International
Argentine state bears ‘responsibility’ for 1924 indigenous massacre: court
AFP
An Argentine court on Thursday found the state responsible for the massacre of more than 400 indigenous people almost a century ago, and ordered remedial measures.
In July 1924, Argentine police and settlers mowed down hundreds of indigenous people protesting inhumane living and working conditions on cotton plantations in the northern region of Chaco.
As many as 500 members of the Qom and Moqoit communities were killed. They lived in conditions of semi-slavery on the so-called Napapli reservation on land settled by immigrant farmers from Europe.
A federal judge has previously ruled the mass killing a crime against humanity, but no classic criminal trial has been held given the lack of defendants — who are long dead.
Until Thursday, no guilt has never been officially assigned.
After a month of hearings in a so-called “truth trial,” a verdict was delivered Thursday by a court in Resistencia in Spanish as well as the languages of the Qom and Moqoit.
It said that the “responsibility of the state” had been proven in “crimes against humanity” that had taken place in the context of an “indigenous genocide.”
Judge Zunilda Niremperger ordered “historic reparations,” which did not include financial compensation.
Among the measures are to include the massacre in the school syllabus and continuing forensic efforts to find the remains of victims.
A memorial was erected in 2020.
The plaintiffs had not sought economic redress, but the judgment could in theory could pave the way for civil action.
Raquel Esquivel, a Qom descendent, told AFP it was high time that “indigenous voices are heard.”
“It’s important that the truth be told,” she told AFP by telephone from Machagai, a small town near the Napalpi reserve some 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) north of Buenos Aires.
This was the first court case to delve into the persecution of indigenous peoples in Argentina.
According to the accounts of survivors of the 1924 massacre, the dead included many children and elderly.
“The wounded who could not escape were killed in the cruelest way possible,” the court found — many were mutilated and buried in mass graves.
Only about a million of Argentina’s 45 million inhabitants today are members or descendants of the original 39 indigenous groups, according to census data.
Historians say the settlement of Argentina by immigrants left its indigenous peoples on the verge of extermination.
One of the most brutal episodes, known as The Desert Campaign, saw at least 14,000 indigenous people killed between 1878 and 1885 in the effort to incorporate Patagonia into the rest of Argentina.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
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