Gonzalo Lira dead: Coach Red Pill and heavy critic of Ukraine and alleged Russian ally dies following deteriorating health while in Ukraine captivity as the U.S declined to intervene in controversial writer’s descent and captivity.
He was a nuisance. Those are the words that might best sum up the attitude of the establishment towards mens dating advocate and critic of US imperialism and Ukrainian aspirations towards inclusion in NATO – Gonzalo Lira, who died while in captivity in the Ukraine on January 11th.
Initial reports told of Lira, 55, a Chilean-American war commentator known for his critical views on the Zelensky administration and Russia-Ukraine conflict, passing away on January 11, 2024, in a hospital in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Firebrand media personality, Tucker Carlson, critical of US hegemony and open check book support of an increasingly authoritarian Ukraine embroiled in an ever perpetual war with Russia, tweeted earlier of the Gonzalo Lira’s death, as per correspondence he had with the detained man’s father, Gonzalo Lira Sr.
Controversial U.S commentator rather than flee Ukraine chooses to remain
Follow up reports by Russian news agency, TASS, cited US authorities officially confirming the death of the outspoken critic of Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, who had died in hospital after suffering a severe (but neglected) case of pneumonia before eventually being brought to hospital, with little chance for recovery.
A note written by Lira and provided by his father to The Grayzone indicated the commentator/journalist’s death came after a nearly three-month battle with pneumonia, a condition which was apparently ignored by his Ukrainian jailers until just weeks before his death, where at the last moment he was taken to a hospital, where he may or may not have received any medical treatment according to Lira Sr (never mind allegations of ongoing torture and abuse at the hands of his jailers).
An appeal on the U.S Embassy to intervene in the American citizen’s fragile state led to little to no action to the dismay of the journalist’s father. (More on that below).
Leading up to his death, Gonzalo Lira had been living in Kharkov, Ukraine with his wife and their children (before sending them off for their safety) prior to the outbreak of war between Ukraine and Russia. Rather than choose to leave for safety, the ‘conscientious’ writer/journalist decided to stay to uncover what many of his advocates claim was an expressed desire to report a greater truth unlikely being presented in the western mainstream.
Reinventing oneself
The former mystery writer, turned Business Insider writer in the early 2010’s (the outlet has since gone on to scrub most of their former contributor’s articles) had decided to stay on in Ukraine where he went on to ‘controversially’ document the dynamics between Ukraine, its chief ally, the U.S and that of Russia – leading to eventual accusations that he was a Russian ally/puppet who was allegedly selling secrets, giving away state positions along with claims of having ‘illegal’ views, hyper critical of Zelenskyy, and allegedly in one instance making up stories about the leader being a cocaine addict.
The commentator/journalist was arrested in May 2023 by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), before being allowed tentative freedom and a future court date, only to attempt to leave the Ukraine shortly after by motorcycle towards Hungary before being picked up and imprisoned where he was to face charges relating to his views and speech on the war in the Ukraine. Lira leading up to his re-arrest, predicted never making it out alive out. Soon after Lira, known to be a heavy smoker, experienced rapid deterioration of his health.
Gonzalo Lira, Sr., according to the Grayzone had spent weeks pleading with the American embassy to intervene in his son’s ‘medical emergency’. Only for too little to no action to be taken before the controversial commentator’s death in recent days.
An open critic of Ukraine and US policy left to rot in jail
After learning of his son’s illness, the senior Lira urged the U.S embassy to intervene on January 3. In a message to US officials, he noted that Ukrainian authorities appeared to make an effort to conceal information about Lira Jr.’s health from his family and legal representatives, with Lira Sr stating that it had been 12 days since he knew of his son’s state before being told of his son, ‘passing away on January 11th.’
Lira’s death followed an eight-month imprisonment on charges of ‘justifying Russia’s military actions in Ukraine’, sparking international controversy and raising questions about freedom of speech and human rights during wartime.
Gonzalo Lira who first rose to public prominence in 2017 is perhaps best known as his former moniker, Coach Red Pill, an outspoken critic of female dating strategy and an advocate for men in the increasingly turbulent world of modern day dating. The YouTuber supplied a daily regimen of videos to his more than 300K subscribers on YouTube before eventually being demonitized by the platform and eventually disbanding most of his videos in November, 2021.
An inconvenient thorn?
The demonitization came amid allegations for what many decried as his ‘sexist’ and misogynistic views towards woman and unapologetic male centric position within the sphere of young men who looked up to him and sought out his advice. A call to arms that may have informed the controversial blogger/YouTuber’s decision to stay behind in war torn Ukraine and cover the conflict from what he considered an independent point of view, devoid of establishment talking points.
That too may have been Gonzalo Lira’s undoing, with many questioning the blogger’s almost suicidal efforts to portray events in a light often heavily critical of Ukraine and the United States and seemingly defending Russian talking points. Talking points which many argued offered further on the ground clarity distinct from hegemonic talking points and full acceptance of Ukraine’s ever increasing desire to continue combating with Russia and refuse meeting at the bargaining table, at the expense of the American taxpayer.
Despite what he may have perceived to be unadulterated reporting, Lira leading up to Russia’s eventual invasion of Ukraine was perceived to be heavily biased and overtly critical of Ukraine, to the point of misrepresenting events.
Notes Yahoo: Among other things, he accused NATO of “approaching” Russia’s borders, denied the Buchamassacre, spread fakes about biological weapons, and maps from the Russian Ministry of Defense. He claimed that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used drugs, alleged Ukraine was controlled by neo-Nazis, and insisted that Russia did not shoot at civilians, instead accusing the Armed Forces of Ukraine of war crimes.G
Gonzalo Lira was arrested in May, 2023 for violating Ukraine’s laws against justifying Russian aggression against Ukraine. When he was released on bail, he posted a series of videos detailing how he planned to escape the country on a motorcycle and go to Hungary. He was subsequently detained again. A few months later, the ‘nuisance reporter’ would be dead.
