BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) – The Latest on President Barack Obama’s visit to Argentina (all times local):
10:10 a.m.
Prominent human rights groups in Argentina are saying they will boycott President Barack Obama’s visit to a memorial for people who died during the South American nation’s dictatorship.
Obama will visit the memorial Thursday morning on the 40th anniversary of a coup that led to military rule and the killing and disappearing of thousands of Argentines.
Obama quelled some opposition to his presence in Argentina on such a sensitive date by announcing last week his administration would declassify thousands of internal documents from that period.
But rights groups say it’s still hard to imagine embracing the president of a country they accuse of backing the dictatorship that killed their children, parents, friends or spouses.
Nora Cortinas of the iconic Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo group says Obama “is a representative of death.”
In her words: “What would victims say if they saw (us) hugging and paying homage to a president from a country responsible for state terrorism?”