in-the-face-of-staffing-crisis
12. https://www.timesunion.com/projects/2025/prison-turmoil/</sup>

As many of our readers know, one of the primary obstacles MIM(Prisons) and AIPS face in our work is the censorship of our mail by prison administrators. In ULK 86, we published a censorship report detailing some of the brazen lies these administrators use to justify withholding mail from their rightful recipients. Not much has changed on this front, but that’s to be expected. After all, did we really expect the pigs to stop their oinking?

At the same time, our efforts to combat this censorship have not wavered. We have continued to respond to every instance of censorship we receive notice about, whether that notice be from the prison itself or from a comrade on the inside. Since our last report, we have issued over 20 appeals to censorship cases which have included more than 50 letters being sent to prisoners, wardens, and various government institutions. Unfortunately, most of the appeals we send out do not result in successes where our mailed materials get to their intended recipients. The most frequent conclusion of our appeals is that the prison simply stops responding to our communications. Even when we play by their rules, the oppressors still can decide, at any point, to do whatever it is they want. This is exemplified by the following case of censorship in Georgia.

Georgia and CoreCivic

Back in October 2024, we received several letters we sent to prisoners at Coffee Correctional Facility in Nicholls, Georgia marked “Return to Sender” and “Unauthorized Materials”. The materials we sent them were, ironically enough, our guide to fighting censorship as well as our unconfirmed mail form simply asking whether they received the materials we had previously sent. When we tried to file an appeal for this censorship and to follow up with the prisoners at this facility over the proceeding months, all of our attempts were returned with the word “BANNED” handwritten on the envelopes. It is worth noting that Coffee CF is ran by the company CoreCivic and that we have had similar issues with getting mail to prisoners located at other CoreCivic-ran facilities.

The U.$. courts have ruled that prisons are not allowed to institute blanket bans on materials sent from a publisher, yet this is exactly what has happened to us at Coffee CF. Despite the fact that the materials contained nothing that could be construed as a “security threat” (a favorite of the pigs that work in the mail room), the prison administration has refused to address anything we sent them. The lesson here is the same as outlined above: the government and prisons make up endless rules, protocols, and policies while selectively choosing, on any given day, which to follow and which to discard. The natural question, then, is, why do we commit to fighting censorship when our efforts can be nullified by any random C.O. working in the mail room?

Censorship as a Site of Struggle

It is common in political spaces for people to talk about “human rights”. Endless debate is had over defining what exactly a “human right” is and when it is okay to violate said rights (which is typically just a post-hoc justification of the abuse and murder of the oppressed). We here at MIM(Prisons) and AIPS, however, disdain the very category of “human rights” itself. We say that there are no rights, there are only power struggles.

Thus, when we discuss a subject such as censorship in prisons, there are two ways to view it. From one perspective, the prisons are infringing on the rights of prisoners as established by government institutions and this is morally incorrect because violating someone’s rights is intrinsically wrong. An alternative perspective, and the one we in MIM(Prisons) and AIPS advocate for, is that prisoners receiving mail and prison administrators deciding what mail to censor are two competing forces who are engaged in a struggle for political power. When you view the world through this lens, it becomes clear that discussions over “human rights” are nothing more than a way to obfuscate the underlying struggles taking place. The state says you have the “right” to send and receive mail while in prison, but provides endless stipulations on this “right”: you can’t send too many pages, your mail has to be formatted in this way, you can’t have this type of image, you can’t say these certain combinations of words, and you certainly can’t suggest any unorthodox political ideas.

Our fight against censorship, then, should not be misconstrued as us capitulating to the logic of the Amerikan state which claims to uphold the “rights” of all. We see reality for what it is. When we push back against prison censorship, we are standing on the side of prisoners in their struggle for power against the oppressors of the U.$. state. We stand for the oppressed. We stand for you. Won’t you stand with us in this struggle for power?

MIM(Prisons) regularly publishes articles speaking on the reprehensible conditions in U.$. prisons. Why do oppressed nationalities suffer these life conditions disproportionately, and what is the solution?

The United $tates has been the largest economy in the world for some time. How is that possible? It is made possible because the United $tates reaps this profit out of the Third World. Many people know this subconsciously, but do not put all the pieces together. There is a common joke about Asian children making smartphones, but we do not question why this is the case. It is the case because it is profitable for the United $tates, because the company makes more profit when they pay lower wages, then these commodities are brought to the United $tates and sold for cheap, and everyone here benefits. The company makes a profit and the Amerikans get cheap goods. That much is clear from a cursory look, and proved by the recent literature on “unequal exchange.”

It is obvious why the Third World is placed into poverty by this system, but why the oppressed nationalities within the United $tates? Historically, the internal semi-colonies were sources of wealth as well, but today it is a question of distributing that wealth from the Third World. The Amerikan nation recognizes, consciously or unconsciously, that they have an interest in keeping their plunder to themselves. For that reason, Black and Brown people are excluded from employment, education, housing, and all the benefits of Amerikan empire. Racism, therefore, is the way that Amerikans assert their economic interest in keeping others from getting a hold of their money.

