10/04/23 10/04/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> on this boat, the yeasa are 216. the nays are 210. the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the office of speaker of the house of the united states house of representatives is hereby

declared vacant. amy: kevin mccarthy has become the first house speaker in u.s. history to be ousted after eight hardline republicans led an effort to remove him from his post, leaving congress in a state of chaos. we will speak to democratic congressmember ro khanna about what comes next and the state of the senate race in california. then we go to haiti as the u.n. security council votes to deploy a u.s.-backed kenyan-led multinational armed force in the first deployment of international forces to haiti in nearly 20 years. >> this mission comes at the request of the haitian government and civil society to address the insecurity and dire humanitarian crisis the country has faced for far too long.

amy: but many haitians are warning against another foreign intervention in haiti while questioning why the biden administration continues to support haiti's unelected prime minister ariel henry who has ruled since the assassination of president jovenel moïse two years ago. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. for the first time ever, the u.s. house voted to remove its speaker, california republican congressmember kevin mccarthy, plunging the house into even greater turmoil. the far-right flank of the republican party and all democrats voted to oust mccarthy in a 216-to-210 vote. it came just days after mccarthy worked with democrats to pass a stopgap bill to avert a

government shutdown. mccarthy spoke after his ouster. >> i don't regret standing up and choosing governance of her grievance. it is my responsibility, it is my job. i do not regret negotiating for government is designed to find complement. amy: mccarthy has accused florida's far-right congressmember matt gaetz, who set the vote in motion, of a personally motivated attack. the house ethics committee has been investigation gaetz for a range of possible crimes, including sex trafficking and misuse of campaign funds. the house will now have to vote for a new leader with no clear successor in sight as congress has just over six weeks to again avoid a shutdown. we'll go to d.c. for the latest with california congressmember ro after headlines. -- ro khanna after headlines. here in new york, the judge

overseeing donald trump's civil fraud trial judge imposed a partial gag order on the former president tuesday after trump posted a photo of the judge's law clerk with senate majority leader chuck schumer, falsely claiming she was schumer's girlfriend. trump also wrote the case against him should be dismissed. judge arthur engoron barred trump from posting, sending emails, or making public remarks about members of the judge's staff. meanwhile in georgia, fulton county prosecutors have reportedly reached plea deals with at least half of the fake electors for their cooperation in the wide-ranging racketeering case around trump's efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election. hunter biden pleaded not guilty to lying about his drug use on a 2018 form he filled out to buy a firearm. president biden's son faces a potential federal trial during the 2024 presidential campaigning period after a plea

deal fell apart over the summer. in colombia, the government has issued a public apology for the extrajudicial killings of 19 civilians who were mislabeled as rebel fighters in what became known as the false positives scandal. the killings took place between 2004 and 2008 as the colombian military intensified its crackdown against the revolutionary armed forces of colombia, farc. they were granted bonuses based on their kill count. thousands of civilians were killed and purposefully mislabeled, but some family members rejected the apology, including this mother of a victim. >> let it be very clear today my family and i are not granting forgiveness. for us it is very painful. we are still in a moment of

total impunity. i have been waiting for more than 16 years for justice to be served, for the truth to be found, for there to be no more repetition of the cases. amy: on tuesday, please in new delhi, india, -- police in new delhi, india raided the homes , and offices of dozens of journalists working for a left-leaning independent news outlet critical of prime minister narendra modi's government. newsclick's founder and editor-in-chief prabir purkayastha and another journalist were arrested. the mass raid and interrogations came as part of an investigation involving a sweeping anti-terror law critics say has been used to attack press freedom. earlier this year, indian authorities also raided the offices of the bbc in a separate investigation. a group of protesters gathered in front of "the new york times" building yesterday as they accused "the times" in complicity after the newspaper

