International
No forgiveness for Shining Path leader Abimael Guzman
AFP
Four decades after Shining Path guerillas massacred dozens of their loved ones in the town square, residents of Santiago de Lucanamarca, a remote settlement in the Peruvian Andes, say they cannot forgive the man responsible, Abimael Guzman, who died on Saturday.
In one of the worst atrocities committed by the group in its quest to overthrow the then government, Shining Path rebels armed with machetes, axes, knives and guns mowed down 69 civilians — including 22 children — on April 3, 1983.
Some were burnt alive with kerosene, other hacked to death in a warning to other communities not to oppose the Shining Path.
“This wound he left us cannot be healed,” said Orfelinda Quincho, a teacher of 64 who lost nine relatives in the massacre, including her mother and a son.
“There is no forgiveness for Abimael. If he is dead, may his body be burnt and thrown into the sea,” she told AFP after 86-year-old Guzman’s death at a maximum security prison, where he was serving a life sentence.
Heraclides Misaico, 68, lost her husband Alberto Tacas and four children — Adela, 9, Haydee, 7, Abdon, 5, and Benilda, 4.
She hid at home, and survived the massacre with her three other children.
“Abimael Guzman has done us much harm. To my children and my husband,” she said “We don’t want to think of that person. He killed innocent people. Many were left orphaned.”
– Hidden crime –
According to residents, armed Shining Path rebels marched into Lucanamarca on that fateful day, forcing people onto the main town square.
They selected men and women whom they accused of collaborating with government forces and summarily executed them.
At the time, the town had some 2,600 residents — speakers of the Quecha indigenous language who lived in mud and brick dwellings and dedicated themselves to small-scale farming.
For fear of reprisals, family members only reported the crime in 2001 — 18 years after the fact — in testimony to Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigating crimes committed during the country’s 1980-2000 civil war.
The remains of 64 of the victims were positively identified after being exhumed in 2002 from a mass grave, where they had been secretly deposited by relatives under threat of death from the Shining Path if they told anyone about what happened.
Since 2003, the remains of those killed lie in a white mausoleum in the village cemetery surrounded by pine and eucalyptus trees.
A pyramid-shaped monument on the Plaza de Armas village square bears the names of the victims, which included 22 children and 14 women.
– ‘We cannot forget’ –
“It is a trauma we cannot forget,” said Rolando Misaico, who at the age of 10 lost his mother and six other family members in the massacre.
His mother, Felicitas Ebanan, was hacked to death with an axe.
Misaico and other villagers hid away for months in caves in nearby hills after the brutal crime.
Epifanio Quispe, 75, said he was among a group of people captured and brought to the central square that day.
“They sprayed kerosene on us… but a cry from the police allowed us to flee,” he recounted.
His brother, 32-year-old Damian, was not so lucky.
A court in 2006 found Guzman and his wife Elena Iparraguirre were the masterminds behind the Lucanamarca massacre and sentenced them to life in prison.
He had acknowledged responsibility for the crime in an interview in 1988 with El Diario, a Shining Path mouthpiece publication, and was captured in 1992.
The Shining Path spread terror across Peru in the 1980s and 1990s in its war against the state, which left some 70,000 people dead and thousands missing and displaced.
On Friday, the government of Peru promulgated a law approved by parliament allowing authorities to cremate Guzman’s body.
His also-imprisoned widow had requested that the body be turned over to her for burial, but officials were concerned the gravesite could become a rallying point for his followers.
International
Marco Rubio warns of China’s threat and criticizes Venezuela and Cuba in Senate hearing
Marco Rubio, selected by Donald Trump as the head of diplomacy in his future cabinet, stated on Wednesday that Venezuela is “governed by a drug trafficking organization” and Cuba is “literally collapsing.” He made these remarks during a Senate hearing that focused on China, which he described as the “most dangerous adversary” of the United States.
In the United States, the Constitution requires that ministerial and other high-level appointments be confirmed by a Senate vote following a hearing in the relevant committee.
Rubio emphasized that China is “the most powerful and dangerous adversary” the U.S. has ever faced because it possesses “elements that the Soviet Union never had.”
“We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this world order. They took full advantage of its benefits but ignored all its obligations and responsibilities,” he added. “They have lied, cheated, hacked, and stolen their way to global superpower status at our expense,” the Republican asserted.
He rejected one of the key principles of outgoing President Joe Biden: prioritizing a “liberal world order” based on rules and led by the United States.
Instead, he defended Trump’s “America First” motto.
The post-war global order, he argued, “is now a weapon being used against us,” he said during a speech interrupted several times by protesters.
“If we continue down the current path, in less than 10 years, virtually everything that matters to us will depend on whether China allows it or not,” Rubio warned.
To deter China from invading Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory, Rubio believes Washington must demonstrate that the cost would be “too high.”
International
Biden warns “Soul of America” still at stake ahead of farewell address
The “soul of America” remains at stake, outgoing President Joe Biden warned ahead of delivering his farewell address to the nation on Wednesday, just days before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
The 82-year-old Democrat will give his speech at 8:00 PM (01:00 GMT Thursday) during prime time from the Oval Office.
In advance, he released a letter to the American people, indirectly criticizing the 78-year-old Republican without naming him directly.
“I ran for president because I believed the soul of America was at stake. The very nature of who we are was on the line. And that remains true today,” Biden wrote. “History is in your hands. Power is in your hands. The idea of America is in your hands. We just have to keep the faith and remember who we are,” he added.
Biden claimed that the United States is stronger now than it was four years ago, citing what he described as its recovery from Trump’s first term, the COVID-19 pandemic, and “the worst attack on democracy since the Civil War.”
Biden took office just days after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters attempting to overturn his electoral defeat.
While Biden did not mention Trump by name, his remarks echoed themes from previous speeches, where he stated that he ran in the 2020 election because America’s “soul” was in danger due to Trump and his followers.
International
Canadian business leaders meet with president Sheinbaum to boost investments in Mexico
Canadian business leaders met with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday to express strong interest in increasing their investments in the country. This initiative aligns with a joint effort to strengthen the region under the framework of the North American trade agreement (USMCA).
Francisco Cervantes, President of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), highlighted the participation of the top 10 Canadian entrepreneurs, who discussed strategies to boost key sectors.
He also emphasized that Mexico is fostering an unprecedented climate of trust to attract foreign investment, with better-paid jobs as one of the main objectives.
“The government, led by the president, is doing exceptional work to establish Mexico as an attractive destination for investors,” Cervantes stated. “We are working together to develop a tariff plan with the United States to ensure that negotiations are favorable for all parties involved,” added the CCE president.
Marco Rubio warns of China’s threat and criticizes Venezuela and Cuba in Senate hearing
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