The movement against racism stems mostly from the desire of the oppressed nationalities to integrate into the empire; the desire here is for an empire free of national bigotry, wherein the currently oppressed nations have equal access to the wealth which is pulled out of the Third World, the globally oppressed nations. Anyone with two eyes, however, can see that this struggle has been raging for decades without an end in sight. The oppressed nationalities within the United $tates cannot leave behind the Third World on the low chance that they may succeed in becoming one with the beast; they must ally with the Third World in the struggle against imperialism. Only by overthrowing this system of class and national divisions can the oppressed within this country live to see a day where oppression in general is dying out, and prisons in particular become based on rehabilitation instead of “punishment,” and where people are not restricted from life opportunities in the interest of protecting the wealth of the privileged nation.

Does anyone today believe that true integration, true “equality” between nationalities in this country is possible through the ballot or any other means? The response to this question will be “if not, what hope is there?” The choice seems to be between the gradual struggle for equality on the one hand or nothing on the other, since the only method of achieving liberation without reform is revolution, and most cannot imagine the oppressed nations in this country winning any real fight against the empire. But why are we imagining this fight as only between these two competitors? The oppressed nations within the United $tates are only one component part of the oppressed nations of the whole world. The struggle for the revolutionary overthrow of imperialism is a global one, uniting all who can be united. Yes, none of the oppressed nations in this country can liberate themselves: neither the Black nation, nor the indigenous nations, nor the Chicano nation. But the struggle of all these nations, by themselves too weak to overthrow imperialism, together form a mass which vastly outweighs the strength of the United $tates, and this is where our strength lies. This is where our strategic confidence in success comes from. Through the international struggle imperialism will overextend itself, and it will open inroads for success in national liberation struggles. These successes will weaken imperialism further, eventually setting the scene for the truly anti-imperialist force, the socialist working class, to make its appearance.

Bilal Sunni-Ali (13 July 1948 – 30 December 2024) was a revolutionary and dedicated citizen of the Republic of New Afrika (RNA). That dedication took various forms, from eir clandestine organizing to eir contributions to revolutionary culture via eir jazz, blues, and spoken word performances aimed at challenging the status quo and building up a revolutionary nationalist consciousness among the people.

From eir youth, Bilal partook in pro-people activities from eir time as a musician in the Youth Division of the North East Bronx NAACP, to eir later activities as a founding member of the New York City Black Panther Party fighting housing issues, police brutality, and recruiting street L.O.s into the movement. Dedicated to the self-determination of New Afrika, Bilal Sunni-Ali went underground in 1968 with the Black Liberation Army. In 1982, ey would be charged and acquitted in RICO charges related to the freeing of Assata Shakur and a bank robbery by the Revolutionary Armed Task Force (RATF) for which Sekou Odinga (who died 12 January 2024) and Silvia Baraldini were convicted. Bilal was successfully defended by the late Chokwe Lumumba in the politically charged trial, where they charged the U.$. government with conspiracy on behalf of the RNA. The RATF is described in detail in the book False Nationalism, False Internationalism as the last attempt at the radical militancy of the 1960s by members of the RNA and the Euro-Amerikan May 19th Communist Organization. Prior to this, Bilal was locked up in Soledad prison from 1970-1972, where ey struggled to develop both the general and political education of prisoners. Bilal’s support for prisoners continued throughout eir life, as before eir recent death, ey was involved in the Jericho Movement and the Imam Jamil Action Network – organizations dedicated to the struggle of political prisoners.

Bilal was a devout Muslim who truly lived in accordance to eir faith – not only by embodying the Islamic practice of standing up for the oppressed, but by raising their consciousness at the same time; drawing the connections between imperialism and white supremacy to the oppressed youth.

Sifting through Bilal’s tenor saxophone performances online, one will come across em performing at many events centered around prisoners. The usual song of choice that ey perform is entitled “Look For Me In The Whirlwind” (a title inspired by Marcus Garvey). The lyrics are as follows:

It is said that Bilal also went by the name “Spirit” and I believe that to be an apt name for an individual who epitomizes the spirit of eir people in all that ey do.

Rest in Power Bilal Sunni-Ali!

Long Live the Republic of New Afrika!

In the early hours of Wednesday, December 4th, a masked gunman shot the CEO of United $tates insurance company UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, to death in the bustling streets of New York City. By midday, CCTV footage of the act had gone viral across the internet and traditional news media, spawning endless narratives and theories. Simultaneously, the high-profile nature of the shooting prompted a national manhunt to search for the suspect. The shooter evaded capture for five days, but ey was eventually arrested after a tip was called in by a McDonald’s employee in rural Pennsylvania.

As communists operating in the United $tates, how are we to understand this event? What does the event itself and its resulting fallout tell us about the political landscape we work within? If we wish to live up to the title of being Marxists, the only answer to these questions is that we must conduct a, as Lenin put it, “concrete analysis of concrete conditions.” Let us begin with the facts of the case.

The Facts

The name of the alleged shooter is Luigi Mangione. As laid out in eir so-called ‘manifesto’, Luigi’s motivation for the shooting is a disdain for U.$. healthcare insurance companies in general and UnitedHealthcare in particular. The origin of this disdain likely lies in a combination of Luigi’s persynal interactions with health insurance companies through eir struggles with back pain as well as the more widespread antagonism between the U.$. population and health insurance companies.