previously accused newsclick and other outlets have been part of a chinese news propaganda network. pakistani authorities has ordered all undocumented immigrants to leave the country by november 1 or face mass deportations. this includes over 1.7 million asylum seekers from afghanistan who've fled to neighboring pakistan since the taliban returned to power in 2021. pakistan's interior minister sarfaraz bugti said tuesday after the november deadline, afghans will only be allowed to enter if they have a valid passport or visa, a process that can take months due to a massive backlog. maryland senator ben cardin, the new chair of the senate foreign relations committee, has blocked all $235 million in u.s. military funding to egypt, citing human rights concerns. cardin replaced new jersey senator bob menendez as head of the powerful committee after

menendez was indicted on federal bribery charges, including accusations he used his position to help new jersey businessmen and the egyptian government. after israel, egypt is the second-largest recipient of u.s. foreign military aid despite the well-known abuses of president abdel-fattah el-sisi's government, including its harsh crackdown on dissent and the press. cardin said the funding would be blocked until his committees are reforms on pretrial detention and the release of political prisoners. el-sisi is widely expected to win egypt's upcoming december election. in niger, the government has declared 3 days of national mourning after an attack by suspected militants killed at least soldiers in the country's western border with mali. niger's defense ministry also said several dozen terrorists were killed. local residents lamented the attack and the ongoing insecurity.

>> we wish this sadness, the families of the soldiers feel, that nigerians feel, that this would be the last time and this insecurity stops. we want peace to return to niger. peace to return to sahel and mali and burkina. amy: violence in the sahel has plagued niger, mali, and burkina faso for over 10 years, leading to military takeovers in the three countries, which recently formed a defense alliance to fight armed groups and external military intervention. the countries have moved to sever ties with former colonizer france, whose mission to combat terrorism has largely failed or worsened the situation. the u.n. also recently withdrew its forces from mali as the country's military attempts to repel conflicts from armed groups on multiple fronts. a blockade and bombing of timbuktu by al qaeda-affiliated insurgents has led to fears of a

possible civil war. this is a timbuktu resident. >> what worries us is that shelling of the town. this creates a real psycho says and leaves a mark on people's minds. i have this fear inside of me. what is more serious is the fact it affects people psychology. amy: in nigeria, reuters reports at least 37 people are dead after a home-made refinery ignited a nearby oil reservoir and exploded into flames. illegal oil refining is common along the niger delta region of nigeria, where local residents living in extreme poverty tap pipelines to make and sell fuel. four environmental groups are suing total energies in french criminal court, accusing it of involuntary homicide over its oil projects, including the contested eacop pipeline in tanzania and uganda. activists have been heavily campaigning to bring

international attention to the east african crude oil pipeline, which threatens the fragile surrounding ecosystem and communities in the pipeline's path. this comes as south africa has given the green light for total energies to drill off its shores for gas and oil despite challenges from climate groups. one of the groups, climate justice charter movement, said it will fight the government's decision. here in the united states, climate activists disrupted a talk packed with executives at the insurance leadership forum in colorado springs tuesday to demand companies stop insuring and investing in fossil fuel expansion. >> insurance executives, we are here today to call out the contributions you are making -- [indiscernible]

amy: earlier this week, protesters with rainforest action network and 350 colorado gathered in front of another event at the insurance forum demanding companies like chubb, travelers, and liberty mutual insure communities instead of fossil fuels. a growing number of homeowners are not able to afford insurance as the cost of coverage goes up and major companies have started pulling out of states that are at high risk of wildfires, flooding, and storms. a recent report found 39 million homes are at risk of losing their insurance due to the climate crisis. in maryland, five people were shot at morgan state university in baltimore tuesday night. police have not yet located a suspect, which happened during a homecoming week event at the historically black school. the victims are not in critical condition. in other news from baltimore, a federal judge has blocked lawsuits against catholic schools, charities, and parishes

that are part of insurance plans with the archdiocese of baltimore. this comes days after the catholic church in baltimore filed for bankruptcy friday ahead of maryland's new child victims act, which went into effect sunday and removes the statute of limitations for child sex abuse lawsuits. a flood of lawsuits is expected against the archdiocese. a report last year found at least 600 children suffered sexual abuse and physical torture by over 150 clergy members over decades. dozens of survivors also filed a suit sunday against the state of maryland and its agencies for sexual abuse suffered in its juvenile prisons. and 75,000 health care workers with kaiser permanente are walking off the job in a major strike that will run through friday. talks have failed to yield a new agreement as workers seek higher pay, better staffing, and improvements in pension plans

and other benefits. the strike would affect kaiser workers in california, oregon, washington, colorado, virginia, and washington, d.c. it is the largest strike of health care workers in u.s. history. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. when we come back, congress is in a state of chaos after kevin has become the first house speaker in u.s. history to be ousted. we will speak with democratic congressmember ro khanna. back in a minute. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by democracy now!'s juan gonzález in chicago. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world.

