Impunity generates the repetition of acts, now in Argentina, the policies of death no longer only threaten the lives of the Mapuche people but also all lives. They are coming for the water. The secret agreements with Mekorot, carried out by the Milei government and backed by twelve governors, seek to give control of the water to this Israeli company, accused of water apartheid in Palestine. Mekorot out! We firmly oppose the repeal of the Glacier Law and we ask Argentina, and all indigenous peoples: courage, determination and unity to care for life, because if not now, when? He has carried forward judicial setups, based on lies and racist propaganda to obtain social consensus for his segregationist policies. There they were able to verify that there is no case whatsoever. Press conference on Wednesday, February 12, led by the Governor of Chubut Province, Ignacio Torres, with four hooded and armed men behind him. Peaceful action in the Esquel courts. In the wake of this series of injustices and violence, the communities affected by the raids, criminalization and persecution, decided to carry out a peaceful action at the Esquel courts on Tuesday, December 9, around 10:30 a.m. “Understanding that the legal apparatus has become a repressive tool and a justification for murderous policies,” the objective of this action was to put a stop to the persecution of his people, which has intensified in the last two years since the repeal of the Indigenous Territorial Emergency Law, as expressed in the following communiqué: “Mari mari kom pu lamgen ka pu peñi, mari mari kom pu che. Muleayiñ Puelwilli mapu mewXipay ñeayiñ dungun. Greetings to all brothers and sisters, to all people. From Puel willi mapu, (under the administration of the Argentine State) Southern Patagonia, we say: In these last two years, the persecution and criminalization against our Mapuche nation-people has intensified. The day concluded with the filing of a criminal complaint against Prosecutor Cerda and the governor of Chubut province, Ignacio Torres. By ANRed. Recapitulating: simultaneous raids. In February, during the raids, different types of violence were recorded: elderly people and children were assaulted, several community dogs were killed, and the facilities of the Petü Mogeleiñ Community Radio were destroyed. The lawyer spoke and we still have no concrete answer. Immediately after the home search, we came to the prosecutor's office individually. These are all the methods used by the judicial, business and political power of the day to delegitimize the right to return and historical reparation, a political right that not only the Mapuche nation-people has, but also the more than 37 indigenous nations that coexist in the territory called Argentina, endorsed by multiple international treaties and agreements. In addition, the governor of the province, Ignacio Torres, lied during the press conference on February 12, saying that there were judicial cases against the members of that Lof. Understanding that the legal apparatus has become a repressive tool and a justification for murderous policies. I know that the procedure was filmed and that the images were leaked and used politically by the governor to induce public opinion into believing that the Mapuche people are terrorists. Initially, from the Lof Pillán Mahuiza, after the governor's outrageous statements, they voluntarily approached the Prosecutor's Office to see if there were pending cases against them, to “see if any of the governor's statements had a legal basis.” Argentina is a racist society, this state was founded on a genocide against indigenous peoples, throughout history no government has condemned the military policies of extermination. If it weren't for the Lof, that river would no longer exist. I had come 2 months ago. Considering that I am not accused in the case nor implicated, I denounce prosecutor Ismael Cerda, who did not want to give us an explanation, said he was talking with lawyer Luis Virgilio Sánchez, who is the one representing the community. The photograph is of the Corcovado River, protected by the Pillán Mawiza community, one of the raided communities. For this reason, today, Tuesday, December 9, a peaceful action was carried out at the Esquel courts, where they demanded the nullity of the case. In total, 12 communities were raided. Now they are also going after the glaciers. Glaciers are not renewable, those glaciers that disappear will never come back. Indigenous communities around the world protect more than 80% of biodiversity, they are an obstacle to private deals and the extractivism that wars require to sustain themselves. Therefore, to illustrate this note, we chose a 2019 archive image. Even long before NGOs began to document these crimes. Lucinda Quintupuray and her son, Victorino, had already been killed for protecting the lands of Cuesta del Ternero (Global Witness began to document these crimes in 2012, Lucinda and her son were killed in 1993). “We know that many attacks are not reported, so it is likely that this figure is below reality,” warn the NGO, who obtains its data by speaking directly with territorial organizations. I consider it to be undue retention and