Luigi comes from a well-connected family which has its roots in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland. Eir grandfather ran several successful business ventures which guaranteed employment and prosperity for the next generations of the Mangione family as they have now taken the reins on the family businesses. Luigi emself attended a private high school before attending the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania where ey got eir degree in computer science in 2020. According to Luigi’s family and friends, ey ceased all communication with them in July 2024. Presumably, Luigi spent the time between then and December planning the shooting, which we will now focus on.

As mentioned, the shooting itself took place on the morning of 4 December 2024. Interestingly, Luigi employed a 3D-printed firearm to commit the shooting, which marks the first time such a weapon has been used in such a high-profile case. Immediately after, Luigi evaded the swarms of police by traveling via foot, cab, and e-bike before boarding a train towards Philadelphia. Not much else is known about Luigi’s whereabouts and travels during the 5 days between the shooting and eir arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

The biggest takeaway here is how easily Luigi evaded both the NYPD and the FBI for an extended period of time. If Luigi had continued traveling, discarded the evidence ey carried on em, or put any effort into changing eir appearance, it’s likely that ey would have never been caught. But this is simply speculation on our parts. Let us now turn from the objective facts of the case to the realm of ideology.

Luigi’s Ideology

To understand why Luigi Mangione shot Brian Thompson, we must first understand eir ideology. The only clues we have towards this understanding are scattered social media posts as well as the aforementioned “manifesto” Luigi had on em when ey was arrested. While we’ll primarily focus on the “manifesto”, we will first highlight one of Luigi’s social media posts where ey reviews the writings of Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber. In this review, Luigi highlights how Kaczynski was “rightfully imprisoned” because ey “maimed innocent people” but that these were the actions of an “extreme political revolutionary.” Luigi’s review finishes by quoting multiple paragraphs from a Reddit comment expounding how violence is the only method we have at our disposal to fight back against “our overlords.”

Now, turning to the “manifesto”, we wish to give our readers the fullest picture possible, so we have included below a full copy of the writing that was recovered when Luigi was arrested:

“To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone. This was fairly trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience. The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggling notes and To Do lists that illuminate the gist of it. My tech is pretty locked down because I work in engineering so probably not much info there. I do apologize for any strife of traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as [sic] our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allwed [sic] them to get away with it. Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument. But many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: Rosenthal, Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain. It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly power games at play. Evidently I am the first to face it with such brutal honesty.”(1)

Let us take a closer look at this writing. Luigi begins with saying:

“To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country.”

To those who proclaim Luigi is spreading “class consciousness” or that ey is a revolutionary, this single sentence should shatter all illusions. If an ally of yours said ey respects federal agents (of the FBI, CIA, etc.) for what they “do for our country,” would you be on eir side? Our answer to this question is a resounding Fuck No.

What else does Luigi write about? Ey brings up some rudimentary statistics about life expectancy in the United $tates and market capitalization before asserting that U.$. corporations have “gotten too powerful” and “they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allwed [sic] them to get away with it.” This strikes us as similar to the proposition that the Amerikkkan public is “brainwashed” (how? by whom? why?) into merely passively accepting the capitalist-imperialist world-system. This stands in opposition to our political line which is that Euro-Amerikans actively embrace imperialism (consciously or not) as the primary source of their wealth via super-profits extracted from the Third World proletariat.

Luigi ends eir writing by admitting that ey is not “the most qualified person to lay out the full argument” for the issues of the U.$. health insurance system but assures us that ey is, “evidently […] the first to face it with such brutal honesty.”

How high and mighty! Luigi is “evidently” the first to break through the veil of ignorance which plagues the rest of us. Though we would contend that there are perhaps a few people who have come before Mr. Mangione who have faced the “corruption and greed” of the healthcare industry (which is only a particular form of capitalist industry in general) with “such brutal honesty.” Off the top of our heads, we can think of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Fred Hampton, Malcolm X, or Huey Newton, just to name a few. These are of course only the most popular figureheads of past communist movements. In reality, there are millions who have stood their ground against the imperialist-bourgeoisie and lost their lives for it. But no matter their sacrifice, for we have been blessed with the gift of the wealthy Euro-Amerikan from Maryland showing us the path forward!

So where does all this leave us? Is Luigi really a Marxist revolutionary who has been sent down from the Heavens to end the oppression of the masses? Of course not. Luigi’s writings and musings are nothing more than regurgitations of the same social fascist populism that is reminiscent of the messaging around Bernie Sander’s presidential campaigns combined with an impetus towards political violence. Discontent with the healthcare insurance industry is normal everyday politics for people living in the United $tates. All Luigi did was elevate this discontent from the level of complaining on the internet or attending protests to killing a CEO. An escalation of force, to be sure, but not one that is qualitatively different in its nature.

The Public’s Reaction

However critical we may be of Luigi Mangione, ey is only an individual. It would be an error to narrowly focus on the individual agents of hystory rather than the political trends and their material causes which compel individuals to act the way they do. So what trend underlies the actions of Luigi? And how has this been reflected in the public’s reaction to the killing?

Broadly, reactions to the shooting can be grouped into one of two camps: condemnations of Luigi’s actions or celebrations of them.

