From 1974-1976, Isabel Perón was the president of Argentina, the first female president in the world. She was the third wife of populist president Juan Perón.
When her husband died in 1974, she was already VP and became president. She inherited a country that her husband had left in turmoil – politically, economically. On March 24, 1976 she was overthrown in a military junta led by General Jorge Rafael Videla.
According to the Holocaust Museum in Houston Texas: “Between 1976 and 1983, an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 people suspected of involvement with leftists guerrillas were “disappeared” by the authorities in what was known as the ‘Dirty War.’ Victims were taken to clandestine detention centers, where the majority were tortured and killed. Some were dumped out of airplanes—dead or alive—over the Atlantic Ocean. Those taken came to be known as the Desaparecidos, the Spanish word for “disappeared.”
This past weekend, Trump also “disappeared” a group of Venezuelan immigrants whom he claimed were part of a gang. These men didn’t get any due process, which they were entitled to under U.S. law. Trump and Musk decreed them guilty and they were flown to El Salvador, where they were imprisoned.
On Saturday, while this was happening, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued a verbal order from the bench to pause these deportations under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act that trump used to justify the deportation. He ordered that the deportation flights be turned around. But the White House ignored the order. You can read about this shit show here.
Trump, of course, blasted the judge and called for his impeachment, which brought a rare rebuke from Justice Roberts.
The bottom line here is simple: Trump figures that he, like a king, is a above the law. This is thanks to a supreme court ruling on July 1, 2024 that states a president is immune from anything he does as president.
So what does this all mean exactly? If you’re a college protester, a journalist speaking against trump’s actions, a judge who rules against him, a politician who objects to his orders, or any ordinary citizen who speaks out – are you are going to be rounded up and deported to China, Russia, or some other autocratic country with whom he has a deal? If so, then the bill of rights is history and this coup is over. It means that trump and musk and their cronies have successfully taken over the country and democracy is dead.
It means that part of our history will include “los desaparecidos,” the ones who disappeared from this country because trump took issue with them.
