International
Brazil awards Bolsonaro ‘medal of indigenous merit’
AFP
The Justice Ministry awarded President Jair Bolsonaro Brazil’s “medal of indigenous merit” Wednesday, drawing criticism for granting the honor to a leader that indigenous groups accuse of “genocide” and “ecocide.”
Justice Minister Anderson Torres awarded the medal to his boss and 25 other honorees “in recognition of their significant altruistic service for the well-being, protection and defense of indigenous communities,” said a decree published in the official gazette.
Torres also granted the medal to himself, Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina, Infrastructure Minister Tarcisio Gomes and Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto.
The announcement drew sharp criticism from indigenous leaders, many of whom accuse Bolsonaro of trying to force native peoples from their lands, promoting environmental destruction and allowing rampant deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
“Absurd,” said Sonia Guajajara, national coordinator of the Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples (APIB).
“As if all the setbacks we’re facing weren’t enough, this barbaric dis-government has now created another: a medal of merit to Jair Bolsonaro and his allies for their ‘significant’ services to indigenous peoples,” she tweeted.
Her organization brought a case against Bolsonaro before the International Criminal Court last year for his “anti-indigenous policies,” accusing the far-right president of “genocide” and “ecocide.”
Indigenous groups have staged massive protests against Bolsonaro since he took office in 2019 over his push to restrict the creation of new indigenous reservations, a surge in deforestation and fires in the Amazon, and his bid to legalize mining on indigenous lands.
Brazil is home to around a million indigenous people, about 0.5 percent of the country’s population.
The medal of indigenous merit had in the past traditionally been awarded to academics such as anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro or indigenous leaders such as iconic chief and environmental activist Raoni Matuktire.
International
Bolsonaro diagnosed with skin cancer amid coup conviction
Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been diagnosed with skin cancer while serving a historic sentence for attempting a coup d’état. His medical team confirmed that the lesions have been removed and that, for now, he does not require further procedures, though he will need regular monitoring.
On Wednesday, September 17, Bolsonaro’s doctors confirmed the diagnosis. The announcement comes shortly after the former leader was convicted of orchestrating an attempted coup.
According to his physician, Claudio Birolini, Bolsonaro has “squamous cell carcinoma, which is neither the most benign nor the most aggressive form — it is intermediate.” Birolini warned, however, that this type of skin cancer “can carry more serious consequences.”
International
Milei praises Paraguay’s growth, calls Argentina’s last 20 years a ‘decline’
Argentine President Javier Milei praised Paraguay’s economic growth over the past two decades during a speech before the Paraguayan Congress on Wednesday (Sept. 17, 2025), crediting it to incentives that favored capitalism. At the same time, he contrasted that progress with what he described as Argentina’s deepening “decline” during the same period.
“If we compare the last 20 years of Paraguay with those of the Argentine Republic, we will find almost diametrically opposite results,” Milei told lawmakers during a special session of Parliament on the second and final day of his official visit to Asunción.
“While you have not stopped growing, we have deepened our decline. If we understand incentives as the engine of capitalism, Paraguay focused on preserving and strengthening them, while Argentina dedicated itself to chaining, directing, and suffocating them,” the right-wing leader stated.
International
Trump administration launches large-scale immigration operation in Chicago
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump intensified a large-scale immigration operation in the Chicago area with the arrival of additional Border Patrol agents on Tuesday and the presence of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem during a raid.
Noem posted a video on her X account showing the immigration operation, in which DHS reportedly removed “violent criminals” from the streets. The footage shows Noem observing the arrest of a man taken into custody at his home early Tuesday morning at an undisclosed location.
“I was in Chicago today to make it clear that we will not back down,” the secretary wrote. “Our work is just beginning,” she added.
The warning from Noem was echoed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Chief Gregory Bovino, who posted a video on X Tuesday showing multiple Border Patrol vehicles arriving in the city with the caption: “Chicago, we are here!”
Bovino, who led the immigration crackdown in Los Angeles implemented since last June, said the team will remain in Chicago to continue the mission they started in California.
Operation “Midway Blitz” is currently focused on the Chicago metropolitan area and its suburbs. Activists and residents have reported sightings of masked agents and unmarked vehicles in predominantly Latino neighborhoods.
Bolsonaro diagnosed with skin cancer amid coup conviction
Milei praises Paraguay’s growth, calls Argentina’s last 20 years a ‘decline’
Trump administration launches large-scale immigration operation in Chicago
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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