non-compliance with the duties of a public official from the moment one. But in addition, the violence suffered by the communities is constant, ranging from media lynching, raids, judicial setups and physical and psychological violence. In addition, 60 people have been swabbed against their will, retaining their genetic material and not informing them of its intended use. The violence did not end with the raids: from the Lof Pillán Mawiza, in the following days, they reported that the police were using the seized cell phones to write to their contacts and that unlicensed vehicles were roaming the territory. And I, the one who denounces, consider that it was orchestrated as racist propaganda. The glaciers are NOT to be touched,” he concludes. Filing of the criminal complaint. After trying to open a dialogue with Prosecutor Cerda, responsible for the raids carried out in February, they decided to file a criminal complaint against him and the governor of the province: “On February 11, 2025, within the framework of fiscal file number 62966, they proceeded to carry out a home search in my home where they seized a computer, cell phone, 11 books, pendrive, notebooks, Handy. That is, they are going to put the right to water in the hands of genocides, whoever controls the water controls life. Destroying glaciers so that mining companies can obtain profits offering peoples poverty, pollution and death, is a decision of a terrorist state. These are the true motives behind the evictions that have been happening against our people, the Mapuche political prisoners, the violent and disproportionate raids such as the one on February 11 in the Province of Chubut, the arbitrary detention of innocent people, the murder of Rafael Nawel and Elias Cayicol, the accusation of terrorist to the Mapuche people, all of this is a staged scenario to facilitate their death advance against nature. The Mapuche people are one with the earth, as earth people we will defend life in the face of this voracious advance of the terricide system. That is why today, December 9, 2025, we constituted ourselves in the prosecutor's office of the city of Esquel, Chubut. At this historical moment, the only fear we have is not being able to prevent these atrocities. We demand: 1- The nullity of the case “Mirantes..”, an invented case to cover up the true authors of the fires in Patagonia. 2- Restitution of all items seized and stolen by the police that day. 3- The absolute prohibition on the use of our DNA. More than 60 people, in those 12 raids, we were forced to be swabbed. This is not only illegal but is condemned in international treaties and agreements. 4- Recognition of the territory of the Lof Catriman-Colihueque, that the resolution of the IAC (Autonomous Institute of Colonization and Rural Promotion) be deactivated. 5- We demand the demilitarization of our territories. 6- Recognition, respect and application of indigenous rights. 7- Restitution of the evicted territories to the pu lof mapuche. 8- We express solidarity with the indigenous peoples in struggle, and with the people of Mendoza, we add our voice in a strong cry: Amunge Fewla Mekorot!! The racist dictatorship is firmly walking towards an apartheid, stripping us of all our rights, trying to tear us from our territories. Archive image (2019): Corcovado River, protected by the Mapuche Pillán Mawiza community. One of those disappearances is that of Julia Chuñil, a Mapuche woman who was protecting her territory on the other side of the mountain range. In previous years, those figures were constituted with the names of Rafael Nahuel, murdered for protecting the life of the Lafken Winkul Mapu Lof and the name of Elias Garay Cayicol, murdered during the territorial recovery of the Quemquemtrew Lof. I want the person responsible for disseminating these images, which should have been safeguarded in the judicial case, to be found, holding Ismael Cerda responsible for the leak and denouncing the governor for the improper use and dissemination of the images”. The guardians of the Earth are not dangerous, they are in danger. During 2024, Global Witness documented 146 murders and long-term disappearances of environmental and territory defenders. Objects have been seized that have not yet been returned, such as cell phones, books, work tools, computers and drawings made by the children of the lof (communities). In its place, there would be a dam: the La Elena hydroelectric project. Today I came to claim it and they didn't give it to me. Credits: ANRed. In the framework of the investigations into the authorship of the forest fires that hit Patagonia last summer, the judicial power of Chubut decided to harass, stigmatize and persecute the Mapuche-Tehuelche communities: on the morning of Tuesday, February 11, the Chubut Police raided private homes, territories and the Petü Mogeleiñ Community Radio, by order of the execution judge in Esquel, Jorge Criado, prosecutor Ismael Cerda and prosecutor María Cecilia Bagnato. They refused to take the complaint. At a time when the climate crisis is generating the most frightening global warming in history, glaciers are a fundamental factor for regulating the planet's temperature.
