International
Founder of Argentina’s anti-dictatorship ‘mothers’ dies aged 93
| 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.”
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.”
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.
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.”
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
Argentina detects first local cases of Influenza A (H3N2) Subclade K
Argentina’s National Administration of Laboratories and Health Institutes (ANLIS) “Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán” has confirmed the detection of three cases of influenza A (H3N2) corresponding to subclade K in the country. These are the first locally recorded cases of this variant, which has become predominant in several countries in the Northern Hemisphere in recent months and is associated with higher transmissibility.
The cases were identified through the National Network of Laboratories and Sentinel Units and confirmed by the National Reference Laboratory of INEI-ANLIS using genomic sequencing techniques. According to health authorities, the cases involve two adolescents from the province of Santa Cruz, detected as part of the Ambulatory Monitoring Strategy for Acute Respiratory Infections, and a child who had been hospitalized in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.
In all three cases, patients experienced mild illness and recovered without complications. Officials did not specify whether any of the affected individuals had a recent travel history.
The jurisdictions involved have already launched the corresponding epidemiological investigations and are responsible for ensuring timely medical care for the detected cases. According to the latest integrated surveillance report, the circulation of influenza and other respiratory viruses in Argentina remains within expected levels for this time of year.
International
Pentagon confirms Trump pick for SouthCom as U.S. military pressure grows
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated a Marine Corps lieutenant general to lead U.S. Southern Command (SouthCom), the Pentagon announced on Friday, as Trump said he does not rule out the possibility of a war with Venezuela.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Marine Corps Lieutenant General Francis L. Donovan would replace an admiral who, according to media reports, criticized recent attacks on vessels allegedly linked to drug trafficking off the Venezuelan coast.
Washington has deployed a significant military presence in both the Caribbean and the Pacific, where it has carried out airstrikes against boats it claims were used by suspected drug traffickers. According to an AFP tally based on official information, the attacks have left more than 100 people dead.
The Venezuelan government has denounced what it describes as a plot to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro and seize the country’s oil resources.
In a statement published Friday on the Pentagon’s website, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that Trump had nominated Lieutenant General Donovan to serve as commander of U.S. Southern Command.
SouthCom is responsible for U.S. military operations in Central and South America, as well as parts of the Caribbean.
According to the Department of Defense, Donovan currently serves as deputy commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. His appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.
International
Trump moves to reclassify marijuana as less dangerous substance
Former U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous addictive substance, a move aimed at encouraging medical research without immediately opening the door to federal-level decriminalization.
Trump said that “people were begging” him to make the decision, particularly individuals suffering from chronic pain. He stressed, however, that the measure “is not at all a decriminalization” of marijuana for non-medical use.
“I’ve always told my children: don’t use drugs, don’t drink, don’t smoke,” Trump added. He is a well-known teetotaler.
A senior government official described the decision as “common sense” during a briefing with reporters, noting that marijuana and CBD-based products — a compound derived from cannabis known for its relaxing properties — are already widely used in the United States by patients dealing with chronic pain.
Most U.S. states currently allow the use of cannabis for medical purposes, and more than 20 states, along with the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., have also legalized recreational use.
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