Democracy Now! Audio - Democracy Now! 2026-10-19 Monday

Episode Date: October 19, 2026

Headlines for October 19, 2026; French Gov’t Cracks Down on Mass Protests over Cost of Living, Education Cuts; 2,400+ Arrested; Masked Israeli Settlers Nearly Kill Washington Post Journalist as Attacks on Palestinians Escalate; Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa: Prominent Anti-Corruption Lawyer in Guatemala Assassinated

From New York, this is Democracy Now. Decenters from far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals, unleashed unrestrained violence in our cities. Watching these images, we all ask ourselves, what are they thinking? How can French people do this to France? As mass protests over the rising cost of living in France turned violent over the weekend, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence. Hours later, he landed in Kuwait,

where he's beginning a tour of Gulf Arab states to strengthen defense and energy partnerships. We'll speak to a French student in Lyon and a journalist in Paris. Then to the West Bank. I was attacked, pushed to the ground. Luckily, I had my black jacket and my helmet. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't even be here because they just kept kicking me and kicking me like probably 50 times. Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was brutally attacked by dozens of masked Israeli settlers Friday

as she was photographing Palestinian villagers trying to gather their olive harvest. We'll speak to Jasper Nathaniel, a journalist. who witnessed the attack. Then to Guatemala, where Juan Francisco Solosano Foppa, a leading former anti-corruption prosecutor, was assassinated over the weekend. He was shot more than 50 times

in front of his 14-year-old son will get the latest and speak to his mother. Juan Francisco was a young advocate, Juan Francisco was a young lawyer coming from a background of pro-democracy and revolutionary activists. All that and more coming up. Welcome to DemocracyNow. DemocracyNow.org, the war-and-peace report. I'm Amy Goodman.

In France, hundreds of thousands of protesters marched in over 140 cities and towns Saturday, demanding relief from the high cost of living, more funding for public services and improvements to deteriorate. schools, among other grievances. The demonstrations were the latest and largest in a series of protests that began in September with student-led rallies over overcrowded classrooms and crumbling school infrastructure that have since grown to a broader nationwide movement. Some cities saw property destruction, arson and theft with isolated incidents of violence. There was damage reported to symbols of the state,

including city halls in Lille, Marseille, and Limoges, and a tourist office in Lyon. Officials said almost a thousand police officers were injured. Some 2400 people were arrested. France's interior minister Laurent Nunez said police had lost control and offered to resign. President Macron rejected his offer. Macron blamed the violence, unquote, dissenters from far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals, unquote. Many of the hundreds of thousands who marched peacefully said there was too much media focus on property damage and not on the issues of austerity

and police violence against children. This is a protester in Paris. I think the protests are very legitimate. There is a lot of anger. There is a lot of difficulty in living and studying. So I believe it's a legitimate. And of course, in this legitimate protests, Sometimes I have violent people that take advantage, but I think it's very minor. The French president has begun a three-day tour of Gulf Arab states. Here in the United States, millions of people took to the streets at more than 3,000 local events in all 50 states on Saturday, seeking to rally voters for midterm elections under the banner, no kings. Organizers sought to make Saturday the largest single day of early.

voting in U.S. history. They're also organizing poll monitors and election defenders ready to respond to election sabotage. This is Seattle resident Olivia Pope. Having freedom here in America is important. Not having a king ruling over us is important. Being able to have universal health care is important. I actually experienced an injury with no health care, and it was $48,000. Meanwhile, the social media giant meta has apologized after the No King's coalition's Instagram account was shut down for several hours during Saturday's demonstrations. Meta apologized, citing an automated action it said was made in error. The No King's Coalition is demanding an explanation, writing, quote, restricting communications about

voting in the middle of an election is unacceptable, they said. In Tunisia, thousands marched in the capital Tunis Saturday and the biggest protest against President Kaisa Said in years. The march was led by the powerful Tunisian General Labor Union with opposition parties and civil society groups. Protesters demanded the release of jailed critics and accused Saeed of crushing dissent since he consolidated power in 2021 when he dissolved. Parliament fired dozens of judges and began ruling by decree. This is the Vice President of the Tunisian

Human Rights League. A suffocating crisis on all levels, frankly speaking, almost all rights today have been violated. The state is no longer fulfilling its duty to provide rights for Tunisian citizens, and that is what made us determined today to make the voice of the Tunisian people heard. Tunisia first and the Tunisian people above all. protests have rocked the capital to Rana for a week as anti-government demonstrators clashed with police, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Eddie Rama. Albania's protests started in May when environmentalists rallied against a planned luxury resort tied to President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The movement soon grew into broader protests against corruption and the cost of living. Most recently, students led the protests demonstrating against a lot of living. high tuition, poor university conditions and a lack of jobs. This is a protester. It's corruption, fraud. There is injustice for everyone. They don't see, we don't see the future with this government, with its politics, with the rich people that are getting richer every day. So we need to change. Otherwise, everyone will escape from here. In Brazil, right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and President Luis Anasya Lula de Silva

