The Argentine government, led by President Javier Milei, has included the Ancestral Mapuche Resistance (RAM) on the list of terrorist organizations, accusing it of being responsible for the fires that have devastated thousands of hectares in the Patagonia region. Through his Minister of Defense, Luis Petri, it was declared that the RAM acts as terrorists by causing fires and damage in Patagonia, putting at risk the lives and natural resources of all Argentines.
Jones Huala, the only recognized member of the RAM, has denied the terrorism accusations, stating that they have never carried out such actions and would not do so. For his part, Gustavo Franquet from the Argentine Association of Lawyers pointed out that there is no judicial evidence supporting these accusations and warned about the democratic danger of labeling opposing organizations as terrorists without due legal process.
Former Security Minister Sabina Frederic, under the mandate of Alberto Fernández, believes that the RAM does not constitute a public security problem, but rather a radicalized minority of Mapuches who at some point committed acts of vandalism. Anthropologist Hernán Schiaffini opines that associating the Mapuche people with terrorism benefits the government by exonerating itself from responsibility in the management of natural resources and fire prevention.
Despite the accusations from the Argentine government, the RAM, according to consulted experts, is not organized as a group and there is no compelling evidence supporting its connection to violent acts. The inclusion of the RAM in the Public Registry of Persons and Entities Linked to Acts of Terrorism and Their Financing (RePET) has generated controversy due to the lack of legal foundation for the terrorism accusations against the Mapuche group.
