Gonzalo Lira is an American-Chilean author living in Ukraine and fierce critic of the Zelensky regime. He has not been seen or heard of since 15 April.
Vlogging from an undisclosed location in Kharkov, Lira has become something of a sensation on social media with his reports debunking Western mainstream media misinformation on the Ukraine crisis, and exposing the Zelensky regime’s neo-Nazi backers.
Within the space of a month he added almost half a million followers across all his social media accounts, as discerning western audiences tuned into his eyewitness accounts of the Ukraine conflict.
Lira was scheduled to appear on the ‘Mother of All Talk Shows’ with former UK MP George Galloway on 17 April, but was a no-show.
In one of his final tweets Lira said that if no one had heard from him for 12 hours, assume he had been arrested by the SBU (Ukrainian state security police).
Geopolitical analyst Alex Christoforou said there were reports Lira had been arrested by the SBU. Christoforou encouraged people to contact their local Chilean embassy or consulate to raise concerns over Lira’s safety and whereabouts.
Lira has been scathing in his criticism of Zelensky, whom he regards as a ‘puppet’ for powerful forces, notably brutal Ukrainian billionaire Igor Kolomoisky.
A recent ‘hitpiece’ on Lira by The Daily Beast has many claiming that publication may have the vlogger’s blood on its hands. It indicated his location and contacted the Ukrainian government knowing that many critics of Zelensky have been tortured or killed.
There could of course be a more innocent explanation for Lira’s sudden silence – internet and/or power in his location may have been disrupted by the hostilities. But as more time goes by that seems a less likely reason, and the mystery of his disappearance only deepens.
Gonzalo Lira López, a 54-year-old Chilean-American who was reporting from Kharkov since the start of the war, has not been heard from since Friday. We fear that he has been arrested by the Security Service of Ukraine or the neo-Nazis. @ChileMFA do something about your national. pic.twitter.com/pK4Bsu1PaR
— Kevork Almassian???????????????? (@KevorkAlmassian) April 18, 2022
???? BREAKING – Former presidential candidate Eduardo Artés @artes_oficial calls on Chilean President @gabrielboric to intervene on behalf of Gonzalo Lira.
"Gabriel Boric must fulfill his obligation, which is to demand his appearance alive to his friends from NATO and the US." pic.twitter.com/B94ZLUpZ9T
— Anabel V. (@Anabel_Villeroy) April 18, 2022
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FREE @realGonzaloLira https://t.co/Zl3qPVMdfn— UkraineMaps (@MapsUkraine) April 17, 2022
Extremely troubling that @realGonzaloLira, a US citizen in Ukraine, has disappeared from social media. He was scheduled to interview me last Friday about Zelensky’s SBU kidnapping and assassinating dissidents, and now I fear he has become its latest victim. #WhereIsGonzaloLira https://t.co/keLgufAl6O
— Dan Cohen (@dancohen3000) April 18, 2022
Gonzalo Lira knew that the @thedailybeast has put his life at risk with the hit piece against him. Why are we letting this pass by without holding the Daily Beast responsibility?! pic.twitter.com/n09sBxoMXx
— Kevork Almassian???????????????? (@KevorkAlmassian) April 19, 2022
Has #GonzaloLira been KILLED or kidnapped by #Ukrainian extremists? Watch the full @moatsTV show at https://t.co/bfqcRjp1C5 https://t.co/MQ3MEALXNT
— The Mother of All Talkshows with George Galloway (@MoatsTV) April 19, 2022
If @realGonzaloLira has indeed been disappeared by Ukraine's SBU, he joins a long list of dissidents, leftists, human rights activists, and local officials kidnapped, tortured and even assassinated by Zelensky's death squads – and with Kiev's open support https://t.co/Z18eVLu9HF
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) April 18, 2022
The West is moving away from real democracy. The public confidence & trust in politicians is running very low for many years. MSM is being over-used to manufacture consent in the short term but the lies becomes exposed over time. Weapons of mass destruction, war on terror etc gained public consent in the beginning but when the truth was out later on but the public trust was lost.
The role of media is very critical for holding the power to account. Gonzalo Lira become an accidental journalist when events unfolded in Ukaraine. His YouTube channel revealed what was really happening in Ukraine when the MSM was creating a russophobic narrative and spreading lies.
Ukraine is hardly a democratic state which is embedded with neo-nazis. US plan of waging a proxi war resulted in all norms lowered. A puppet comedian was projected as a respectable President on par with Winston Churchill! Protector of democracy addressing parliaments in the West. When Gonzalo Lira saw all this drama and lies, he stood up and exposed what was going on in Ukraine. A man of integrity and brave soul. He knew all the risks but he still exposed the anarchaic unleasing of neonazism in Kharkiv. He instinctly knew his destiny I think. God’s will… We can only pray for his safety.
Hope he’s ok !
Gonzalo Lira reported dead on Scott Ritter’s telegram channel,
“Scott Ritter, [20/04/2022 17:46]
When Belorussian authorities pulled Roman Protasevich, a blogger who had served a combat tour in the neo-Nazi Azov battalion before working for Radio Free Europe’s Belarus channel out of Prague, off an airplane in May, 2021, on charges of inciting a political opposition (roughly the equivalent of sedition), the world went crazy, accusing Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of trampling on free speech. Protasevich is alive and well, living under house arrest while awaiting trial.
When reports emerged that Gonzo Lira, a Chilean social media “influencer” who resided in Kharkov, Ukraine, and who published online content critical of the Ukrainian government, was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by the Kraken Unit, part of the Azov battalion affiliated with the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), the West is silent.
Free speech isn’t a one way street. To remain silent in the murder of Gonzo Lira is to be complicit in his death, and the deaths of all journalists who pursue the truth, even if it runs counter to the mainstream narrative. Critical thinking should not be a death sentence. Unfortunately for Gonzo Lira, it seems it was.”
Julian Assange situation is getting worse after the recent UK court decision. US did not honour the terms of contracts with the previous extraditions from UK to US which specified that the accused will return to UK after the trials. US never honoured any agreements when it comes to human rights or open sea travel rights. US is not a member of ICC as well it is not a signatory to UN agreement on open sea travel rights for trade or any weapons treaties. Yet they claim as if they are the protectors of democracy & free trade to ensure peace. Their naval ships controlling the trade in all seas. The main stream media journalists (system pigs, a term coined by Gonsalo Lira) continue to spread lies/ and sinaphobia as well as russophobia in the West.
UK Column News – 20th April 2022 has coverage of Gonzalo Lira:
https://www.ukcolumn.org/ukcolumn-news/uk-column-news-20th-april-2022
Remember what happened when Saudis butchered Kashoggi? nothing. if russia killed him, european cities would fight each other who will name bigger square after him…
Great news. Due to social media pressure, SBU released Gonzalo Lira after taking him to custody. Duran video.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R2yeSOcNlgE