sparred in their first and only debate on Sunday one week before the presidential runoff election. Flavio Bolsonaro is the son of the far-right former president Jaira Bolsonaro. He finished two points ahead of Lula in the first round of voting, but polls have recently narrowed. During the debate, President Lula attacked Bolsonaro for supporting his father's response to the COVID pandemic. This is Flavio Bolsonaro. The PT, the Workers' Party, has been governing Brazil for 20 years and nothing has changed or improved for you when it comes to health care. Only someone who knows nothing about health care, someone who has never used the public

health system could say something like that. They had a four-year run, and it was the greatest disaster in this country's history. 716,000 people died due to the government's irresponsibility. Half of those deaths could have been prevented if they had listened to science, if they had believed in science, but they didn't. Russian officials say one person was killed and five others were wounded Sunday as Ukraine launched more than a thousand drones against 15 Russian regions. The drones swore said an oil terminal on fire in St. Petersburg knocking at power to thousands of residents. It also struck a Russian retail change logistics center and a data center operated by the largest Russian social media platform. Russia followed with a large-scale missile and drone attack on

Keeve overnight that killed a 21-year-old woman and left more than a half a million households without electricity. The attack struck more than 10 energy sites. a clinic, a school, a metro station, and homes. Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said the attacks came with no advance warnings from Western intelligence agencies. Two days before, the Lindsay Graham sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 was supposed to go into effect, which Trump signed, he waived the sanctions against Russia, saying he would sign a deal with President Vladimir Putin to purchase diesel fuel.

Lawmakers from both parties in the United States criticized the plans. North Carolina Senator Tom Tillis, who's not seeking re-election, was among Republicans distancing themselves from Trump. He wrote, quote, it's unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine and butchers innocent civilians every single day, Tillis wrote. In the occupied West Bank, armed Israeli settlers. descended on Palestinian villages over the weekend and a coordinated assault on the annual olive harvest.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured. Witnesses say Israeli forces responded by siding with the settlers, firing tear gas at Palestinians who tried to defend themselves. In one incident, at least 80 mass settlers attacked an olive harvest in the town of Abu Fala on Friday. Among their victims was Washington. Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, who is beaten for more than 10 minutes by Israeli settlers who stole her passport, phone, wallet, and camera gear. Levine was hospitalized with serious injuries, including a stab wound.

She spoke to reporters from a hospital bed in Ramallah. And I just am so ashamed that as a parent myself, I guess, cannot understand how a parent can raise such individual monsters. They're not even humans. And yes, they are Jewish terrorist and they are giving everyone in the country a horrible reputation. In rare critical comments, U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, called the attack on Heidi Levine terror and called for the prosecution of those responsible.

separately, Israeli settlers assaulted Belgian, French, and Polish diplomats and a French mayor in another part of the occupied bank on Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cast doubt on reports of settler attacks, calling them, quote-unquote, sensational headlines before the full facts emerge and part of a smear campaign. But Israeli police later said they had taken 10 suspects into custody for questioning. Prosecutions of Israeli settlers are rare. Later in the broadcast, we'll speak with Jasper Nathaniel, a journalist covering Israel's occupation of the West Bank. His new piece is headlined the Palestinians who rescued Heidi Levine. He witnessed the attack on the Washington Post photojournalist. In Gaza, a mass funeral was.

held Sunday for 75 Palestinians whose remains were found under the rubble of homes and buildings destroyed by Israel. This comes as the U.N. has announced major cuts to the World Food Program's Gaza operations due to a funding shortfall. The agency is reducing monthly assistance to 1.1 million people down from 1.6 million, even as two-thirds of Gaza's population faces crisis levels of food insecurity or worse. President Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday just days before Israel's election on October 27th. The endorsement comes as most polls show Netanyahu's coalition short of a majority. It's Israel's first election since the Hamas attacks on October 7, 23. President Trump endorsed Netanyahu two days after the attack on the American journalist Heidi

Levine. During a CBS News town hall, a widower of U.S. service member Nicole Amar confronted Vice President J.D. Vance. Amar was one of six people killed in an Iranian drone attack back in March, its deadliest attack on U.S. forces during the Iran war. There's a failure in the leadership, and I want to know how this administration is going to start holding those leaders accountable for the actions and the deaths of the soldiers that we honor and that we love. In Yemen, Houthi forces attacked a government military training camp in the Shabwa province, killing 18 people. It comes as fighting between Yemen's internationally recognized government and the Houthis has escalated in recent. weeks. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates has agreed with Saudi Arabia to reenter the conflict in Yemen by reportedly resuming payments to some government forces. This comes as the Wall Street Journal

reports Iran has provided the Houthis with training, intelligence, and tactical guidance to launch attacks against Saudi Arabia and Yemen's government. In Guatemala, a prominent anti-corruption lawyer, Juan Francisco Solorzanoppa, died of course. being shot by two men while visiting a sports center in Guatemala City with his teenage son. Guatemalan police reported they had detained two men. President Bernardo Arevolo condemned the attack saying, quote, the direct perpetrators and those who ordered the crime must face the full weight of the law, unquote. So Lorzanopo had been outspoken against Guatemala's most powerful politicians, business leaders, and companies, will speak with his mother later in the broadcast, as well as a journalist in Guatemala City.