Those who condemn Luigi tend to do so from a position of superficial pacifism wherein you must be totally against violence in all situations – unless it benefits yourself or your nation. A vast majority of U.$. politicians fall into this group as well as a sizable portion of the U.$. citizenry. Typically hailing from the upper strata of U.$. society, these individuals are largely hypocritical and uninteresting for our purposes here. After all, even a child can identify the contradiction that’s present when one mourns the death of a single CEO while simultaneously advocating for imperialist armies to indiscriminately murder the oppressed.

On the other side, there are large swaths of people who view Luigi as a “folk hero” or a “savior” and exist somewhere on the spectrum between sympathizing with or admiring Luigi. Typically viewed as part of the Amerikan “left” (though we have observed both Democrats and Republicans expressing these views), this group wishes for healthcare reform in order to ease up on the contradictions intrinsic to the capitalist system. More specifically, these individuals fall into the same category of social fascist labor aristocrats as Luigi. Their class status as labor aristocrats is being threatened by the “greedy” capitalists of the health insurance corporations who want to take away their hard-earned wealth (i.e. superprofits from the Third World) and Luigi’s actions are simply one response to this threat. So long as their aim is narrowly limited on what can be done to improve the lives of Amerikans rather than taking a revolutionary approach to understand what can be done to improve the lives of all humyns, they remain enemies of the international proletariat.

This graph helps illustrate the demographics of either group as well as the proportions of the U.$. population that fall into either side. We also must wonder if the 20% support for Luigi Mangione among Amerikans would translate to support for retribution for the killing of Robert Brooks by New York prison guards and the slow genocide of New Afrikan men in U.$. prisons? We probably all know the answer to this question.

Though there is a real ideological divide between the two aforementioned groups, it would be wrong to overstate the width of this divide. Both groups are merely two factions of the white supremacist Amerikkkan establishment which exploits the Third World in order to secure their own prosperity.

Our Thoughts

Where do we lie in this divide? You certainly won’t find us shedding tears over a dead CEO, disavowing violence, or proclaiming pacifism, but you also will not see us celebrating Luigi Mangione as some sort of hero of the oppressed. Instead, we view Luigi as merely the latest manifestation of labor aristocracy angst towards the imperialist leaders of the United $tates. If either of Luigi’s actions or political line were rooted in revolutionary politics, we’d be a bit more sympathetic to em. But as it stands, Luigi’s lone wolf killing is both tactically inept and ideologically confused.

More broadly, we understand the struggle of people in the United $tates for more comprehensive healthcare. But rather than trying to secure healthcare for Amerikans only, why don’t we set our sights on securing healthcare for all people? Why should we advocate for petty reforms like getting earlier colonoscopies for middle-aged Amerikans when millions die each year in the Third World from easily-preventable diseases because of imperialist wealth extraction? or when U.$. weapons are used to murder doctors and bomb hospitals in Gaza? This is a topic comrades have written on before in relation to the Affordable Care Act(3), and it clearly remains relevant today. Even if we limit our scope to be within U.$. borders, the lack of healthcare that’s available for prisoners is a much more pressing issue than the reforms which the social fascists are seeking. It’s well documented how healthcare, and lack thereof, is used as a tool to punish and torture prisoners(4) rather than being recognized as a constitutional right.

Circling back to the central topic of this article, the question still stands: will this shooting actually change anything about the healthcare industry? Almost certainly not. But it has provided an opportunity for the fascism of the labor aristocracy to rear its head in a particularly brazen fashion through the actions of Luigi Mangione. As the U.$. labor aristocracy is faced with political chaos both at-home and abroad, they will resist the ever-looming threat of proletarianization. Will they recover and maintain their position in the imperialist world system? Will the U.$. population come face-to-face with proletarianization as global inter-imperialist conflicts intensify? We cannot say which is the case. The only thing we are sure of is that the actions of Luigi Mangione have provided a unique insight into the political terrain we operate in within U.$. borders. As communists, we must harness this insight and use it to guide our political action so that we may empower the international proletariat in their struggle against capitalist-imperialism. The only path forward is revolution.

^{(1) Ken Klippenstein, 10 December 2024, Exclusive: Luigi’s Manifesto}

^{(2)YouGov Poll, December 2024}

^{(3)ULK 38, April 2014, Affordable Care Act Underscores Need for Global Health Coverage}

^{(4)ULK 12, September 2009, Basic Healthcare Threat to Security}

As we approach the end of Prison Banned Book Week we are pausing our campaign, which has been going on over the last couple months, to support prisoners in Pendleton Correctional Facility, Indiana. Supporters should stop gathering signatures and mail out any remaining postcards soon.

It was reported to MIM(Prisons) that 6 prisoners were threatened with drug charges, and torture in long-term isolation, for mail received from MIM Distributors. The mailroom claimed smudges of ink (that were obviously from the printer) were indications that the mail was laced with drugs. Of course, subsequent testing of the mail proved there were no drugs on them. This type of treatment has earned Indiana state a grade of D for their mail censorship, not an F because most letters do get through as does some literature.

In response to these threats, comrades in Anti-Imperialist Prisoner Support (AIPS) and other supporters hit the streets with a postcard campaign. We told people about what was going on, and asked them to sign a postcard and mail it to the administration. The postcards called out the political repression and demanded that it be stopped. Dozens of postcards were mailed to the Pendleton Administration, from near and far away, over the last couple months.

