International

Founder of Argentina’s anti-dictatorship ‘mothers’ dies aged 93

Photo: JUAN MABROMATA / AFP

| By AFP |

Hebe de Bonafini, who led a group of Argentine women known as the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo in defying the military dictatorship and demanding the truth about their missing children, died Sunday at 93, the country’s vice-president said.

Bonafini was one of the founders of the group in 1977, uniting a group of mothers who protested in front of the presidency, desperate to know the whereabouts of tens of thousands who were abducted during the brutal 1976-1983 military regime.

For 45 years, through different governments, the women continued to meet, marching around the Plaza de Mayo in their trademark white headscarves, in an often futile search for justice.

Vice President Cristina Kirchner announced Bonafini’s death on Twitter, praising her as a “world symbol of the fight for human rights, pride of Argentina.”

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Her daughter, Alejandra Bonafini, confirmed her death at a Buenos Aires hospital where she had been admitted for several days.

“These are very difficult moments of deep sadness, and we understand the love people have for Hebe. But, right now, we need to cry in private,” wrote Alejandra.

Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez said Bonafini was a “tireless fighter for human rights,” and declared three days of national mourning.

“The government and the Argentine people recognize her as an international symbol of the search for memory, truth and justice for the 30,000 missing,” he added in a statement.

“As founder of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, she shone a light in the middle of the dark night of military dictatorship, and lay a path to the recovery of democracy.”

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The governments of Cuba and Venezuela also paid tribute to Bonafini.

Kidnapping of leftists, babies

Some 30,000 people were abducted and presumed killed by the regime or right-wing death squads in the 1970s and 1980s for being suspected leftists.

That was compounded by the drama of widespread kidnapping of babies born to suspected dissidents being held during the right-wing dictatorship.

Many babies — offspring of now-dead dissidents — were born in captivity without the knowledge of their blood relatives and were given to military families to adopt.

Bonafini, who attended rallies in recent years in her wheelchair, was born in 1928 in Ensenada, a town 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Buenos Aires.

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She was a housewife when the military seized power in 1976, ousting Isabel Peron, the wife of late president Juan Peron.

However, in 1977, her sons and daughter-in-law were kidnapped and disappeared.

“I forgot who I was the day they disappeared. I never thought of myself again,” Bonafini said recently at the launch of a photo exhibition on her life.

A few months later, she and a small group of women began protesting in front of the Casa Rosada, the pink presidential palace.

The mothers risked the same fate as their political activist children — torture, death or simply disappearing without a trace. Instead, the generals tried to laugh them off, mocking them as “madwomen.”

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The women circled the Plaza de Mayo every Thursday until the Covid pandemic broke out, becoming famous worldwide for their struggle.

In later years, Bonafini became a more controversial figure, becoming a radical supporter of leftist Kirchnerism and staunch backer of former president Nestor Kirchner and his wife Cristina, the current vice president.

In 2017, she was prosecuted for alleged misappropriation of funds meant for building homes for the poor, which she said was a political act by then-President Mauricio Macri, who she considered an “enemy.” The case had not been resolved at the time of her death.

International

Peruvian presidential candidate proposes death penalty amid crime surge

Peru is facing an unprecedented surge in crime ahead of its presidential election scheduled for April 12, with violence fueled by extortion networks and a wave of contract killings linked to organized crime.

Police data show that 2,200 homicides tied to organized crime were recorded in 2025, while extortion complaints increased by 19%, underscoring the growing security crisis in the South American nation.

Amid this backdrop, presidential candidate Álvarez has proposed reinstating the death penalty if elected, arguing that extreme measures are needed to curb the violence.

To implement the proposal, Álvarez said Peru would withdraw from the American Convention on Human Rights—also known as the Pact of San José—which the country signed in 1978. The agreement prevents member states that have abolished capital punishment from reinstating it.

Currently, Peruvian law only allows the death penalty in cases of treason during wartime.