amy: kevin mccarthy has become the first house speaker in u.s. history to be ousted after eight harlan republicans led an effort to remove him from his post i'm a living congress in a state of chaos. the entire democratic caucus coded to remove mccarthy. >> on this vote, the yeas are 216, the nays are 210. the resolution is adopted. the motion to reconsider his light on the table. the office of speaker of the house of the united states house of representatives is hereby declared vacant. amy: the vote came just days after kevin mccarthy worked with democrats to pass a stopgap l2 ever a government shutdown for now. mccarthy spoke after his ouster. >> doing the right thing isn't always easy but it is necessary.

i don't regret standing up for choosing governance over grievance. it is my responsibility, it is my job. i do not regret negotiating. our government is designed to find compromise. i don't regret my efforts to build coalitions and find solutions. i was raised to solve problems, not create them. so i may have lost a vote today but as i walk out of this chamber, i feel fortunate to have served the american people. amy: kevin mccarthy has accused matt gaetz, who set the vote in motion, of a personally motivated attack. the house ethics committee has been investigating gaetz for a range of possible crimes, including sex trafficking and misuse of campaign funds. prior to the vote, gaetz spoke out against mccarthy's leadership. >> mr. speaker, my friend from

oklahoma says my colleagues and i who don't support kevin mccarthy would plunge the house and the country into chaos. chaos is speaker mccarthy. chaos is somebody who we cannot trust with their word. the one thing the white house, house democrats, and many of us on the conservative side of the republican caucus would argue is the thing we have in common, kevin mccarthy said something to all this at one point or another that he did not really mean and never intended to live up to. amy: the house will have to vote for a new leader with no clear successor insight. as congress has just over six weeks to again avoid a shutdown. north carolina republican congressman patrick mchenry will serve as acting speaker until a new one is elected. mccarthy says he will not run again. the house will be in recess until next week.

we go now to washington, d.c., were we are joined by california congressmember ro khanna. he joined every democrat and house devote remove kevin mccarthy as house speaker. this is the first time in u.s. history a house speaker has been removed. can you talk about the decision of the democrats to join with eight far right republicans and removing kevin mccarthy? >> kevin mccarthy tragic fall reminds me of the scripture before the fall. kevin mccarthy, a few days before the motion, tweets out, "bring it on." he never out reached to the democrats. he never tried to stand up to the far right faction since the day he took office. you could have had a very different speakership. you could have stood up to the far right. you could have not held the

country hostage in the debt ceiling negotiations. you could have condemned what happened january 6. instead, he basically cowtown to this extreme wing on their side. he only realized the danger of that a few days ago. and even then it was attacking democrats on the sunday show. it is unfortunate. it is an unfortunate situation for the house, but the democrats did not have someone who we could govern with. juan: there was talk in the past few days of a possible deal between the democrats and mccarthy to keep him in office if concessions could have been gotten from him in terms of future governing. did any of those discussions go anywhere? where the democrats completely

united in sticking with the vote against him? >> i have never seen our democratic caucus more united yesterday morning. about 50 members spoke. they all spoke in unison about the need to support the motion to vacate. but at the same time, we had given our leader hakeem jeffries the authority to explore any negotiation. kevin mccarthy himself is saying he did not want to do that. he was not willing to talk about ending the bogus impeachment inquiry. he was not willing to talk about a path so we don't continually put this government on the threat of shut down. and so he was not ever serious about that possibility, and i am proud of my colleagues for standing united -- both in the vote and our internal conversations. juan: what happens now? congress is recessed for a week.

