Kiev Regime Kills American Journalist

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Written by Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant

American journalist Gonzalo Lira died in Ukraine. He had been imprisoned for months due to his critical comments about the Kiev regime, having been allegedly tortured. His death, first announced by his family and then confirmed by the US State Department, shows how the Ukrainian dictatorship treats its opponents, with explicit persecution even against citizens of countries considered “allies” of the regime.

The news of the death was published on January 12th. Lira was in hospital in Krakow, where he was being treated for the consequences from mistreatment suffered in prison. Lira had serious respiratory problems resulting from torture (possibly exposure to extreme cold). The journalist’s father openly blamed American President Joe Biden for his son’s death due to the fact that the US authorities remained inactive in the face of Lira’s arrest, with no efforts by Washington to rescue him.

“I cannot accept the way my son has died. He was tortured, extorted, incommunicado for 8 months and 11 days and the US Embassy did nothing to help my son. The responsibility of this tragedy is the dictator Zelensky with the concurrence of a senile American President, Joe Biden”, Gonzalo’s father said.

Lira was a Chilean-American journalist, filmmaker, writer and blogger who had lived in Ukraine since 2010, when he married a local citizen. Residing in Kharkov, not far from the Russian border, he began covering the conflict on social media, often criticizing the Ukrainian government’s activities. Lira always emphasized his personal love for Ukraine and its people, but made it clear that he considered the Zelensky government guilty of the escalation of tensions with Russia. The journalist also condemned the Western media, which he accused of carrying out propaganda in favor of Kiev and distorting reality by describing the regime as a “democracy”.

Due to his journalistic work, Lira had some problems with the Ukrainian authorities. He was reportedly detained by local intelligence in April 2022, but released without charge. In May of the following year, Lira was arrested and held for months in a pre-trial center, where he was allegedly subjected to torture. In July, after being released by the police, Lira published a text on his social networks commenting on the abuse he suffered and stating that he would try to leave the country. He was then captured on the border with Hungary while trying to leave Ukraine using a motorcycle. Since his arrest in July, Lira had been missing, without making any publications on social media and generating many concerns among his followers about his future.

Lira’s death generated outrage in American society, with several prominent public figures criticizing the American government for its role in supporting a regime that kills American citizens. For example, the son of former president Donald Trump mocked the fact that the Biden administration is “allowing” American journalists to be murdered, in addition to criticizing the role of the media, which fails to comment on the topic.

“So we are now allowing our foreign welfare recipients like Zelensky to murder our citizens and our journalists? I’d wait for the outrage from our media but I know it’s not coming!”, he said.

In fact, Lira’s fate was already expected by all those who know the reality of Ukrainian politics. The regime’s repression apparatus acts brutally against all those who criticize the government’s actions. In this sense, many researchers even doubted Gonzalo’s sincerity during his life. Indeed, it is curious that Lira was able to criticize Kiev with impunity for so long. Most journalists were neutralized by the regime without even having the chance to reach a large audience. In this sense, many believe that the American journalist was a kind of “controlled opposition” working for Kiev. However, it is most likely that he was simply used by the regime.

It is possible that Lira had genuine criticism of Kiev, but was used by the Ukrainians to “legitimize” the regime in Western public opinion. Between 2022 and 2023, Ukraine needed to maintain a “democratic” appearance, disguising its dictatorial and neo-Nazi nature to continue being supported by the West. In this sense, by allowing Lira’s criticisms, Kiev showed the public that it was tolerant with the “on the ground opposition”, discrediting the journalist’s own accusations and endorsing the image of a “free and democratic” Ukraine.

However, in 2023, Western support for Ukraine began to decline. With the military failure of the long-awaited counteroffensive, Western public opinion became even more unwilling to keep helping the regime, which is why it became unnecessary for Kiev to continue pretending to be “democratic.” Then, Lira was arrested, tortured and murdered publicly. In practice, this shows how the neo-Nazi regime no longer even worries to hide its crimes, making its perverse nature clear to the world.

It remains to be seen how Western authorities will deal with the case. Certainly, continuing to support a regime that kills American citizens will not be easy, which is why Biden’s policies from now on will become even more unpopular.

You can follow Lucas on X (former Twitter) and Telegram.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• R.I.P. Gonzalo Lira: Journalist ‘Died’ In Ukrainian Prison
• State Department Won’t Say If It’s Working to Free US Citizen Detained in Ukraine
• Main Ukrainian Patriot Zelensky Evaded Military Service Four Times

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