In the midst of the postcard campaign we received news that the threats had seemingly been dropped. But censorship has continued and a lawsuit is still being pursued. One of the comrades targeted at Pendleton says:

“I have not received Under Lock & Key 86 mailed out [1 month ago]. I’ve written the mailroom 2 times now and as of today have not received it.”

Ey did receive our article on the postcard campaign, which has been copied and distributed around the prison. Ey says:

“Thank you all for bringing this injustice to light!”

Thanks to the comrades on the outside who supported this campaign. We are declaring this phase over, but will continue to report on the happenings in Indiana prisons.

Outreach Report

In one locale, over 35 petitions were collected alongside distributing ULK 86 directly to passerbys. There was substantial immediate enthusiasm for discovering a publication written by prisoners, especially regarding solidarity with Palestine. Each persyn AIPS met was interested both in receiving a newsletter as well as signing a petition to mail.

AIPS also maintained a presence at Socialism Conference 2024 which took place in Chicago during the end of August. Here, over 100 copies of ULK were handed out and dozens of postcard petitions were signed by those interested in the struggle of prisoners. It was also encouraging to see those on the outside were interested in learning about the abuses and injustices prisoners face, either through attending panels hosted at the conference or by talking directly with passer-bys.

While there was no negative reception, no recipients in either location were familiar with ULK or MIM(Prisons). Only very few recognized the MIM name from prior exposure. It is indicative of a low tide in the movement here that most are completely unfamiliar with anti-imperialist prisoners. This represents an opportunity and responsibility to publicize our work and recruit more volunteers.

Among this small sample of the public, found tabling in busy urban areas, at local leftist events, or at the aforementioned conference, there were multiple people who were very enthusiastic about the newspaper and our work in spite of lacking all prior familiarity. This welcome enthusiasm also resulted in some “pig questions”: those which, if AIPS answered publicly, would inevitably feed valuable information to the pigs (in other words, agents of the state). The size of a political group, their location, and their leadership structure are examples of questions unnecessary to answer in order to work with others. That information only helps enemies who wish to study, surveil or even infiltrate anti-imperialist organizations. And we don’t say this to pretend that we are a big organization but rather to encourage people to do the work that they see as the most correct.

AIPS comrades encountered some popular confusion about MIM(Prisons)’s line on (non)exploitation of prisoners. Some people thought MIM(Prisons) was fighting against the for-profit prison system. Most prisons are not private. And even companies like JPay, Securus, and GTL that are profiteering off prisoners are making very small amounts of money compared to the cost of running the criminal injustice system, which the Prison Policy Institute put at about $182 billion. MIM(Prisons)’s actual line is that prisons are an immense cost to Amerika: a cost sustained for the purpose of social control, especially for the national oppression of First Nation, New Afrikan and Chican@ liberation movements. In the end, this cost is worthwhile if Amerika is able to prevent the masses of oppressed nations from fighting for autonomy in land and resources. But still, the benefits yielded are not profits in terms of capital but the containment and suppression of the internal semi-colonies within the United $tates. Imprisonment is a form of absolute immiseration that we think of in the realm of genocide rather than exploitation. The suppression of rebellious groups helps the settler Amerikan nation maintain its position on top. AIPS incorporates this understanding in our prisoner correspondence and campaign work.

MIM Distributors has been targetted in Pendleton Correctional Facility in Indiana for promoting “Security Threat Group” information, usually with no justification. Sometimes they will also add “New Afrika”, as if the whole nation of New Afrika is a Security Threat Group. This has been used to censor our newsletter and communications with prisoners at Pendleton. More recently, staff have accused MIM Distributors of lacing mail with drugs and threatened to throw the intended recipients of that mail in long-term isolation torture cells as a result! The charge against at least one prisoner has been dropped, but the political repression continues.

Comrades in Anti-Imperialist Prisoner Support have taken up a campaign to get Pendleton staff to follow their own rules and stop this baseless persecution. You can see in our Amerikan Censorship Documentation Project that we have been appealing the censorship for the last couple years with little progress. Therefore we are expanding this campaign to build public opinion in support. You can help by using these postcards to talk to people about what is going on in Pendleton and getting them to send a postcard of protest to let the Indiana Department of Corrections know that people are not okay with their political persecution tactics.

• download PDF above
• print 2-sided on cardstock
• cut into 4
• add $0.56 stamp (or more)
• go to event or public space and ask people to sign their name, city and state
• hand them a flyer or Under Lock & Key
• ask for a donation to pay for postage & printing
• drop postcards in mail box (don’t mail them all at once we want a consistent stream of cards coming in)

All of our readers who operate within the hideous belly of the beast that is the United $nakes prison system know about this system’s cruel and unrelenting oppression in every facet of daily life. This article serves to highlight and expose the asinine nature of one particular aspect of this oppression that is particularly relevant to our work: censorship. Every time we send out a document, book, or newspaper, there is always the risk that whatever pig is working in the mail room on the day it arrives will arbitrarily opt to censor it for any number of made-up reasons. Unfortunately but not surprisingly, this behavior has the backing of the U.$. court system which has granted the prison bureaucrats almost total control over deciding what comes into prisons. Like every other instrument of control wielded by the state, the pigs use this power to repress the masses of the oppressed groups, especially if this repression targets political content that challenges the status quo.