how long do you figure this will take to be able -- for the republicans to arrive at a new leader and what is the impact going to be on any legislation coming out of congress? >> congress is at a standstill. the irony is for representative gaetz send we don't work enough, now they have basically adjourned congress until next week. we have important bills to take up in the next 45 days so we don't have a situation of a shutdown right before thanksgiving. my sense is the republicans are still trying to figure out their leadership issue. a naidu think they will probably coalesce around someone early next week, but the question is not so much who it is, whether it is representative skill leaves or comer or jordan, the issue is are they going to be able to govern? will the republicans allow them to pass another continuing

resolution before thanksgiving if we can't get a total budget deal or are we going to be in the same situation where a speaker is threatened to have them removed unless they shut down government? and that is really the problem for the caucus. amy: in a press conference tuesday evening, the ousted house speaker kevin mccarthy blamed the democrats for his removal. >> i think today was a political decision by the democrats. i think the things they've done in the past hurt the institution. they just started removing people from committee. they started doing other things. my fear is the institutions fell today because you can't do the job if eight people -- you have 94% or 96% of your entire conference, but eight people can partner with the whole other side, then how do you govern? amy: even though it was the

eight far right republicans, he is talking but the democrats. also a side issue is nancy pelosi was told to get her stuff out -- you can explain with the secret offices -- near the chamber as she is in california right now preparing for her close friend dianne feinstein's funeral. >> the pettiness of what they're doing with speaker pelosi should send every american -- should upset every american. it is customary for former speaker of the house to have any office in the capitol. kevin mccarthy would be entitled to have an office in the capitol. the fact the first act of the speaker pro tem is to kick speaker pelosi out of the capitol is not just vindictive, but it shows they aren't focused on average americans priorities. what most americans are worried about is the gas bill is too much, the groceries cost too much ,rent costs too much, they

can't afford to buy has come interest rates are high, and there's no effort to address the economic issues that affect the american public. amy: let me ask about the possible house speaker's to be. there is a mention of steve scalise, who is going through i think chemo for blood cancer. jim jordan, head of the house judiciary committee. he was involved in the scandal at ohio state he was assistant coach and the doctor abused many of the rustlers and he's accused of knowing full well and covering up. then the possibility of hakeem jeffries if i've republicans join democrats. >> the ideal would be free to be

hakeem jeffries. i wish there were five moderate, reasonable republicans who would say let's coalesce around hakeem jeffries and govern the country. i think it is unlikely but that would be the most reasonable outcome. if scalise gets it, on a personal level i know him. it was horrible at the capitol shooting, what happened to him. my question for him would be, have you gotten a commitment from the eight people who just brought down kevin mccarthy that they're not going to try to bring you down if you are willing to govern? or have you gotten a commitment you don't have to have the country go into default? otherwise, i don't care who they pick. it is an insolvable issue if these few far right wing congresspeople basically don't

want to fund the government were want to cut the government spending so drastically for people who need social security, medicare, nutritional assistance. that is really the challenge, amy. juan: about that group of far right republicans, the leader matt gaetz, as a result of this, he led the charge against mccarthy, do you sense that his influence and power within the republican caucus has increased or that he has been exposed the extremism that he represents? >> he certainly has influence in the republican party because he has a group of folks that he influences in a very narrow majority. his attack also on the capitol, that it is infused with lobbyist money, that it has people who have been there too long, that it isn't looking out for the ordinary americans is very potent, rhetorical statement.

and we should be pushing for reform. my view is the way to push for reform is to ban stock trading, make sure members of congress can't become lobbyist. it is not to do that the attics of removing kevin mccarthy. -- theatrics of removing kevin mccarthy. amy: what about ukraine funding? the republicans not wanting to continue to fund the war in ukraine. it also talked about pushes for diplomacy, whether that obscures another issue, which is trying to end the war through diplomacy. the biden administration is deeply concerned about what has taken place, as is the president of ukraine. >> as you know, i was one of the people on the congressional who said while we support ukraine