The White House's so-called border czar, Tom Holman on Saturday, became the first senior Trump administration official to publicly state the administration is looking to possibly denaturalize and deport Congressmember Ilhan Omar. His comments come after federal agents raided her home last week. Home unspoke on Fox News Saturday. Would this involve denaturalizing and then deporting her if it turns out that there is some kind of immigration fraud? Of course, if you lied to a naturalization process, there is a process that denaturalize somebody. We've done it before. It's a long, tedious process, but it's been done before. I've been involved with those investigations before.

And certainly, if the evidence points that way, that's. could happen. President Obama, whose citizenship has also been questioned by President Trump, condemned Homan's comments and defended Congressman Omar, writing on Sunday on X, quote, the full way to the federal government is being brought down on law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president. Obama added, quote, if this becomes the new normal, there's no reason to believe it will stop with her or that future president. and either party won't do the same, unquote. And the White House's new press secretary, Katie Zachariah, resigned on Friday after just five days on the job.

It comes after her disastrous debut as press secretary last Tuesday. She was also facing questions about whether she misrepresented herself as a lawyer despite failing the California Bar exam. And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the Warren Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. We begin in France where hundreds of thousands of protesters marched in over 140 cities across France Saturday, demanding relief from the high cost of living, more funding for public services and improvements to deteriorating public schools. The demonstrations were the latest and largest in a series of protests that began in September with student-led demonstrations,

over-crowded classrooms and crumbling mainly high school infrastructure, which grew into a broader nationwide movement. Some cities saw property destruction, arson, and theft with 1,500 stores damaged and tax-targeting symbols of the state, including city halls in Lille, Marseille, and Limoges, and a tourist office in Lyon. Officials said nearly 2,400 people were arrested in close to 1,000, police and security personnel were injured. France's interior minister Laurent Nunez said police had lost control and called on President Emmanuel Macron to resign, an offer Macron rejected. In a televised address Sunday, Macron condemned the violence but also acknowledged

legitimate grievances of the demonstrators. De facto, dissenters from far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals, joined by numerous criminals unleashed unrestrained violence in our cities. Shops were looted, public buildings, stores and town halls were attacked, and some were destroyed. Several hundred police officers and gendarmes were injured. Watching these images, we all ask ourselves, what are they thinking? How can French people do this to France? Yesterday, several hundred thousand of our fellow citizens demonstrated with a desire to voice legitimate demands. We must never confuse them with those who destroyed, vandalized,

and looted. These demonstrators expressed concern about the cost of living and fuel prices, which stem from the conflict that began in the Persian Gulf, a conflict in which France has taken no part, but whose consequences we are suffering. I fully understand their concerns. Hours after his address, President Macron arrived in Kuwait to begin a tour of Arab Gulf states today, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, aimed at strengthening economic and military partnerships that have been upended by the U.S.-Iran war. Before flying to Kuwait, Macron said the visit would help secure energy supplies and respond to protesters' concerns over rising fuel prices.

Meanwhile, France's far-right party criticized the government and the violence over the weekend. far-right presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, offered a, quote, path of rebirth if she wins the next election. In six months, the French people will be able to choose a different path, that of authority and renewed security, that of sovereignty and a respected democracy. This is what I propose to you. Make no mistake. For France, it will be a path of hope, a path of rebirth, long live the Republic, and long-lived

France. Many of the hundreds of thousands who marched peacefully Saturday, so there was too much focus on property damage by the media and not on the issues of austerity and police violence against children. The protests were begun by high school students. This is a young protester in Paris who works in the publicity industry. They want a better life for a little cheaper, and that's what we want to. That's why we are drawing together, and everyone is here with the state. students, the farmers, and everyone wants a decent life in France in the future. For more, we're joined by two guests. Ryan Sericott is a student in France and a member of the

FSE, the French Student Union Federation. She's joining us from Lyon. And from Paris, we're joined by Harrison Stettler, independent journalist and teacher. His latest piece for the nation is headlined, has France's government overplayed its hand? Let's begin with Ryan. Ryan, thanks so much for being with us. Explain what these protests are about, beginning with the high schoolers who took to the streets. Thank you for having me. The reason behind those protests, indeed, it started with the high schoolers demanding better studying conditions, and it quickly extended to pretty much the whole French people. The reason behind this is that the are pretty much the same.

People are demanding better life conditions, living conditions, better studying, working conditions, lower cost of living. And it's really what we can tell and get from those protests. It's the rejects of the current government and how little people still have faith in that government, a government that had made eventual promises over the years, but mostly has broken them and, you know, applied a lot of harsh policies on the French people regarding,

again, coast of living, sorry, and just working and studying conditions. And so this is the common point the reason why those protests are so wide and expanded wider than just high schoolers, it's because it's the whole question not only of our living conditions but also of who we are governed by and what interests they have and the rejects of a government that has shown time and time again that they will always choose their economic interests over the French peoples.

And talk about the joining of unions, college students. Who is supporting these protests? And then can you respond to the violence and how President Macron has responded before heading off to the Gulf, condemning the violence, the French government shoring up its military sales to various Gulf nations? Yeah, well, most people are supporting the protests that are taking place, like you said, high schoolers, obviously, but also students, the working class very widely as well, either in public services or, you know, private companies. a lot of people have joined and supported the protests and the demands that were made because it's about things that include pretty much the whole society.

