Eighty-six German-Jewish refugees who this week had been granted permission to enter Paraguay, were refused transit visas today by the Argentine authorities and ordered shipped back to Spain aboard the Spanish steamer Cabo Hornos. They are in danger of falling into the hands of the Gestapo.
Responsible for this order is Ramon Castillo, Acting President of Argentina. The victims include 50 Jewish refugees who arrived several days ago on the S.S. Cabo Hornos and were not permitted to land in Argentina. The remaining 35 deportees arrived in Argentina on a Spanish steamer Cabo Buena Esperanza some two weeks ago and were interned. They have now been put aboard the Cabo Hornos for deportation to Europe.
All the 86 Jewish refugees left France about ten months ago for Brazil but were taken off at Dakar and imprisoned there for five months. Their Brazilian visas having expired in the meantime, they were subsequently not admitted into Brazil. They proceeded to Argentina, which refused them admission, but Paraguay offered them refuge this week after a bond of 100,000 pesos was raised by a committee in Buenos Aires to guarantee their support. No explanations have been given for Castillo’s refusal to permit the refugees to proceed through Argentina to Paraguay.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.