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
Trump Raises Possibility of “Friendly Takeover” of Cuba Amid Deepening Crisis
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, reiterated Monday the possibility that Washington could pursue a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, amid the severe crisis facing the island following the oil blockade promoted by the U.S. government.
Speaking at a press conference in Miami, the president said that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently “negotiating” with representatives of the Cuban government, although authorities in Havana have repeatedly denied that such talks are taking place.
Trump suggested that Washington could play a more direct role in the island’s future.
“It may be a friendly takeover. It may not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn’t matter because they’re really down to, as they say, fumes. They have no energy, they have no money. They are in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis, and we really don’t want to see that,” the U.S. president said.
The president also argued that the Cuban government had long depended heavily on support from Venezuela, particularly oil supplies.
According to Trump, that support has been drastically reduced following measures adopted by Washington.
“They were living off Venezuela. Venezuela doesn’t send them energy, fuel, oil, money, or anything anymore. They couldn’t survive without Venezuela, they couldn’t have made it, and we cut everything off,” Trump said.
International
Mexico, Brazil and Colombia left out of Trump’s “Shield of the Americas” summit
Left-wing governments in Latin America, including Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, were excluded from the “Shield of the Americas” summit convened by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The meeting, held in Miami, Florida, brought together 12 presidents from across the continent to discuss strategies to combat drug cartels and organized crime.
In Mexico’s case, President Claudia Sheinbaum had recently rejected the use of military force as a solution to the drug trafficking problem. She has argued that her administration’s security strategy is producing results and emphasized that force alone is not the answer.
During the summit, Trump said that most narcotics entering the United States come through Mexico and referred to his previous conversations with Sheinbaum on the issue.
“I like the president very much, she’s a very good person,” Trump said. “But I told her: ‘Let me eradicate the cartels.’ And she said, ‘No, no, no, please, president.’ We have to eradicate them. We have to finish them.”
The remarks highlighted ongoing differences between Washington and Mexico over how to confront drug trafficking networks operating across the region.
International
Trump announces 17-nation alliance in the Americas to “destroy” drug cartels
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday the creation of a 17-nation alliance across the Americas aimed at dismantling drug cartels, during a regional summit held at his golf club in Doral.
Speaking to a group of allied leaders at the Shield of the Americas Summit, Trump said the initiative would rely on military force to eliminate powerful criminal networks operating throughout the hemisphere.
“The heart of our agreement is the commitment to use lethal military force to destroy these sinister cartels and terrorist networks. Once and for all, we will put an end to them,” Trump told the assembled heads of state.
The Republican leader argued that large portions of territory in the Western Hemisphere have fallen under the control of transnational gangs and pledged U.S. support to governments seeking to confront them. He even suggested the potential use of highly precise missiles against cartel leaders.
Before making the announcement, Trump greeted the roughly twelve leaders attending the summit, including close allies such as Javier Milei, Daniel Noboa and Nayib Bukele, whom he described as a “great president.”
The meeting forms part of Trump’s broader regional strategy inspired by his reinterpretation of the Monroe Doctrine, which seeks to reinforce Washington’s influence in the Americas, strengthen security cooperation and counter the growing presence of powers such as China.
Trump pointed to recent U.S. actions in the region as examples of his administration’s approach, including the operation that led to the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.
The summit also takes place amid escalating international tensions following the conflict launched last week by the United States and Israel against Iran.
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