TIGRILLO L. ANUDOThe Flotillas That Are Kidnapped Every Day

Tigrillo L. Anudo, October 6, 2025
Translated by Tlaxcala

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The world changes little. Historical patterns repeat themselves. The past never left. The objectification of human beings continues. Colonization is the order of the day. Piracy in international waters is revived with other actors (who finally kept the aid and belongings of the occupants of the humanitarian flotilla bound for Gaza?). Those who undertake actions in favor of justice are labeled “terrorists.”

The hijacking of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was carrying humanitarian aid to the tormented people of Gaza, is what happens every day in many countries. It is happening right now in Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, where neoliberal policies subject the population to hunger, lack of healthcare, education, housing, employment — to a slow death.

The difference is that these are not flotillas traveling by sea. They are flotillas of social investment, which remain kidnapped in plutocratic and corrupt Congresses and Assemblies. The difference lies in the fact that this practice of global capitalism becomes more visible in a nation invaded, massacred, and humiliated by Zionist ideology, the conception of a supremacist State that carries out ethnic cleansing against those it considers “inferior” and “terrorists.”

In the countries mentioned, the human rights of other ethnic groups (indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, peasants, mestizo workers) are kidnapped; repressive and anti-democratic dictatorial regimes operate there. They do not kill with bomber planes and artificial intelligence, but with the denial of human dignity — an ignominy made invisible by corporate media and educational apparatuses that program political illiterates.

Everything is interconnected. Daniel Noboa (President of Ecuador), Dina Boluarte (President of Peru), and Javier Milei (President of Argentina) are allies of the Zionist government of Netanyahu. Like them, Donald Trump (President of the United States) and other presidents of European nations have business interests and defend the Israeli regime. Although some European governments verbally rejected the terrorist actions of the Israeli State in Palestine (among them Italy and Spain), they ended up bowing their heads before the genocide. There is no integrity in their rejection. They are afraid to assume upright positions; they do not want to leave the Club of the world’s powerful accomplices.

The United States government follows Zionist ideology; it is its point of reference. It is the natural ally of those who embody the most characteristic features of capitalism 2.0: usury, control of banking and the financial system, management of the most lucrative industries, production of weapons and surveillance technologies, espionage services and techniques for combating “internal enemies,” developments in artificial intelligence that increase labor exploitation and unemployment. Capitalism 2.0 advances technology and diminishes humanity.

Israel teaches the United States how to do business, involving it as a partner in an ambitious hotel project on Palestinian territory. Neither International Law nor Human Rights stop the rate of profit. The elitist political world continues, for the most part, to be very permissive toward the genocide in Gaza. It suits them. Invisible threads of commercial and diplomatic interests predominate in the agenda of foreign policy. Political economy prevails, not ethics nor international solidarity.

Not even the dystopian novels of the 20th century foresaw the negative utopia the world lives in today. A small country with a powerful army, backed by the U.S. empire, “defends” its right to commit genocide. Furthermore, it considers the act of bringing food, water, medicine, and other humanitarian aid to a besieged people as terrorist acts financed by Hamas. It grants itself permission to impose a maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip (for 17 years), subjecting it to thirst, hunger, and lack of medicine. It also allows itself to violate the right to the sea by boarding vessels in international waters.
Who cares about Palestine?

How to confront the danger posed by Israel’s State terrorism? Marches and humanitarian flotillas are more symbolic than effective. However, they are valuable and must continue because they make visible the infamous offensive of a machine that kills children and women. There are also boycott campaigns against companies that finance the terrorism of the Zionist army. Their reach is limited, but they add to the cry for peace. President Petro proposed an Army of Salvation of Humanity, but there was no timely response to make it a reality. President Trump announced a recolonizing “Peace Plan” to stop the “war” (he does not say genocide) and administer the Gaza Strip with Tony Blair (killer of Asians). A deception and mockery of the world. They cancel the self-determination of peoples with a stroke of the pen; they decide for Palestine.

Ahmed Rahma, Türkiye

Everything indicates that the disorder that destroys International Law can only be compensated by the use of force by new and daring actors. The Houthis of Yemen, a poor country devastated by war, have dared to launch drones and missiles at Israel; they do so out of solidarity with Palestine, to make themselves felt as a neglected and beaten nation, for historical-religious motives, for strategy, political calculation, and because they have the dignity and courage that rich nations lack. These actions, along with the supersonic missile responses from Iran that shattered Israel’s Iron Dome, are encouraging other countries to intervene to stop the massacres committed daily with impunity by the fanatical soldiers led by Netanyahu. Israel is not so invulnerable; it has already been demonstrated. And a tiny country like Yemen understands that it can play a role by controlling the Red Sea, through which navigates a large part of the fuel and goods of international trade. In a world where the rules of coexistence and respect between nations are violated, the continuation of such violations by other interested parties is authorized. Israel is risking being erased from the map because of its persistent defiance of peace and international morality.

If the Israeli army arrogates to itself the right to kidnap ships in international waters, it is validating the Houthis attacking ships carrying weapons, goods, or fuel through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern entrance to the Red Sea, through which pass ships loaded with oil that supply not only Israel but also Europe and the United States. The ships of this last country will also suffer. Oil prices may rise. The world economy could be affected. The law of the jungle is expanding across the planet; an uncertain future could mark international relations.

The dispute over markets and global trade routes is a chessboard for Russia, China, Europe, and the United States. None of them cares about the fate of Palestine. They are concerned with how they position themselves against their rivals. Each time a new war front opens for the U.S., Russians and Chinese take advantage of it. They are interested in seeing the U.S. exhausted by helping its Israeli partners. Hence, bears and dragons do not enter energetically to defend Palestine. That is how political economy works. Small countries like Yemen and Lebanon (Hezbollah) do more for Gazans than the great powers. Arab governments also fail to agree on how to support their Palestinian brothers or how to confront the Zionist challenge.

Only the peoples save the peoples. Other initiatives will be indispensable to halt the genocide. There is no military power that saves lives in Gaza. No government dares to intercede for the massacred Palestinians. None wants to “get into trouble”; each one looks to its own interest. So far, only Indonesia has offered 20,000 soldiers for an improbable army of salvation. No one believes in armies of salvation.

Gaza is alone. Its inhabitants continue to fall under the murderous bullets of Netanyahu. After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Palestinian genocide is the greatest failure of humanity.
The Zionist leadership is determined to exterminate the people of Gaza. It has been doing so since 1947, when its British partners deliberately settled them in Palestinian territory.
Their hatred and fear (lack of love) have led them to consider all Palestinians as terrorists.
They say the same about those who try to bring them aid.
Fascism is reigning, and we have not realized it.