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“We have to leave the Pact of San José and apply the death penalty in Peru because those miserable criminals don’t deserve to live,” Álvarez told AFP during a campaign stop at a market in Callao, the port city neighboring Lima.

“An iron fist against those criminals,” he added, proposing to declare hitmen as military targets.

During the campaign event, Álvarez walked through stalls selling vegetables, groceries, and fish, greeting vendors while musicians played cumbia music nearby.

The 62-year-old candidate, who spent more than four decades working in television as a comedian, is a newcomer to politics and is running for president under the País para Todos party.

Polls place him fifth in voter preference with nearly 4% support in a fragmented race featuring 36 candidates.

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“I am an artist who has taken a step into politics to bring peace to my country,” Álvarez told reporters while surrounded by supporters.

International

FBI: Man who attacked Michigan synagogue died from self-inflicted gunshot

The man who died during Thursday’s attack on a synagogue in the United States suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to the FBI.

FBI agent Jennifer Runyan told reporters that the suspect, identified as 41-year-old Lebanese citizen Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, shot himself at some point during the confrontation.

“At some point during the shooting, Ghazali suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” Runyan said during a press conference.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed the suspect’s identity.

Authorities said Ghazali drove a truck into the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, located in the state of Michigan, on Thursday.

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According to Michael Bouchard, sheriff of Oakland County, synagogue security personnel noticed the vehicle and confronted the suspect with gunfire.

Investigators said it would be premature to speculate about the motive for the attack, although reports indicate Ghazali recently lost relatives during Israeli strikes in Lebanon earlier this month.

“It would be irresponsible for me to speculate about his motive,” Runyan said.

Ghazali arrived in Detroit in 2011 on a spouse visa for U.S. citizens and obtained American citizenship in 2016, according to reporting by The New York Times.

He was the father of two teenagers, divorced from his wife in 2024, and had recently been working as a waiter.

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The newspaper also reported that Ghazali attended a memorial service in the nearby city of Dearborn for relatives killed in the recent conflict, alongside other grieving family members from the Lebanese town of Machghara.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said the incident is being investigated as an act of violence targeting the Jewish community.

A source from Michigan’s Lebanese-American community told CBS News that several of Ghazali’s relatives had been killed roughly ten days before the attack, leaving him deeply devastated.

International

Mexican Navy Ships Deliver Third Shipment of Humanitarian Aid to Cuba

Two logistics support vessels from the Mexican Navy — the ARM Papaloapan and the ARM Huasteco — docked again on Friday in the bay of Havana carrying a third shipment of humanitarian aid for Cuba.

The vessels had previously arrived on the Caribbean island on February 28 with a second cargo that included 1,200 tons of food, sent to help alleviate the country’s ongoing crisis, which has worsened following the U.S. oil restrictions affecting fuel supplies to the island.

Cuba’s deputy foreign minister Josefina Vidal confirmed the new shipment in a social media post.

“Two ships carrying a third shipment of aid from the Government and the people of Mexico for the Cuban people are now arriving at the port of Havana. Thank you Mexico for your solidarity with Cuba,” she wrote.

Previous aid shipments

During the second shipment, the Papaloapan transported 1,078 tons of beans and powdered milk, while the Huastecocarried 92 tons of beans and 23 tons of assorted food products collected by social organizations with support from the government of Mexico City.

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In recent months, Mexico has become the largest provider of humanitarian aid to Cuba, sending around 2,000 tons of supplies, mostly staple foods and hygiene products, in the two shipments prior to Friday’s delivery.

The first shipment alone included 814 tons of food.

Cuba praises Mexico’s support

Hours before the ships arrived, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel highlighted Mexico’s support during a televised appearance, describing the country as “a friendly and brotherly nation that has shown tremendous solidarity,”particularly praising Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Díaz-Canel also addressed reports suggesting that Mexican donations were being resold in state-run stores, dismissing them as a “disinformation campaign” promoted by right-wing groups.