International
Argentine group finds 131st dictatorship-era ‘stolen’ child
| By AFP |
More than four decades after being taken from his parents — activists who “disappeared” under Argentina’s military dictatorship — a man raised by others has learned his true identity, an activist group has announced.
The man is the 131st child “stolen” during the dictatorship era to be identified under a decades-long fight by the group known as the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo — and the first in nearly three years.
His assumed identity has not been divulged.
“We are happy to announce a new restitution of identity,” the Grandmothers said in a statement Thursday after the man’s DNA tests came back.
“As if the end of the year wanted to fulfill all our wishes,” they said in reference to Argentina’s recent World Cup victory, “we celebrate the discovery of a new grandchild, number 131.”
Almost 300 other men and women “living among us with falsified identities” after being taken from their parents under the 1976-1983 dictatorship remain to be found, the Grandmothers added.
Now 44 years old, the man was the son of Marxist activists Lucia Nadin and Aldo Quevedo, from Mendoza, detained in Buenos Aires in October 1977.
Nadin, 19, was nearly three months pregnant at the time.
Grandmothers president Estela de Carlotto, 92, told reporters Nadin likely gave birth to her son at the notorious Navy Mechanics School (ESMA), which served as the country’s largest detention and torture facility.
“We are told that he is a sweet, calm person,” de Carlotto said. “He (did not react) with refusal or sadness” to discovering his true identity.
But she said he would need time to fully digest the stunning news before being presented to the public.
“He just took it as a reality, a new reality for him,” said de Carlotto.
30,000 people lost
The Grandmothers group was founded in 1977 by women trying to find their arrested daughters — and the babies they bore in captivity.
They take their name from the Plaza de Mayo square in Buenos Aires, where women defied authorities to hold protests demanding information on the whereabouts of their loved ones. They did so in vain.
As many as 500 children were taken from their imprisoned mothers, most of whom then disappeared under the country’s brutal military rule.
Most of the children were given to childless people close to the dictatorship, keen to have them raised as regime loyalists.
Many of those aided by the Grandmothers reached out after experiencing doubt over their identity — because of a lack of physical resemblance to their parents, the absence of photos of their mothers while pregnant, or holes in the family history.
This was the first new identification since June 2019. The coronavirus pandemic had put the brakes on the Grandmothers’ research and interviews with potential victims.
Six of the original grandmothers died during the pandemic.
Rights groups say some 30,000 people died or disappeared under Argentina’s military dictatorship.
International
U.S. strike in Caribbean kills three suspected drug traffickers
A U.S. strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean killed three people on Saturday, according to Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth, marking the latest in a series of attacks in international waters.
The United States has deployed ships to the Caribbean and sent fighter jets to Puerto Rico as part of a large military force that Washington says is aimed at curbing drug trafficking.
“This vessel, like all the others, was known to our intelligence for being involved in illicit narcotics smuggling,” Hegseth stated on X. “Three narcoterrorists were aboard the vessel during the attack, which took place in international waters,” he added.
Experts argue that the attacks, which began in early September, amount to extrajudicial executions, even if the targets are known traffickers.
Washington has yet to publicly provide evidence that the targeted individuals were actively smuggling drugs or posed a threat to the United States.
Hegseth said the U.S. would continue “hunting… and killing” suspected traffickers. He also shared video footage of the strike, showing the vessel being hit and engulfed in flames. As in previous videos, sections of the ship were blurred, making it impossible to verify the number of people on board.
The United Nations called on Friday for Washington to halt its attacks.
International
At least 23 killed in Sonora supermarket blast, including minors
At least 23 people were killed and 11 others injured in an explosion at a supermarket in Hermosillo, in the northern Mexican state of Sonora, local authorities reported on Saturday.
“So far, there are 23 confirmed deaths and 11 injured, including minors,” said Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo in a video message. He added that the injured are receiving treatment in various hospitals across the city.
“I have ordered a thorough and transparent investigation to determine the causes of the incident and assign responsibility where appropriate,” Durazo said.
The explosion occurred at a Waldo’s store in downtown Hermosillo. Local authorities confirmed that the incident was not an attack nor related to any violent act against civilians.
Meanwhile, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum expressed her condolences on X, offering sympathy to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives.
International
Floods in Central Vietnam leave 28 dead, thousands displaced
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in central Vietnam has risen to 28, with six people reported missing and 43 injured, local newspaper VnExpress reported Friday night.
More than 22,100 homes remain flooded, primarily in the cities of Hue and Da Nang. Floods and landslides have destroyed or swept away 91 houses and damaged another 181, the report added.
Around 245,000 households are still without electricity, particularly in Da Nang, where over 225,000 homes are affected.
Additionally, 80 stretches of national highways are blocked or disrupted due to landslides. Authorities expect the flooding to continue for another day or two in the region.
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