with ada, we need to be having conversations with ukraine, with russia about what adjust end to the conflict would look like and evolving people, other countries like france, india who may have a relationship that help facilitate a just end. i've spoken with peace activists don't believe cutting off the eight at this point would do anything but allow putin to march into kyiv. it would be disastrous. we need to provide the aid to make sure we are not handing ukraine over to russia, that we are sent devising -- that we are not incentivizing russia. at the same time, pursue adjust, diplomatic outcome. the removal of aid, regardless of where you stand, would just be a colossal foreign policy blunder and basically telling

putin, take ukraine and make the last year and have an effort in vain. amy: i want to ask about the california senate race. tuesday, laphonza butler was sworn in to temporarily fill the seat of the late dianne feinstein who will be very thursday. she was appointed by gavin newsom, sworn in by vice president harris. >> do you solemnly swear you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign and domestic? that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this freely without any mental reservation, that you will discharge the duties of the office upn which you are about to enter? >> i will. >> congratulations. amy: laphonza butler becomes the first openly lesbian black

senator, the third black woman to serve in the senate in u.s. history also former labor leader, service employee, international union, head of home health care workers in california. up until this week, she was the president of emily's list, which helped select pro-abortion democratic women to public office. despite her union background, butler more recently advised uber as it fought a california law. and as you are, congressmember khanna, campaign cochair of barbara lee's race for the senate, she openly campaigned to be able to be temporarily in that seat even as she ran for the senate and people felt there was a kind of abb campaign perhaps led by nancy pelosi, anyone but barbara, to replace dianne feinstein. your thoughts? >> i was disappointed with the

governor's decision. it should have been barbara lee. i am enthusiastically supporting her in the congressional black caucus this till behind her and they wanted her. she was the person who was out there campaigning. the governor said initially he did not want to appoint someone like her because she was running and now he has said it is ok to run but he still did not pick her. i know she feels this was not fair to her. of course i have tremendous respect for senator butler, for her life story, for what her appointment means to the lgbtq community and to african-american women, but it is unfortunate what happened with barbara lee. i think this will fuel her to run a more spirited campaign. i have seen so much support for

her among the grassroots across the callow -- state of california. juan: if senator butler decides not to be just a caretaker but actually throw her hat in the ring for the race, how do you think that will affect the race next year? >> senator butler would be a formidable candidate stop i know she has supported and helped so many women get elected. she will be able to raise resources. she is a sitting united states senator. she is very talented person. the barbara lee in my view will still prevail, and the reason is because she has the support of progressive's and her colleagues in the black caucus elected officials across the state of california because of her record. she has spent decades advocating against war, advocating against the blank check for bush in afghanistan, arguing against the

war iniraq. she has a record that speaks volumes the type of country we need to be. my enthusiastic support is with her. i know many people are genuinely empathetic to what happened to her. they feel she was not treated fairly. amy: on another note but sticking with the senate, though you are a congressmember, this latest news that maryland senator ben cardin, who is the new chair of the senate foreign relations committee to replace bob menendez, who was just indicted for corruption, for bribery, with some new jersey businessmen and to support the egyptian government, senator cardin has announced he is blocking all 230 $5 million in u.s. military aid to egypt, citing human rights concerns.

are you calling for menendez overall to resign, not just step down, which he has, and your response to cardin's move right now? >> i have called for sen ator menendez to resign, as have media my colleagues. i believe that would be the right thing to do. given the extraordinary responsibilities of being a senator, the serious allegations against him. i have been a strong advocate for human rights and egypt and have said we at least need to make our aid conditional on the release of political prisoners. this is something i want to study in terms of the consequences of stopping the aid. but in terms of a line and we have to pay more attention to the human rights situation in egypt and can't just have unconditional resources, i applaud senator cardin for that.