And we have seen also protests in suburbs, which are more working-class neighborhoods in France. and so a lot of protest also took place there, again, regarding living conditions and also police violence. And so to kind of respond to what President Markroons was saying, he again said the police were being professional and again blamed the violence that took place. but what is frustrating to see is how little the police violence is addressed and talked about, which is really the main violence and the real violence today that is taking place in France. It's people, children often, that have lost their hands, their eyes, their teeth over the last few weeks. It's people struggling to get food in their house, but by the half of the month. This is the true violence.

It's how violently and hardly the government has chosen to respond to the demands and how it keeps affecting people and sometimes really young people. I want to bring Harrison's. Stettler into this conversation. You have written a piece in the nation, has France's government overplayed its hand? Can you explain what you mean? And also, as the elections are coming up in France, there is great concern that the property damage and street violence will benefit the more far-right parties. Can you talk about the significance of what this might mean for the national rally. That's Marine Le Pen's far right party, Harrison.

Sure. Well, first off, thanks, Amy, for having me on the show. In response to your first question about, I mean, what from the beginning has been, has been the French government's response to this crisis? I mean, I think it's been, it's been, there's many facets. First of all, we've seen from the beginning, essentially a zero tolerance policy to protest in many respects. Yes, there, there was indeed national, wide scale, this past, Saturday protests and marches that were, as you mentioned in your introduction, widely peaceful. But from the beginning, a major component of the response coming from state authorities, from political authorities and government has been to essentially treat the uprising or the

social movement this autumn as a case of urban violence. I think many of the police responses recall what we've seen in recent cases of rioting over things like police violence in 2020. 23, when there were three days or four, several days of essentially a wide-scale national rioting over the police killing of a young man in the Paris suburbs. And essentially from the beginning of these last few weeks of revolts, what have we seen from the government, basically to revamp and fall back on what is by this point, an extremely established playbook, essentially on how do you police public disorder? how do you police questions or situations when popular frustration essentially hits the streets out of a

reflection of the lack of essentially political outlets for these frustrations? As far as what we've seen over the last weekend, I think I'm personally am actually quite surprised by the government's response. I think one of the big elements of the last 48 hours specifically has been unpacking the degree to which the government was frankly unprepared as well. And what we were seeing from State Intelligence Services last week were estimations of anywhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people expected to come out on Saturday. And by the government's own recognition, we're at over half a million or as many as 800,000 according to organizers. So it seems like they vastly underestimated and what you see in these sorts of situations, I think, and there's a lot of the criticism

coming from the left is in these situations when the government essentially has it backed up against a wall, what is an initial response that is police charges, tear gas, rubber bullets, which has now resulted in a growing list of injuries among protesters. We're talking about shattered jaws, high schoolers and adolescents who have been blinded. So no, this is unfortunately the latest in a long pattern of absolutely. I mean, from this past Saturday, there's at least one new case of a student being blinded, another adolescent who, again, I lost a hand by a grenade

that was launched into a crowd. So no, these are, this is what really a reflection of, of what has developed over many years, what has accelerated under Macron's administration, which is essentially a model of zero tolerance, escalatory policing. Obviously there are conversations to have and there are investigations to be conducted into cases of rioting over the past weekend that saw not only luxury stores or dig box stores looted or or a town hall burnt to the

ground but also saw mom and pop businesses or what we say in the United States looted as well. So there are absolutely investigations that will take place. But first of all this I think it must really be be underlieb. that this is the latest instance when, I mean, what the French called the model of public order in France, the Maintien de laurelique, has again shown essentially a first escalation model coming from police forces. I mean, to return to your second question, I guess, on the Ressamblement National. I mean, I, to be fully frank, am increasingly worried that we're, we have long since entered an extremely dangerous situation as far as French electoral politics

ago. Since 2024, the situation in Parliament is extremely unstable, divided between three minority blocks of which the governing centrist coalition has essentially been unable to do anything of substance to respond to the economic crisis that are bringing people out onto the street. Marine Le Pen, what is her response? It was written on the wall from the beginning, and it is law and order, law and order, law and order. And unfortunately, I mean, the situation like we have in France, what does it require, it requires that civil society look in an extremely lucid and clear way at what is a social crisis that is very revelatory of Macron's governing style over the last 10 years. And I fear that French political culture, French media, French civil

society is increasingly unable to make essentially the kind of lucid analysis and have the type of outlook we need to truly pick apart what is happening in this country. And this situation is essentially what Marine Le Penh hopes for. I mean, I think they think their strategic reading right now is this is absolutely what fits into our appeal, what fits into what is going to make voters choose us next spring. I mean, I don't want to, obviously, be the bearer of bad news this early. But, I mean, it must be noted that essentially, what do all opinion polls show at this point, that Marine Le Pen is essentially the only candidate who's guaranteed to make it through the first round runoff.

And essentially against contenders, she has the advantage at this point. Obviously, a lot can change. But for Marine Le Pen, within the Rassonne-Léin-Lépairenton, I think the mood is probably, quite positive right now. Harrison Stettler, thanks so much for being with us. Independent journalists and teacher based in Paris will link to your piece in the nation, has France's government overplayed its hand? And Ryan Sericott, a student and member of the French Student Union Federation speaking to us from Leone.