However, there are still victories to be won in appealing these cases of censorship, which comrades in Anti-Imperialist Prisoner Support (AIPS) are striving to do for every incident that comes to our attention. With this in mind, we hope to start publishing these censorship reports as a way to communicate to you, our readers, our efforts in combating censorship as well as to showcase particularly pathetic attempts by the pigs to censor our mail.

North Carolina’s Brazen Hypocrisy

In ULK 84, we included a piece of art sent in by a subscriber of ours which depicted a pig officer beating a prisoner with a baton. This was apparently too far for the North Carolina Division of Prisons (NCDOP) who said that they don’t allow “depictions of violence” and that this image “may encourage a group disruption.” We simply had to scoff when we read this in light of the fact that the NCDOP specifically lays out guidelines on when it is “appropriate” to beat prisoners with “impact weapons” like the baton depicted in the art. To the pigs, it’s fine to physically abuse and maim prisoners. But showing them a cartoon of such acts? That’s where they draw the line.

MIM(Prisons): Political Organization or Tattoo Artists?

MIM Distributors recently sent a copy of the Fundamental Political Line of the Maoist Internationalist Ministry of Prisons (FPL) (which we recommend to all our readers who wish to get a deeper understanding of our organization’s politics) to a comrade serving time in the heinous Florida Department of Corrections. Usually the FPL gets through to prisoners fine, so we were a bit surprised to receive a censorship notice in this case. This unfortunately means that FPL is now on the Florida ban list, preventing any Florida prisoners from doing our intro study course (they were already prevented from doing our 12 Step Program). And the official reason listed for this censorship? That the FPL contained an image “large and distinctive enough to be used as a tattoo pattern.” This was truly a new one for this author (though our records show it’s been done before). Apparently, sending any sort of art can justify censorship if some pig decides the art might make a good tattoo! The silver lining to this abuse of power is that it provides the perfect example of how the pigs will use any justification to achieve their goals of repressing the masses.

Indiana Finds “Drugs” in Our Letters

The third and final case of censorship we’ll discuss is more aptly described as a crusade against one of our comrades in Indiana. Nearly every issue of ULK or any other mail we send to this comrade is censored for some inane reason usually relating to our alleged promotion of “Security Threat Groups.” We think it’s more likely that the state has it out for our comrade though, seeing as ey are currently filing a lawsuit against one of the pigs at the Indiana Department of Corrections. Recently though, the mail room at the facility this comrade is imprisoned in decided that MIM(Prisons) had laced one of their letters with drugs. Not only this, they threatened the comrade with a year in lock up and to take away all of eir legal work. After sending our letter off to the lab it turns out that the “drugs” were simply some ink that got smeared. When the oppressed simply try to survive, the pigs will resort to beatings, administrative punishments, and acts of sabotage. But when the pigs are caught actively lying to facilitate such cruel acts, the oppressed get nothing, not even an apology.

In spite of this brutal repression, our comrade in Indiana is continuing on with eir lawsuit in an attempt to expose and hold accountable the pigs who think they can just violate the rights of prisoners without a second thought. If you’d like to read more about our campaign to support this prisoner as well as ways you can help, look to our campaign linked below (or p. 16 of ULK).

In the West Bank, I$rael has killed at least 502 Palestinians since 7 October 2023, the day Operation Al Aqsa Flood commenced by the Palestinian resistance. At least 4,950 people were injured, 3,985 people were displaced, 8,088 people were arrested and 648 structures were demolished.(1) All of this is not even mentioning the recent declaration by I$raeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that 800 hectares (1,977 acres) in occupied West Bank are now state land for I$raeli settlements.(2) As we know, the I$raeli war has focused on Gaza, where official estimates put the death toll at 38,000, while public health experts estimate that number could be as high as 186,000.(2.5)

These figures alone are abstract, so to paint a better picture of accounts from those living in the West Bank now, contextualizing history and statistics will be provided. It is estimated that 3.25 million people live in the West Bank, meaning that just from the above statistics 0.54% (17525 affected / 3.25 million population) of people were directly affected with countless more affected indirectly from the intensified settler terror in just 6-7 months. The amount of deaths has been three times as high as 2022 already. The lack of infrastructure to collect accurate data also makes this statistic likely an underestimate of the severity, with it only getting worse on the ground as we speak.

The aim of this article is to historicize the initial I$raeli response in the West Bank to the Al Aqsa Flood before the prisoner exchange and temporary “end” (which was constantly violated by I$rael) of hostilities in Gaza. It will be the first part of a series of articles that cover the occupation of the West Bank. Together, Gaza and the West Bank make up the “occupied territories” of Palestine that have not yet been seized by I$rael.

