International
Argentine society defends its sensitive fiber before the Government: public education
Argentine society defended one of those axes that trebrate it, a sensitive fiber such as public education, before the adjustment policies of the Government of libertarian Javier Milei, who, in addition to applying his well-known ‘chainsaw’, considers it a “nest of indoctrination.”
Several hundred thousand citizens – students, teachers, university staff, in addition to unions, politicians and social organizations – demonstrated in the Federal University March through the streets throughout the country in defense of public higher education and against the policies of the Executive in that area.
Although the Ministry of Human Capital announced late on Monday what, days ago, it presented as an agreement reached with the National Interuniversity Council (CIN), the deposit of 10,075 million pesos (about 11 million dollars at the current official exchange rate) for 100% of the operating expenses of the national universities, the march went on.
According to the Ministry of Security, only in the Plaza de Mayo, where the march of Buenos Aires concluded, which took place between Congress and the Casa Rosada (seat of the Government), between 100,000 and 150,000 people gathered.
But the number of people between Avenida de Mayo, 9 de Julio and the surrounding streets could raise that number to about half a million protesters.
Argentina promulgated in 1884, under the Presidency of Julio Argentino Roca, Law 1420 on common, free and compulsory education, the basis of the current national education system, which includes free education up to higher (university) education and reaches foreigners.
“We are proud children of the Argentine public university,” proclaimed the president of the Argentine University Federation (FUA), Piera Fernández de Piccoli, in her speech at the end of the Buenos Aires march.
The university leader affirmed that “education is a fundamental human right, because it prevails over the ungrateful chance of inequality” and considered the current one as “a critical period as a result of the policies of the national government.”
In his speech, he demanded the updating of salaries and operating expenses because, he said, the public university is “in March 2024 with values of September 2022”; also the improvement of retirees and the restitution of the National Teaching Incentive Fund (FONID).
Although the call was made from civil society, several political leaders did not want to miss the call.
Among those attending the demonstration in Buenos Aires were the Peronist governor of the homonymous province, Axel Kicillof; the former Minister of Economy and Milei’s adversary in the last presidential elections, Sergio Massa; and the president of radicalism, Senator Martín Lousteau.
Before the march, the former mayor of Buenos Aires and co-founder of the Republican Proposal (center-right) party Horacio Rodríguez Larreta expressed his support; and from a balcony near Congress, former Argentine president Cristina Fernández greeted the demonstrators, who waved a university garment in her hand.
But, without a doubt, it was an event of Argentine society, which was mobilized in peace and without altercations, as the Security authorities themselves acknowledged to the television channel Todo Noticias (TN).
The events in Buenos Aires were attended by representatives of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), one of the most important in Latin America, and of other educational centers in the capital, including some private ones.
In Córdoba (center), a student center par excellence and home of the National University of Córdoba (UNC) – the oldest in the country and one of the first in Latin America, founded in 1613 – about 30,000 people were mobilized.
With a long history of student claims, the city nicknamed ‘la Docta’ was the scene of the ‘Cordobazo’ in 1969, one of the largest Latin American university mobilizations within the framework of the global protests of the late sixties, which was harshly repressed by the dictatorship that then held power (1966-1973).
During the day, there were also mobilizations in the provinces of Santa Fe, Mendoza, Entre Ríos, Río Negro, Neuquén, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Misiones, San Juan, San Luis, Santiago del Estero, Catamarca and Chubut.
International
U.S. doubles bounty on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to $50 million
In February, the United States designated eight Latin American criminal organizations as “global terrorist” groups, including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, and the MS-13 gang. In July, it added the Cartel of the Suns to the list — a group Washington claims is led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Last Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, raising it from $25 million to $50 million, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on social media platform X.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that labeling the Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization allows for a strategic shift in dealing with the Venezuelan regime, as it is now also considered a direct threat to U.S. national security, according to El Espectador.
In an interview with The World Over on EWTN, Rubio said the designation enables the U.S. to “use intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, or any other element of American power to go after them.” He stressed this is no longer just a law enforcement matter, but a national security operation.
When asked at the White House whether he believes it is worth sending the military to combat Latin American drug cartels, Trump responded:
“Latin America has many cartels, a lot of drug trafficking, so, you know, we want to protect our country. We have to protect it.”
International
Three injured in early-morning New York City shooting
A shooting in New York City early Saturday morning left three people injured, a police spokesperson told AFP.
The incident occurred at around 1:20 a.m. local time (05:20 GMT) following a dispute. An 18-year-old woman sustained a scratch to the neck, while a 19-year-old man and a 65-year-old man were injured in the lower limbs.
The victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where they were reported to be in stable condition.
The alleged shooter was taken into custody at the scene, and a firearm was recovered. As of now, the suspect has not been formally charged.
Videos circulating on social media show scenes of panic among the crowd, though AFP has not been able to verify their authenticity. The incident comes just weeks after another shooting in a Manhattan skyscraper that left four people injured before the gunman took his own life.
International
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announces talks with clan del Golfo outside country
Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated on Friday that his government has begun talks outside the country with the Clan del Golfo, Colombia’s main criminal group also known as the Gaitanist Army.
“We have started conversations outside Colombia with the self-called Gaitanist Army,” the president said during the handover of 6,500 hectares of land to farmers in the Caribbean department of Córdoba.
The president noted that his administration “has seized more cocaine than any other government” because it seeks to “cut off the finances (of criminal groups) that fuel violence in many regions of Colombia.”
“A bill has been introduced that I hope the Congress studies thoroughly, because it essentially elevates restorative justice even for serious crimes,” Petro said.
The initiative he referred to was presented by his Minister of Justice, Eduardo Montealegre, aimed at “the consolidation of total peace.”
According to the Ministry of Justice, the bill seeks to provide the government with clear regulations to achieve the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of illegal armed groups.
For groups such as the Clan del Golfo, a judicial submission process will be applied, which could bring possible legal benefits if they genuinely cooperate, surrender weapons, and dismantle their groups.
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