Nazi criminals allegedly paid $200M in bribes to Perón government
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay, May 23 (UPI) -- Recently declassified files suggest that Nazi criminals may have paid $200 million in gold bribes to Argentine authorities to secure refuge in the country after World War II.
The files indicate German submarines transported the gold to Argentina's southern coast, where it was delivered to Eva Duarte, wife of then-President Juan Domingo Perón. The money was reportedly later handled by German bankers Richard von Frente, Ricardo Stauch and Rodolf Freude.
The released material includes 1,850 documents compiled into seven files dating from 1950 to 1980. The records confirm that Third Reich fugitives arrived in Argentina beginning in 1945 with the protection of Perón, and that their arrival was not isolated but part of a larger effort.
Nazi ideology had gained notable support in Argentina as early as the 1930s. On April 10, 1938, nearly 10,000 people attended a rally organized by the German embassy at Luna Park stadium in Buenos Aires.
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Perón was reportedly an admirer of fascist aspects of Nazi Germany.
"The German government encouraged that sympathy by promising major trade concessions after the war. Argentina was full of Nazi spies. Argentine officers and diplomats held important posts in Axis Europe," said Christopher Minster, a Latin American history and literature expert, in an interview with ThoughtCo.
Among the most prominent Nazis who found refuge in Argentina were Josef Mengele, known as the "Angel of Death," Adolf Eichmann, one of the main architects of the Holocaust and leader of the so-called "Final Solution," and Josef Schwammberger, who commanded the Krakow concentration camp from 1942 to 1944.
Mengele evaded capture for years, living under a false identity in Argentina and Paraguay. He drowned off a Brazilian beach in 1979 and was buried under the name Wolfgang Gerhard.
Eichmann was captured by Mossad in a covert operation and brought to Israel, where he was tried and executed by hanging on June 1, 1962. He had entered Argentina under the alias Ricardo Klement.
Schwammberger was arrested in 1987 and extradited to Germany, where he was sentenced to life in prison.
AOG pastor, wife detained in Cuba, facing 8 years in prison
Detention ordered for referencing God, divine justice
Two Assemblies of God pastors in Cuba, Luis Guillermo Borjas and his wife, Roxana Rojas, were detained this week after invoking their religious beliefs during their son’s military tribunal.
Prosecutors are seeking an eight-year prison sentence for the couple, who face charges of disrespect and disobedience to authorities.
The incident occurred in Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, where the couple resides, according to the U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
They had been summoned to a military tribunal after their son, Kevin Laureido Rojas, fled a military facility. Although Kevin reportedly had a medical exemption from compulsory military service due to psychiatric issues, he had been taken by force to a base.
At the tribunal, the pastors presented official documents from a medical commission supporting their son’s exemption. When the military prosecutor accused them of submitting false evidence, Pastor Borjas responded by saying the officials would be accountable to God’s justice.
The prosecutor then ordered their immediate detention, citing the illegality of referencing God or divine justice in a military court.
Borjas remains in custody at a local police station. His wife was hospitalized after collapsing later that night. While in hospital, she was reportedly harassed by a man in civilian clothing who falsely identified himself as a nurse.
The couple’s trial is set for June 9. Both are affiliated with the Assemblies of God, a denomination that holds legal status in Cuba.
CSW has called for the charges to be dropped and for Borjas to be released, describing the legal action as unjust and urging international pressure on the Cuban government.
Religious freedom in Cuba is tightly regulated, with the Communist dictatorship controlling all recognized religious institutions and requiring official registration for legal operation. Unregistered groups often face surveillance, harassment and restrictions on worship, assembly and religious expression.
Cuban authorities recently barred exiled Pastor Alain Toledano Valiente from returning to the country to be with his adult daughter, who is undergoing surgery for advanced breast cancer. The government has enforced a travel ban against Toledano Valiente since his forced departure in 2022. A leader of the unregistered Apostolic Movement, he had appealed for permission to return, stating that her life was again at risk.
In January, Cuban Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo was released from prison as part of a mass amnesty, despite not having completed his eight-year sentence for participating in peaceful protests in 2021. He was among 553 political prisoners freed following the U.S. decision to remove Cuba from a key terror watchlist — a move that was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans, who say that Cuba enables groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Here are the ‘politburo’ members who were really running the Biden White House, according to ‘Original Sin’ authors
A small, tight-knit group in former President Joe Biden’s inner circle was running the White House like a “politburo,” and they were the “ultimate decision-makers” as Biden’s health and cognitive function continued to decline, according to the authors of a bombshell new book.
This group, dubbed the “politburo,” included a coterie of seasoned political veterans, including Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti and Bruce Reed — but also family members such as first lady Jill Biden and the president’s son Hunter, the authors of “Original Sin” claim.
“In terms of who was running the White House, it’s a small group of people that have been around,” “Original Sin” author Alex Thompson told PBS’ “Washington Week” on Friday. “Some people within the administration called them the Politburo. That’s the term we used in the book.”
Former White House chief of staff Ron Klain was at times part of the “politburo,” as was former senior adviser to the president Annie Tomasini. Also on the “politburo” was the first lady’s former top adviser and “work husband,” Anthony Bernal, whom The Post previously reported created a toxic workplace environment.
“And Joe Biden himself also is part of this. Joe Biden is not like — it’s not ‘Weekend at Bernie’s,’ right?” said co-author and CNN anchor Jake Tapper, referring to the movie about a dead guy who is wheeled around as part of an elaborate ruse.
“He has some purchase here. He has some agency. And he’s aware of some of what’s going on.”
Tapper added: “He’s aware of the fact that they are keeping the cabinet away from him, they are keeping some White House staffers away from him.”
Usually, the term “politburo” refers to the top echelon of a communist state. Many of the seasoned politicos had been around Joe Biden for decades. Regardless of official titles in his 2020 campaign and administration, the “politburo” generally called the shots and got Biden to agree.
“Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board,” one source familiar with the inner workings of the White House told the authors.
An unidentified cabinet secretary vented about the Politburo, saying, “I’ve never seen a situation like this before, with so few people having so much power. They would make huge economic decisions without calling [Treasury] Secretary Yellen.”
The Politburo had been forceful in rejecting and diminishing concerns about the former president’s age and mental acuity, according to the book. The advisers had generally seen “concerns about Biden’s age as simply a political vulnerability, not a serious limitation,” the book claims.
There is more on this story at the NYPost:
They believed that Biden was achieving real policy victories
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