we will be working with colleagues to figure out the best path to make sure human rights in egypt are uplifted. juan: i want to ask you about another crisis that has been much in the news domestically, the issue of the surge of migrants that are being sent from the border to the northern cities, california, denver, new york, chicago. governor pritzker of illinois sent a very critical letter this week to president biden saying the federal government has not done enough to help the cities deal with the humanitarian assistance needed for these migrants. i am wondering your thought of what the biden administration has been doing and what it could do? >> well, it is a very sad situation. we have to understand the conditions these migrants are coming. i have heard from colleagues, stories of young boys talking

about their mothers being raped on the journey over to the united states. these are often asylum-seekers fleeing persecution and america is always welcomed people who have fled persecution from other countries. it is also important to recognize the number of undocumented in america has stayed relatively the same because a lot of people are also leaving back to mexico and other countries who were undocumented. it has stayed around 11 million to 12 million. we know the solution in terms of comprehensive immigration reform. we know we need more immigration judges at the border to make determinations about who has legitimate asylum claims. we know we need these asylum-seekers once they are in the united states to be able to work. it makes no sense to have spending time in the united states waiting for their formal hearings, not being able to work. we know there are comprehensive

for security provisions that keep the borders secure while recognizing people's human rights and the right to asylum. the democrats have been proposing this for years. that is the solution we need. my hope is the humanitarian crisis that the border represents motivates americans to get serious about a solution. amy: congressmember ro khanna, thank you for being with us, democratic -- democratic congressmember from california, and deputy whip of the congressional progressive caucus. next up, the u.n. security council votes to deploy a u.s.-backed kenyan-led multinational armed force to haiti. back in an minute. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez.

the u.n. security council voted monday to deploy a u.s.-backed kenyan-led multinational armed force to haiti as the island nation combats worsening gang violence. the intervention, which came at the repeated request of haiti's unelected prime minister ariel henry, marks the first deployment of international security forces to haiti in nearly 20 years. the proposal received 13 votes in favor, with russia and china abstaining. the resolution was drafted by the united states and ecuador, allowing foreign troops to remain in haiti for one year, with a review after nine months. the biden administration pledged at least $100 million to fund the operation. this is the u.s. deputy ambassador to the u.n. jeffrey delaurentis. >> this mission comes at the

request of the haitian government and haitian civil society to address the insecurity and dire humanitarian crisis the country has faced for far too long. the deployment of this mission will help to support haiti's critical near-term needs and to foster the security conditions necessary for the country to advance long-term stability. amy: kenya had previously offered to contribute 1000 police officers. the bahamas, jamaica, and antigua and barbuda have also vowed to send forces. many haitians have opposed the move due to the disastrous history of u.n., u.s., and foreign interventions in haiti. nearly 20 years ago, the u.s. led a coup to oust haiti's democratically elected president jean-bertrand aristide. more recently, a u.n. mission left behind an outbreak of cholera that killed some 10,000 people in haiti. u.n. officials were also accused of widespread sexual violence, including the abuse of children.

amnesty international has voiced concerns about the intervention and kenyan-led armed forces, recently citing kenya's "continued unlawful use of force against protesters." meanwhile, peace activists have denounced the move as a u.s.-led invasion. in 2021, the u.s. special envoy to haiti resigned to protest the biden administration's policies in haiti. in his resignation letter, the longtime diplomat daniel foote wrote -- "what our haitian friends really want, and need, is the opportunity to chart their own course, without international puppeteering and favored candidates but with genuine support for that course." we are joined now by two guests. monqiue clesca, haitian pro-democracy advocate based in port-au-prince. she is joining us from miami. she worked for many years with the u.n., including at unicef in haiti for 15 years.

and in irvine, california, we are joined by mamyrah prosper, an assistant professor of global and international studies at the university of california, irvine. she's also the international coordinator for community movement builders and the co-host of the podcast "haiti: our revolution continues." mamyrah prosper, let's begin with you. can you respond to the u.n. security council voting to send an armed intervention force to haiti? >> thank you, amy. as you said in your introduction, this is not the first time the security council has voted to send what haitians are calling an occupation force into haiti, a multinational one at that. in 2004 after the coup, the u.s.-backed coup against democratically elected aristide, the president but at that moment

by the brazilian army, about 5000 troops. he started listing the record of this mission that took place between 2004 and 2017. you're talking about 13 years of history here of human rights violations when the u.n. troops came in, the first thing they did was attack supporters of the president that had just experienced a coup. they followed up over the 13 years with several lynchings of different people in the population throughout the country. as you mentioned, there were too many cases of rape of women and children, including boys and girls, and they're still feminist groups in haiti, different members of civil society attempting to bring people to justice. they father too many children and left behind.

