Over 40 days have passed since the forced disappearance of Argentinian activist Santiago Maldonado. President Mauricio Macri’s government appears to be more preoccupied with protecting the impunity of the Argentine Military Police, also known as the gendarmerie, than with listening to the demands for Maldonado’s release — or at least for information on his whereabouts and condition — being made by a mobilized populace.

Maldonado was detained and disappeared on August 1 while participating in a protest in Chubut calling for the release of Mapuche leader of the Ancestral Mapuche Resistance (RAM), Facundo Jones Huala. Jones had been detained upon extradition requests by Chile. Both Argentina and Chile have labeled Jones a terrorist, on account of his resistance activities against capitalist exploitation of ancestral Mapuche territory.

The group of activiststogether with Maldonado, who blocked the road during the protest, were accosted by the Argentine Gendarmerie, who fired rubber bullets at the activists upon orders given by the Security Minister, Patricia Bullrich.

According to witnesses, Maldonado was beaten by the military police and forced into a van. His whereabouts and fate remain unknown. Matias Santana, who testified before Judge Guido Otranto on September 5, stated that he watched through binoculars as Maldonado was beaten and taken away by the military police to an undisclosed location.

Mobilization met with disinformation

In Argentina and elsewhere in South America, human rights organizations have mobilized through protests and demonstrations, demanding “Where is Santiago Maldonado?” Social media is also replete with Maldonado’s image and persistent questions directed at Macri and Bullrich — the highest levels of