International
Spain and Mexico evoke 85 years of republican exile: “A great day for democracy”
Spain and Mexico remembered this Thursday the 85th anniversary of the arrival of the “Sinaia”, the first ship with Republican exiles that arrived on the Mexican coasts in 1939, as a transcendental milestone in the “fraternal community” between the two countries and a celebration of “democracy.”
“The Sinaia was the first ship of exile, the first ship of hope (…) Today is a great day for democracy,” said the Spanish Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, in his speech.
The event, held at the residence of the Spanish ambassador to Mexico, Juan Duarte, coincided with another June 13, 1939, when the ship arrived on the coast of Mexico in Veracruz with more than 1,500 people on board fleeing the dictatorship of Francisco Franco at the end of the civil war, between 1936 and 1939.
The ceremony was attended, in addition to the Spanish Minister Torres, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Mexican Government, Alicia Bárcena; the Mexican politician and son of President Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-1940), Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, as well as diplomats and representatives of the Spanish exile in Mexico.
It was precisely under the initiative of President Cárdenas that Mexico led to the arrival of Spanish Republicans, and it is estimated that in the period 1939-1942 between 20,000 and 25,000 Spaniards entered Mexico.
“Beyond the pain that has never gone, the exile brought very beneficial elements. He enriched Mexico and Mexico was enriched with the exiles,” said 90-year-old Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas.
The Mexican politician received one of the first diplomas of tribute and recognition given by the Spanish Government during the ceremony for the “indefatigable” work of his father and mother, Amalia Solórzano.
For his part, Bárcena stressed that the “face” of the exiles “was, is and will be fruitful” and consolidated that Spain and Mexico became “a fraternal and supportive community.”
The chancellor also narrated that the ship that left France with 1,598 passengers reached the coasts of Veracruz (Mexico), three weeks later with 1,599 with the birth of a baby on the crossing who was named Susana Sinaia, in memory of the boat and symbol of hope.
Remarking that his was the first visit of a minister of Democratic Memory to Mexico, Torres stressed “the length of exile.”
“How many suitcases bought, how many suitcases thrown away,” he lamented.
In addition to a historical drama, Torres said, it was “a huge loss of talent,” by citing among the figures who arrived in Mexico fleeing the Franco dictatorship the poets León Felipe, Manuel Altolaguirre and Luis Cernuda; as well as the philosophers María Zambrano and José Gaos.
Precisely, among the diplomas given to relatives were the Altolaguirre and Gaos and even some who traveled on board those first Spanish ships when they were barely boys and girls, such as the writer Angeline Muñiz Haberman, who read an emotional poem about the persistence of exile.
As part of the commemoration activities, the Spanish Government designated the historic Spanish Athenaeum of Mexico on Wednesday as the first Place of Memory abroad.
International
Pope Francis meets former Gaza hostages
Pope Francis met on Thursday at the Vatican with 16 Israelis who had been held hostage in Gaza for months by the Islamist group Hamas, according to the official Vatican news website.
The group consisted of ten women, four men, and two children, as reported by the same source. Several of the former hostages showed the Argentine pontiff banners or photos of their loved ones who remain in captivity.
Francis had previously met with the families of hostages in April this year and November 2023, but this was the first time he had met with individuals who had personally endured captivity.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, the pope has repeatedly called for the immediate release of Israeli hostages, while also condemning the suffering of the Palestinian population.
The war erupted on October 7, 2023, when Islamist militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,206 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures that include hostages who died in captivity.
Of the kidnapped, 97 are still being held in Gaza, but the Israeli military estimates that 34 of them have died.
The military offensive launched by Israel in response has killed at least 43,736 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to data from the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-governed territory.
International
Israeli airstrikes on Damascus kill 15 and injure 16, including women and children
Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on residential buildings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and its surroundings on Thursday, resulting in at least 15 deaths and 16 injuries, according to Syria’s Ministry of Defense and state television.
The ministry stated that around 3:20 p.m. local time (12:20 GMT), the Israeli military launched an aerial attack from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights, targeting several residential buildings in the Mazzeh neighborhood in western Damascus and the Qudsaya suburb to the northwest of the capital.
The airstrikes “resulted in the death of 15 people and injuries to 16 others, including women and children,” based on initial estimates, in addition to significant damage to private property and civilian buildings, the ministry added.
Meanwhile, state television reported Israeli airstrikes on three buildings in Mazzeh and another on a building in an educational complex located in a residential area of Qudsaya.
Following the strikes, loud explosions were heard throughout the city, and thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the targeted locations. Ambulances and emergency services rushed to the scene to attend to the victims.
International
Drug trafficker dies after boat collision with Guardia Civil Vessel in Sanlúca
Three people were on the boat that collided with a Guardia Civil vessel around midnight at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, near the Andalusian city of Cádiz, a spokesperson for the Civil Guard reported.
Two officers sustained “contusions,” the spokesperson explained.
The drug traffickers managed to bring the boat to shore, where one of them was “abandoned” severely injured. The other two fled.
The Civil Guard officers attempted to resuscitate the victim before transporting him to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, but he ultimately died early in the morning.
The other two suspects took advantage of the officers’ absence while they were taking the victim and returned to set their boat on fire.
The collision occurred very close to the site of another accident on September 1, where a drug trafficker died following a Guardia Civil pursuit.
The suspects’ boat traveled “400 meters” before crashing head-on and “at full speed” into the riverbank, where a hundred bundles of hashish were found.
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