Coming up, we go to the occupied West Bank, where masked Israeli settlers brutally attacked Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine. You'll hear her in her own. words from her hospital bed. Stay with us. DemocracyNow.org. I'm Amy Goodman. And the occupied West Bank Friday Israeli settlers brutally assaulted Palestinian olive farmers in the village of Abu Fala, northeast of Ramallah. Witnesses say dozens of massed Israeli settlers descended from a nearby hilltop, armed with clubs, sticks, and slingshots. Some even had firearms. They hurled rocks at Palestinian farmers, set olive trees ablaze, drove people from their fields. Veteran, Washington, post-photojournalist,

Levine, an American, was on the scene documenting the attack when settlers surrounded and began beating her. At the time she was wearing a vest, clearly marked press on the front and back and a helmet. Video of the assault shows mass men surrounding Levine, knocking her to the ground, repeatedly beating and kicking her as she tried to protect herself. They reportedly stole her passport, camera, equipment, wallet, and phone. She suffered a broken rib, four broken vertebrae lacerations across her body and a severe injury to her hand. Levine was taken to a hospital in Ramallah where she spoke to reporters. Today, I was brutally attacked by, I mean, we saw in the distance in the hilltop.

I would say at least 50 masked men. I had a 100 to 500 millimeter lens that you could see the mask with slingshots. And when they came running down, I was attacked, pushed to the ground. Luckily, I had my black jacket and my helmet. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't even be here because they just kept kicking. me and kicking me like probably 50 times. And then after like 10 minutes, they like tried to get me to stand up. And then they, to push me down again and continue to kick me.

And I was trying to hold onto my cameras and my pouch and I had my phone on a string on my neck that they eventually just broke it. everything off of me and continued kicking me. And then the next thing I noticed is I was getting evacuated by my Palestinian colleagues and medical service that forced me in an ambulance, first to the medical center and to check me and then to the hospital here. From her hospital bed, Washington Post reporter Heidi Levine went on to say this. One message to their parents, I don't know how a parent can raise such monsters severely, honestly.

I have witnessed their behavior attacking families, which we recently published a story, and I just am so ashamed that as a parent myself, I cannot understand how a parent can raise such individual monsters. They're not even humans. And yes, they are Jewish terrorist and they are giving everyone in the country a horrible reputation. That's Washington Post photojournalist

Heidi Levine speaking from her hospital bed in Ramallah after being attacked by Israeli settlers. On Friday, the Israeli Prime Minister of Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying in part, quote, the facts surrounding the confrontation near Abu Fala, during which Washington Post photojournalist, Heidi Levine, was allegedly assaulted, remained unclear

and are under investigation. We will not allow disputed incidents to be exploited to demonize the hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, Netanyahu said. In response, the Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray wrote on social media, quote, to be clear, some facts are neither in dispute nor unclear. Our photographer was clearly marked as press. She was clearly beaten.

These are not partisan or risible statements, but indisputable. We urge a thorough investigation and accountability, said the Washington Post. In a post on X on Saturday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Hukb, called the assault, quote, despicable act of terror carried out by mass cowards, unquote. On Sunday, two days after the settler attack on Heidi Levine, President Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel's October 27th election. According to the Israeli human rights group, Yashdin, settlers have carried out at least 170 attacks against Palestinians since September 27th, which marked the start of this year's olive harvest. Just a day after the settler attack on Heidi Levine, mass settlers attacked a great. group of European diplomats from France, Belgium, and Poland who were visiting the West Bank village of Taibe. Earlier today, Israeli police announced they'd arrested 10 suspects as part of

investigation into violent incidents in the occupied West Bank. We go now to the West Bank, where we're joined by Jasper Nathaniel, who witnessed the attack on Heidi Levine and helped intervene. He's a journalist covering Israel's occupation of the West Bank on his substack, Infinite Jazz. His new piece is headlined the Palestinians who rescued Haile Levine. He's joining us now from the occupied West Bank. Thanks so much for being with us, Jasper. What happened? Well, I mean, it's olive harvest season here in Palestine. And, you know, the olive harvest is supposed to be a celebratory time of year. I mean, in years past, you know, whole families would come out together. There would be these beautiful picnic spreads.

And, you know, it was a, there was no rush. On Friday morning in Abu Phala, there were no women or children. There were just men rushing to pick the elves as fast as they possibly could because just in the distance on top of a hill, we were literally watching these settlers who live in an outpost there that the Israeli government knows about. We watched them put on their masks, pick up their clubs. and prepare for the assault. About an hour into the harvest, the settler started charging down the hill. And by the way, I should mention, this village coordinated with the IDF to do their olive harvest on that day under the pretense that they would get protection from the settlers

who are living on their land. The IDF didn't show up. So the settlers start charging down the hill. They are all wearing masks. They're holding these big clubs and they're swinging giant. giant rocks, you know, that are, that are, you know, can maim people when they hit them. As that's happening, the farmers, many of the farmers start to retreat back into the village, but the Shabab or the Palestinian youth sort of emerge and start protecting the village.