u.n. troops have immunity so they have not been able to be brought to justice for their acts against the haitian population. as you mentioned, troops were increased in 2010 after the earthquake and that ended up leading to a cholera outbreak. i want to say specifically because troops defecated in clean water sources that haitian s were using to do a number of things including to drink and cook with, so this is a complete disregard for haitian dignity. this led to 10,000 deaths. today, haiti is still fighting the cholera outbreaks. when the u.n. troops arrived, they secured certain assets throughout the country rather than coming in to actually provide so-called stability. you see there are about $7 million and more were spent during this time that the u.n. was in haiti and yet we don't

see any sort of positive impact of these troops of this mission in haiti today. the troops have since dwindled and now we have a more political u.n. should in haiti that is supposed to organize elections. however, what we have seen the u.n. serve as a cover for fraudulent elections that led to the establishment of the party that is currently in power, is third iteration, led by a prime minister who also is enacting president who was never voted in by the haitian people. the u.n. has been complicit in supporting the erosion of democracy in haiti. there is no parliament. there are no checks and balances against ariel henry and his cabinet of ministers. this is some of what we're seeing the u.n. brought to haiti .

i will also signal the fact during this time they were in haiti, on the ground, they are supposed to be training police that is supposed to be able to take on the gangs. instead, we see 500,000 illegal guns circulating in the country coming from the united dates. you mentioned before or at least the clip you played said civil society has asked for this occupation. actually, if there are factions that ask for support of the police force, the majority of people are saying what we need is the united states to control its borders and prevent illegal guns from flooding haiti. we know in the united states, there's a whole issue of gun control and again producers and the other ones who are winning in this war against people in general, specifically the people of haiti. these are some of the things i wanted to highlight. in 2004 when the u.n. voted in

the mission, they also still have it, we know we have jamaica and the bahamas who have also pledged to participate in this multinational intervention. what they did was essentially a road democracy in haiti and it was established in 2004 and this counsel continues to oversee and operate on top of the state. this is what we call the core group. it is composed of brazil, spain, germany, the united nations representatives, the united states, canada, and france. these folks have essentially been there once who are pronouncing decisions over the haitian people, over the haitian state, have seen the dismantling of parliament. i think this is something that haitian people have experienced, this type of occupation. what we're seeing right now --

juan: i wanted to ask you, we keep hearing the narratives in the united states about haiti in chaos and gain more and yet what we don't hear -- gang war and what we don't here is the investment, the foreign investment that has come into haiti specifically around minerals. reports as much as $20 billion in deposits of gold and copper, especially of a rare metal with canadian-american companies moving in. what do you know about that? >> absolutely. as i was saying earlier, when we see the u.n. troops come in in 2004 and we see that kenyan delegation that came to haiti recently, they say clearly their coming to protect certaines. so these missions don't really come in to protect the

population, they are there to protect multinational investments. in the case of haiti, were talking about the garment industry, garment factories, big plantations, we're talking about mines. not leaving anything behind for the haitian people themselves. we know the particular state that is in power has already been called out for all kinds of fraud, all kinds of money laundering, if you will. we understand or the haitian people understand this u.n. mission is not coming into combat gangs. during the time the u.n. has been there, we have seen an increase in the number of gangs. 200 gangs, including 95 that control the metropolitan area of the capital. really what we're seeing is the u.n. bases, they're usually strategically close to these

multinational investments. these free-trade trade zones in particular. it is not just multinational investments, typically, the state, this particular state in power and is third iteration, has helped to subsidize some of these multinational investments instead of investing in infrastructure and social programs for haitians. so this is part of the announcement of the haitian people as they understand this occupation is not really coming to establish order or stability or to enforce democracy, but it is to protect the certain interests that are allowing certain people, transnational factions included, to become richer while the rest of the population becomes poorer. there are record of people already coming in -- go ahead. sorry. juan: i would to bring in monqiue clesca who has worked as a pro-democracy advocate in

port-au-prince. worked for unicef in haiti for 15 years. your response to the security council decision to send in a military force into haiti and your sense of what the impact will be on civil society groups in haiti? >> thank you very much for the inviting. i think this validates the criminal government of ariel henry. ariel henry is part of the criminal machine that has been in power since 2011. he has been in power for two years. i believe in the two years he has been in power, he has really managed several massacres. there have been more than 15 massacres.