Operation Al Aqsa Flood, settlers panic in West Bank

The very existence of settlers are premised on the displacement of the native people and colonial occupation of entire nations or sections of nations. This is on top of the exploitation of land and labor of the colonized to feed an ever-growing parasitic strata. The I$raeli colonial projects on the border of Gaza were challenged on October 7th, with resistance seizing their land back from the settlers by force. The sense of control from having some of the best surveillance methods and technologies in the world, while being backed by the most powerful imperialist power, was shattered. The carefully crafted methods to maintain and further colonization to feed I$raeli settlers while helping their Amerikan overseers to pacify the entire region under its boot was challenged. The I$raeli project floats on nothing, it produces nothing for the world beyond feeding the hunger of settlers and their imperialist allies off the backs of the colonized. Desperately, it sought to reduce its reliance on those it displaced and colonized, knowing full well what that’d mean. I$rael sought out Third World labor, begged for a share of profits from its imperialist overseers and tried to become more “self-sufficient”. Ultimately it failed in its endeavors, finding itself reliant on imperialist backers to sustain itself against militant resistance from all sides. Once that runs dry, I$rael is doomed and its dream will be ruined, with a victory for the resistance and the liberation of Palestine!

On 11 October 2023, a lock down on West Bank was declared, shutting down more than 500 checkpoints and the only major international border crossing, which is with Jordan, at Allenby Bridge.(3) The I$raeli settlers were faced with a war on two fronts, resorting to extreme measures in fear of losing control of their occupation. Their fears were further confirmed with the death of General Leon Bar, a senior officer of the West Bank Division of the I$raeli Offensive Forces (IOF) on 12 October 2023.(4) Alarms were set off in both “Beitar Illit”, near Bethlehem, and “Ma’ale Efraim”, near Ramallah, due to fears of resistance infiltration on 13 October 2023. On the same day, raids were conducted in Nablus, Aqabat, Jaber camp, Areeha, and Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. The IOF began an invasion of the city of Nablus and clashes continued in Jenin as resistance fighters confronted the invasion. Hamas’s brigades, the Izz al Din al-Qassem Brigades, were one of the known resistance factions who fended off the IOF invasion, while also fighting in the Ain Al-Sultan and Aqabat Jabr camps in Areeha.(5)

As of October 14th, 842 acts of resistance were carried out in the West Bank in just a week. Of those confirmed, there were 241 shooting operations, 30 qualitative operations, one settlement infiltration, 570 confrontations in various forms, and 98 demonstrations and marches. Twenty two IOF injures were confirmed, a number were killed, and there were 56 martyrs on the side of the resistance. The confrontations took place in 254 areas, including Nablus (45), Al-Quds (38), Ramallah (38), Al-Khalil (33), Jenin (27), Tulkarem (19), Bethlehem (17), Qalqilya (13), Areeha (11), Salfit (9), and Tubas(4).(6) Just a week since Operation Al Aqsa Flood, the resistance was stiff against I$raeli attempts to subdue the West Bank under its grasp. A resistance to settler-colonialism and national oppression within the United $tates must adopt similar discipline, rejecting integration for self-determination for oppressed nations in solidarity with the struggle against imperialism across the world.

The resistance in the West Bank continued, with the al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades, which are the military wing of Popular Resistance Committees, targeting the Belt Furik checkpoint and the IOF post established on “Mount Gerizim” on 15 October 2023. The IOF by this time had abducted more than 500 in the West Bank and Al-Quds.(7) On 17 October 2023, protestors in the occupied West Bank demanded the fall of president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, a neocolonial puppet entity ruling over West Bank. The response was repression, with tear gas and stun grenades used to disperse the protestors.(8) Amidst the protests, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, which are military wing of Fatah, were able to successfully target zionist occupation checkpoints and clashed with them on the same day.(9)

Sheikh Hassan Yousef, co-founder of Hamas, was abducted by the IOF in his home in Ramallah after giving a speech there on 18 October 2023. This was part of a larger campaign of abductions by the IOF which expanded that day.(10) Confrontations further escalated within the West Bank, with a victory for the resistance occurring with the Saraya Al-Quds, which is the militant wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), part of the Tulkarm Brigade carried out numerous strikes, offensive operations, ambushes, explosive detonations, and ambush executions. It was a 28 hour battle, which led to the IOF completely withdrawing from the Nour Shams camp.(11) The cowardly settlers retaliated the next day at the Al-Ansar mosque, believing that Hamas and PIJ used it as a headquarters. This resulted in the death of two, and the arrest of dozens who were suspected to work with the Jenin Brigade or other resistance groups.(12) On the same day, Zionist special forces stormed the Askar camp in Nablus, clashing with the resistance.(13) Just four days later, on 26 October 2023, the IOF carried out a massive arrest campaign across the West Bank with armed clashes breaking out.(14) This preludes the rise of resistance in the West Bank the next day, with violent confrontation in the Al-Aroub camp, against the “Nitzani Oz” checkpoint, the “Dotan” checkpoint, Jabal Al-Tur and Abu Dis on 27 October 2023.(15)

I$raeli invasion of Gaza, settler counter-offensive

The invasion of Gaza officially began on 28 October 2023. On this day, many cities in the West Bank went on strike in support of the resistance in Gaza.(16) A specialized hospital in Nablus was targetted in the West Bank due to the IOF’s suspicion of the resistance groups there.(17) On 2 November 2023, armed clashes broke out across various cities in the West Bank following a wide campaign of arrests.(18) On 4 November 2023, the resistant youth in the West Bank threw Moltov cocktails at settlers’ vehicles near Marda and at zionist forces in Al-Aroub camp. In addition, they threw stones at settlers near Hizma and Route 443.(19) The important part to note here is the role of the youth and how a large section of the Palestinian people are under 18. The resistance’s mobilization of the youth to fight is important to learn from, especially in contexts of settler-colonialism and national oppression, for application to the United $tates. The Black Panthers were mostly teenagers.