You have to keep in mind that this is not just about the olive harvest. Abu Fala, like in many communities around the West Bank, the olive field, there are the buffer zone between the violent settlers and the village itself. In other words, if the settlers were able to push past the olive groves, they would then be in the residential part of the community. They would be burning homes. They would be assaulting people. And they would basically try to, you know, expand their territorial control into the village. So these young Palestinians step up. All they have is rocks. They're totally outgunned always. And they basically charge back at the settlers. And for maybe 10 minutes, the Palestinians were successful.

defending their land with just stones. And then the settlers start setting the olive trees on fire. So suddenly there's smoke in the air. And then the thing that really changed things was when the IDF finally did show up. They came screaming in a military Jeep. And rather than do something to stop these masked settlers who were assaulting Palestinians on their own land, they start shooting tear gas at the Palestinians, who I was with. as that's happening. So now there's tear gas and smoke in the air. A truck full of settlers then speeds in.

Settlers in the back wearing all black, shooting M16s into the air, like ISIS, start flying in. So now there's machine gun fire too. So it was at that moment that everybody on the side of the village, as in the Palestinians and the journalists who were there and the activists who were there with them, just turn around and run. So we're all now just running back towards the village. And that is when, Heidi was caught by settlers. So basically once I got far enough out of the cloud of smoke and tear gas, I looked back and I could just see a within this massive mob of like probably 50 plus settlers, there is a smaller circle of maybe four or five just like savagely beating somebody on the ground with their clubs, with their feet, with their fists.

I only discovered it was a journalist when somebody grabbed their blue press vest and pulled them up. And for a minute, I thought they were helping them. And then they held them up so that another settler could come and kick her in the stomach and knock her back down. So we saw that this was happening. And me and a couple other journalists and a group of Palestinians, you know, knew that her life was in danger. I mean, it looked like they were killing her. In the video, you can see them, you know, raining down these blows with these clubs. that certainly could have killed her.

And so there was really no way to get around the settlers because they had fanned out across the fields and they were continuing to throw rocks and the army was tear gassing us. And so the only way to get to her was to go directly through it. And so once again, the Palestinian youth, the Shabab stepped up. They ran out ahead and they started beating the settlers back by throwing stones at them, which is what the only thing that allowed me to then run out front and grab Heidi. Once I got to her and I realized that it was, it was not what I expected to see. It was, you know, a 64-year-old woman.

She was in terrible shape. You know, she could not really stand on her own. She was completely dazed, clearly in agony. And I started trying to lead her out. As I'm doing that, the settlers make another charge towards us. And so now I'm begging Heidi to run. She's saying, let me die and let me die. And then just as I'm starting to think, we might be overrun here.

You know, these settlers could potentially catch us, and then I'll be on the bottom of that pile. Once again, the Palestinian youth created a literal perimeter around us to protect us and to beat the settlers back with stones once again, just to defend two journalists who, you know, in many cases they had met that day or hadn't even met at all. And so that's when we were able to finally get Heidi to safety. The Palestinian Red Crescent came and met us, picked her up, got her into an ambulance, and drove away. After that, the Israeli military chief that had been standing by the settlers who were attacking us, then drives into the village itself.

So it doesn't arrest or do anything to stop the settlers who have just almost murdered a journalist. Instead, they drive into the village and they start firing into crowds of Palestinian people, hit a 54-year-old man in the thigh with an expanding bullet, shattered his femur. They later accused him of charging at the IDF with a sharp object. The New York Times has photographs it shows he was running away from them with a small plastic rake in his back pocket. Then, you know, I got to the man who was writhing on the ground in pain. He was surrounded by soldiers who would not let paramedics near him.

They were pointing their guns at the paramedics. They were throwing journalists out of the way. I got shoved by the butt of one of their guns. They were trying to demand that the man who they had just shot show him ID, and they said they would not allow him to get into the ambulance until he did. I don't actually know if he ended up showing him his ID, but eventually the Palestinians were able to get him into an ambulance and drive away. Sometime after that, I think there was more tear gassing.

The soldiers left, the settlers left, and then I think, you know, the best, the only positive of this story is that the Palestinians then returned to their olive fields and resumed picking olives. Jasper, we just have a minute, and I wanted to know about the U.S. response. You have the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Huckabee, calling them terrorists, but you have President Trump, after Netanyahu denied the attack was clear. Washington Post refuted what he said. President Trump endorsed Netanyahu for his race for the president. administration. I mean, I think we should talk about Huckabee, because Huckabee actually is at a point now where he is willing to call these violent settlers terrorists. He did that six weeks ago when he visited

Termesia, which is a town that I'm in right now. I'm sitting in Termisaya. This is the largely American village where I filmed a brutal pogrom exactly a year ago in which another old lady was clubbed by settlers. This town, Huckabee visited it because it's full of American citizens who are being brutalized. Six weeks ago, he stood in this village. in somebody's home and told the people there that they deserve to live with safety and peace and dignity and that they were going to crack down on the terrorists that were killing them. This morning, Amy, a couple hours ago, settlers came in from the outpost, burned a home, and cracked an American citizen's skull open.

