Nazi sympathizers and racist extremists have participated "at ease" in the influential Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the most important annual meeting of conservatism in the United States that this year flirted with Latin America by including among its speakers the presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei, and the Salvadoran Nayib Bukele.
According to NBC News, in the hallways of the conference, which is being held in Maryland, racist conspiracy theorists and members of nationalist groups—who obtained official passes—were seen mixing with the other attendees.
[Trump defends in vitro fertilization after the court ruling in Alabama]
On Friday night, during a Young Republican event, several neo-Nazis who openly identified as National Socialists, including members of Turning Point USA—considered a group promoting extremist and hate ideologies by the Anti-Defamation League—were arguing with others. traditional conservative personalities on racial science and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, NBC News reports.
One member of the group, Greg Conte, who also participated in a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, said his group showed up to the conservative conference to speak to the media.
And he explained that
they were prepared to be expelled if CPAC organizers decided so, but that never happened,
NBC News reports.
The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, speaks during the CPAC 2024 Conference, this February 24 in Oxon Hill, Maryland.Jose Luis Magana / AP
Another known supremacist, Ryan Sánchez, who was part of the
Rise Above Nazi
Movement , took photos and videos during the conference, wearing an official attendee pass.
Other attendees, who accompanied Sánchez, openly used derogatory words to describe black people.
This Saturday, former President Trump, who described himself as a “proud political dissident
,” and the Argentine president, Javier Milei, admired by the Latin American right,
participated as speakers at the conference .
[Trump is already obligated to pay $464 million, if he does not comply his fine increases to more than $111,000 per day]
Milei took advantage of his speech to attack the socialist movement, which he accused of destroying Argentina's economy, and criticized the idea of social justice, calling it an "aberration."
"Do not let socialism advance, do not endorse regulation, do not allow yourself to be carried away by the siren song of social justice (...) stupid ideas," Milei told the audience who responded with applause.
As a nod to Trump's supporters, Milei endorsed the phrase of the former president of the United States—who was recently sentenced to pay more than half a billion dollars in a civil case for fraud and another for defamation—saying that he would not give up on his attempt to "make Argentina great again."
Donald Trump hugs and kisses the American flag during his participation in the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, this Saturday, February 24. Alex Brandon / AP
Milei is the second Latin American leader to attend CPAC this year.
Last Thursday, the Salvadoran Nayib Bukele did it, whom part of the audience received with cheers, waving the flag of El Salvador and shouting “We love you!”
In his speech delivered in English, Bukele criticized globalization, saying that it is already dead in El Salvador, and launched attacks on the press, which he called “fake news,” “puppets” and “activists.”
He also launched criticism against what he considers to be a “global elite” that controls the media, prosecutors, and “persecutes their political enemies,” in a veiled reference to the four criminal cases opened against Trump in the United States. Joined.
[They protest in Argentina over the lack of food]
Both speeches—Bukele's and Milei's—follow a similar script to Trump's, especially in his attacks on the critical press.
Without making specific accusations, Milei this Saturday accused "corrupt media" in his country that "were angry because we eliminated the state guideline."
For his part, Trump, who has been the keynote speaker at the conservative conference since 2017, used his speech to paint a bleak picture in the United States if President Joe Biden is re-elected in the November elections.
“For hardworking Americans, November 5th will be our new day of liberation.
But for the liars, cheats, scammers, censors and impostors who have taken over our government, it will be the day of judgment,” said the former president.
He also used the CPAC podium to reinforce his rhetoric against undocumented immigrants and generate fear among his supporters, referring to "hordes of undocumented aliens stampeding across our borders" and warning them that "gangs will invade your territory."