The armed clashes continued between resistance fighters and zionist forces in Qalqilya, following raids on cities and a large campaign of abductions.(20) The Lion’s Den, a Palestinian resistance group in the West Bank, claimed responsibility for conducting shooting operations near “Itamar” which was successful on 8 November 2023.(21) In Jenin, a day afterward, the Al-Qassam fighters and all resistance formations in the Jenin camp engaged in armed clashes with the IOF. Reinforcements were sent toward the Balata camp by the IOF after the resistance discovered a special zionist force. In the end, the battle resulted in a victory for the resistance after two hours, with the IOF withdrawing without being able to abduct resistance fighters or occupy the area.(22) The Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, militant wing of the PFLP, were able to target the occupation forces in Jenin with explosive devices on 11 November 2023. The same day, resistance fighters open fired on the “Belt Hefer” settlement and “Nitzanei Oz” checkpoint in Tulkarem. It ended successfully, with a safe return for the resistance forces and heavy damage to the targeted areas.(23)

The Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades, part of the Tulkarem Brigade, announced a general mobilization in the West Bank and Al-Quds on 12 November 2023.(24) The Al-Qassam Brigades – West Bank, announced responsibility for storming the Tunnel Checkpoint in the south of occupied Al-Quds in the morning. Here the resistance was able to attack enemy forces at the military checkpoint separating northern Bethlehem and southern occupied Al-Quds.(25) On 20 November 2023, the Mujahideen Brigades were victorious in firing upon an incursion of IOF soldiers in Jenin, clashing with special forces in Tubas, and shooting a jeep in Tubas.(26) On November 21st, an IOF drone targeted a site in Tulkarem camp, continuing to prevent ambulances from reaching the site. Afterward the IOF stormed the Thabet Thabet Hospital to prevent the ambulances from working.(27) Only a few days later on November 23rd, a wave of widespread arrests were carried out, clashing with the resistance and locals in Balata refugee camp, Al-Arroub, Dura, Beit Liqya, and Qalandiya refugee camp.(28) On November 24th, the Mujahideen Brigades, succeeded in bombing the “Dotan” military checkpoint southwest of Jenin.(29)

Conclusion

The resistance in the West Bank face similar conditions to the nationally oppressed in the United $tates. One key difference is the proximity to imperialism with integrationist pull that pacifies resistance. Aside from that, both are firmly occupied under the boot of the colonizers with no state of their own and both face mass incarceration to destroy resistance and further colonization. The resistance’s capability to form a united front to fight back and coordinate in conditions of immense surveillance and repression is important to note. I$rael used all of its capabilities, controlling the supply of food, water, medicine, internal movement, and etc… but it still failed in face of resistance. A strategy within the United $tates will have to encompass these factors and surpass them, coordinating not only internally but externally with the Third World against forces of imperialism and colonialism.

In the next part, there will be a discussion of the prisoner exchange and temporary “end” of hostilities, at the least, along the beginning of I$rael’s advance in Rafah along with the emboldened colonization which I$rael embarked on in the West Bank. Specifically, declaring more than 800 hectares of land as part of I$rael, aiming to fully annex the West Bank.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!

من النهر إلى البحر / فلسطين ستتحرر

Notes:

(1) Israel kills more than 500 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7, May 16th, 2024

2. Israel seizes 800 hectares of Palestinian land in occupied West Bank, March 22st, 2024

(2.5) Sharon Zhang, 8 July 2024, Researchers Estimate True Gaza Death Toll at 186,000 or More, Truthout.

3. Palestinians in occupied West Bank are under Israeli lockdown, October 11th, 2023

4. Israel: Another High-Ranking Officer Killed in Gaza Resistance Operation, October 13th, 2023

5. Resistance News Network, October 13th, 2023

6. Resistance News Network, October 14th, 2023

7. Resistance News Network, October 15th, 2023

8. PA forces fire tear gas at West Bank protesters after Gaza hospital strike, October 10th, 2023

9. Resistance News Network, October 17th, 2023

10. Resistance News Network, October 18th, 2023

11. A new massacre in Nour Shams camp, Tulkarm, October 22, 2023

12. Israel strikes mosque in occupied West Bank refugee camp. October wwth, 2024

13. Resistance News Network, October 22st, 2023

14. Resistance News Network, October 26th, 2023

15. Resistance News Network, October 27th, 2023

16. Resistance News Network, October 28th, 2023

17. Resistance News Network, October 30th, 2023

18. Resistance News Network, November 2nd, 2023

19. Resistance News Network, November 4th, 2023

20. Resistance News Network, November 7th, 2023

21. Resistance News Network, November 8th, 2023

22. Resistance News Network, November 9th, 2023

23. Resistance News Network, November 11th, 2023

24. Resistance News Network, November 12th, 2023

25. Resistance News Network, November 16th, 2023

26. Resistance News Network, November 20th, 2023

27. Resistance News Network, November 21st, 2023

28. Resistance News Network, November 23rd, 2023

29. Resistance News Network, November 24th, 2023