So that is how much Huckabee's words count for. In this very town, six weeks ago, he promised that they would be kept safe and there would be accountability. Now he is nowhere to be found. His words are completely empty. People here are once again, you know, being beating. into within inches of their lives. Their homes are being destroyed. And, you know, it's just, it's business as usual on the West Bank, which is just, you know, relentless brutalization by

by the state of Israel, frankly. And who is the American citizen? His name is Mohamed Sakat. And I know that there are pictures of the wound. It is, I mean, it's really, really gruesome. His head is split wide open. And by the way, the day before Heidi was attacked. An American citizen in a town called Burka was also beaten by settlers, almost killed. He has gigantic deep gashes in his head. His skull was broken. That's another American citizen. Hate them taste here. So, you know, listen, like the American citizens here, their lives are not worth more than Palestinians, of course. But the fact that, you know, even when American citizens are brutalized, nothing is done, maybe some empty words, but nothing is actually done. I mean,

tells you all you need to know about how seriously the state of Israel is taking their problem of state-backed-hettlor terrorism. Jasper Nathaniel, we thank you so much for being with us. Journalists covering Israel's occupation of the West Bank will link to your piece. Infinite Jazz and Substack the Palestinians who rescued Heidi Levine speaking to us from the occupied West Bank. Coming up, we look at the assassination of Juan Francisco Salazarovapa, leading former anti-corrected. prosecutor in Guatemala. I speak with his mother. Stay with us.

fatally shot along with another man Saturday in a sports center in Guatemala. He was shot more than 50 times as front of his 14-year-old son. He was known for his anti-corruption work as head of the criminal investigations directorate within the public prosecutor's office, later as head of Guatemala's tax authority when he helped prosecute dozens of powerful Guatemalan business figures. The Guatemalan president, Bernardo Arevlo, condemned the attack. Guatemalan authorities have reportedly detained two men in connection with the attack. On Sunday night, I spoke to his mother, Sylvia Solarsano Foppa. Sylvia, my deepest condolences on the death of your son, can you tell us who he was? Juan Francisco was a young lawyer coming from a background of pro-democracy and revolutionary activists.

he made a name for himself in a few government roles, but mainly at the public prosecutor's office. That's the agency that prosecutes crimes, right? So the courts can decide later on. But he was there during a time when drug trafficking was spiking, and especially gang violence and unsolved murders. The gang problem in Guatemala, along with El Salvador, became extremely dangerous with people being killed every single day. Bus drivers were being attacked, either extorted or killed.

He worked on those cases for over 10 years, earning a lot of experience and respect along the way. What does your son's assassination mean to the people of Guatemala? Well, that's just it. He represents the fact that things can be done right, that fighting for justice is possible. He also held a public post at the Tax Administration Office, dealing with taxes, in other words. And there, he managed to collect taxes, including from those who used to hide their money and refuse to pay. And that showed people that you can. and really work for the public good, stand up for what's fair and do things right. That's what made a name for him when he was still so young, right?

He was just 30 at the time. The president has called for a full investigation into the murder of your son. What would that look like? What are you calling for, Sylvia? For that exact reason, I mean, it is the justice. system's responsibility to carry out the investigation, right? The president belongs to the executive branch, so he's asking the justice system to do it, and right now, the justice system is very, very weakened. It isn't delivering the results that we, the people, expect. On top of that, dark forces are at

work, and it really seems like they want to stare up a whole other set of problems for the government. Guatemala has elections coming up in six months, meaning we're in a pre-election climate. Staring up anxiety and unrest like this has happened before. It's part of creating pre-election confusion and insecurity. Can you talk about the role of the United States going back to 1954 when they supported the coup against Jacobo Arbenz? and what the U.S. has meant to the people of Guatemala since then, in this last 60, more than 60 years? We are too close to the United States.

At times, they feel as though the territory belongs to them, wanting to make decisions for us and disregarding the will of the Guatemalan people. Or sometimes they decide which president they want to install to Zubon. serve their own business interests. And I believe that one of the things that, along with Israel, has caused the most harm is the massive influx of Pentecostal churches. They brought them in with the intention of halting the rise of a more progressive Catholic Church, replacing it with a church that is far more subordinate, much more subservient,

really, to economic interests. And so there is a presence across the board. ideologically, economically, militarily, we are simply too close to the United States. You have lost both your parents, two of your brothers, and now your only son. What gives you the strength to carry on? My dad set the example first. My mom got involved later, and eventually all of us brothers and sisters did too. That's why I feel such a strong commitment to them.

I am looking at a picture behind you. Is that your mother and the pictures above your head? Can you tell us who they are? The large one is my sister and the ones up above are my children and my grandchildren. Up top are my kids and grandkids. What message do you have to the people of the United States and around the world on this week of the wake and the funeral for your son?

Well, like you asked, it really comes down to the commitment to keep fighting for a better Guatemala, for a real democracy. That's something we Guatemalans want to create on our own without interference from Israel, the U.S., or any other nation. And part of that democracy means respecting our natural resources, our rivers, our volcanoes, our land, our nickel, our oil. Even if they're small amounts, they are ours. And they keep being stripped away, not just by the United States and other countries.