there have been gang rapes of women and girls. all of this under his watch. i say this not only is he prime minister, but he is also the head of the police board, a group, so he has double responsibilities. so this validates the government regime. mamyrah prosper talked about the core group, etc. i want to talk about the united states that is leading this. united states is pledging $100 million. imagine if this $100 million had been invested maybe two years ago to help bring about humanitarian situations or perhaps the consensus government that the montana cord that i'm honored to be part of has been pushing. we have been pushing, striving,

talking about putting together a coalition and we have put together that coalition and we are working so that there could be even more people part of the coalition to have a transition government that is clean, a transition government that is not criminal, a transition government that is not helping the gangs. you have starlings have gang members in police cars. you have starlings have gang members saying they met with ariel henry. you have stories of people saying phone calls ariel henry had supposedly with people who are associated with the assassination of a president. so we are talking about the criminal regime. but more importantly, we're talking about a governance -- a criminal governance system and

we have been saying for over two years, we need change. we need a change from the criminal governance system, from the structural system so that we can move toward a governance system that has values, that is not into corruption, that is not into stealing. so the big problem right now is the governance system. so you are with this 1000 kenyan policeman, how are they going to resolve any problem of the governance system that we have? even if you bring in 15, bring in 150 jamaicans, how are they going to resolve this? they're going to push forward. they are validating the rule of ariel henry. today we're saying ariel henry

is not credible. he does not have good faith. he hasn't anything. he asked for the troops in october and since then he hasn't done anything. one example, the neighborhood about a month ago, people from the neighborhood went to the police station asking for help to fight off the gangs. they were tear gassed. the police tear gassed them. so then the gangs took over the neighborhood, birdhouses. -- burned houses. so you have thousands of people that left their homes. what did the police do? after everybody leaves, then the police come and yet the police chief with a helmet on and has a mask on, etc., saying we have come to help you. everybody was already gone. so we have a dire humanitarian situation. we have a dire situation in

which women and girls have been gang raped, sometimes in front of their children. we have a dire situation of people displaced, hungry, but area -- ariel henry is that the person. kenyan troops who say they are learning to speak french when creole is the language in haiti. more so than french. they're not going to be helping. what do we do in contrast? i would like to see the resolve from the u.s. government that they have in pushing this resolution, i would like to see them push for negotiated settlement so ariel henry can be gone, out of there, and so we can have a transition government that has values, that is not into corruption, who is not in cahoots with the gangs, that is not in cahoots with others who are pushing the gang members to

work the economic sector, for example. amy: we just have a minute. mamyrah prosper, i want to ask about the migrants coming into the u.s. who were deported back to haiti even as the u.s. says u.s. citizens should leave haiti for their sake. we just have 30 seconds. >> we see biden in the first month he came in deporting more haitians in one month and trump during his entire presidency. the biden administration as very much been deporting haitians, hundreds at a time per month, since it has been established, including sending back unaccompanied minors. at the same time as you said the u.s. embassy in haiti is closed until 2025 because of security issues, kidnappings, massacres, etc. biden is a program which is sort of a cover for workers program that haitians can come in for two years and work in there ending up in amazon warehouses,

farms in new england. there is this hypocrisy in the biden administration -- amy: we have to leave it there. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

(sophie fouron) it's always interesting to listen to the sounds of nature, especially here. you hear the bald eagles, a lot. the ravens. salmon jumping. you kind of understand why they call it "the last frontier". you can't really go further than baranof island. it is what you imagine alaska to be. kilometers, and kilometers, and kilometers of forest. there are very little paved roads here. you don't spend much time in your car, but you spend