In other words, we have the right to build our own democracy and our own form of government without outside forces meddling, and without them emboldening irregular forces, who very likely, as in the case of my son's murder, are the way. once pulling the strings, right? Because it isn't directly the police, it isn't directly the military. Rather, there are other armed groups, armed groups trafficking weapons from the United States, armed groups that might be smuggling drugs and bringing weapons. That isn't a new story on this continent, but these groups are very often backed by powerful sectors within the United States as well. And finally, how is your grandson who was with your son?

when he was assassinated this weekend at a soccer stadium. Well, we are taking care of him. He will know well, but right now we're taking care of him. How old is he? 14. Is there anything else you would like to add? No. Just to say thank you, and I think it's always a good opportunity to make it known that,

well, in our countries, there are diverse ideas, different points, of views and that, well, there are families who are fighting to build a better country here in Guatemala. That's Juan Francisco Solorzano Fopas' mother, Sylvia, speaking to us from Guatemala City, where we go now. We're joined by Roman Clessier, editor of Alfaro English. He's also the host of the podcast, Central America in Minutes, the wake and the funeral today and tomorrow the president. Arrevelo will be there. Also, he is related by marriage as well to Juan, who was gunned down in front of his 14-year-old boy as they played, I believe they were playing soccer or they were in a soccer stadium. Roman, in his last two minutes, talk about the significance of this assassination.

Hi, first of all, thank you for having me back on the show. And my condolences, me pesemé to Sylvia di Solor Sanofopa family and those who knew him. We learned of his assassination in the middle of the Central American Journalism Forum this weekend, which I think is important because he was a source to us in stories this year, unorganized crime in Guatemala, and also to more colleagues in the country. And I think that's important context. He's somebody who in years of exile or prison for prosecutors and anti-corruption voices, he was forceful, he was present.

I met him in the streets in 2021 while he was. protesting corruption. And that was certainly top of mind for all of us. We were thinking about it, not only as an assassination, but also having a deep effect on freedom of expression. And as Sibia mentioned, she covered the political context. We do have elections coming up next year. This was all front and center for us. And the significance of this man who fights against corruption for taxing the elite. And in the last, weeks was posting on YouTube criticisms of the U.S. CIA in relation to assassinations in Guatemala. Yeah, that's right. He developed a social media presence commenting on organized crime.

Now, remember, as you said in the program, he's somebody who ran the Directorate of Criminal Intelligence for the public prosecutor's office. So he's somebody with a certain base of knowledge and contacts. And earlier this year, he announced on social media. media, he revealed that a string of leaders of the 18th Street or Barrio the Siochio gang, some of whom he, by the way, had helped put in prison, some leaders of this gang, they had been able to escape prison. And he accused government officials of having colluded with them. So that, he developed a very high profile presence online for that. And in recent weeks, in late September, there was the murder of eight people in Witte, Sakapa, which is

in rural Guatemala. And there have been many versions of events. This is a crime that has not been clarified. But residents in Wheathe have accused members of the DEA of forming part of the group who carried out these murders. And Solor Sano Foppa, who in Guatemala is often just called Foppa. He posted online two days before his murder that there were possible, quote, CIA mercenaries, unquote, who could have been involved.

And so that was one open flank of many that he faced. And it is true that he was murdered on a soccer field in front of his son, along with another man as well. And the Interior Minister has already said that the second individual, Gustavo Aguilar, was essentially he was a casualty, but the target was felt by himself. He had security guards with him almost always. Is that right, Roman? He understood he was under, in fact, he'd come to the United States for a few weeks last year because he was concerned about a possible assassination. I can't speak to his personal security detail.

But what I can say is that he and other top anti-corruption and the anti-mafia prosecutors did face those risks. They were real. Many of his former colleagues are in exile. Some of them went to prison. He himself was imprisoned for defending Guatemala's top publisher, Jose Ruebensamora, and accepted charges while they were criminalizing his defense attorneys. So he was somebody who was very much present, involved.

and it is true that he and others faced exile, prison, death threats. That case on which he served on the defense team of Guatemalan journalist Jose Ruben Samora, can you explain that case? Yeah, essentially, Jose Ruben Samora was arrested over four years ago now, and he was charged on multiple. He was charged from money laundering who was later charged with obstruction of justice, and there were cases and cases that were piled on top of each other in the Samora case. It was a case that was internationally denounced, condemned by multiple international lawyers associations

with intense legal observation. And part of that criminalization against Samora involved attacks against his attorneys for obstruction of justice and other charges. And there were we're talking about almost a dozen defense attorneys who left the case under threats of, criminalization or actual criminalization. And that's where Fulpa came into play. Can you talk about the significance of this assassination, taking place less than a year before Guatemala's next election? Yes. There's something I want to clarify that the two men who were arrested and accused by police of having carried out his murder, have since been released. There was a hearing this weekend, and they found that there was no grounds to have detained the men.

and it's also possible that the police themselves carried out the arrest could be subject to investigation. The investigation is under seal and the public prosecutor's office has requested FBI assistance in order to investigate. So this and this all occurs in the run-up to elections. The 2023 elections were marred by the presence of organized crime. The president-elect himself faced threats, death assassination plots that were, denounced before the Inter-American Commission. So in Guatemala, what might seem like elections on one hand and organized crime on another are often very closely intertwined.

So that is very front and center, as Silvia Solor Sanofopa also mentioned. Roman Gracia, I want to thank you so much for being with us, editor of El Faro English. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org. We will also have an interview in Spanish and posted at DemocracyNow.org. again on this day after the weekend where Juan Francisco Solisanofopa has been assassinated, a leading former anti-corruption prosecutor. Roman was speaking to us from Guatemala City.