The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubioapproved the memorandum to arrest the Colombian activist known as Beto Coral for criticizing the presidential candidate of his native country, Abelardo de la Espriella, supported by the president of the United States, Donald Trump, published this Saturday the New York Times newspaperwho has had access to the document.
Franklin Humberto Coral Garrido He was arrested last Tuesday for remaining in the country with an expired visa, according to the US Administration, despite the fact that he had an asylum request in progress after escaping from Colombia due to threats from drug trafficking.
According to the memo, Coral “used his stay in the United States to carry out political activities in support of the Government of (Gustavo) Petro,” who today demanded that Trump clarify the whereabouts of the Colombian activist.
Rubio’s assessment was to consider that “allowing” Coral to remain in the United States “undermines the foreign policy interests” of the country.
The publication recalls that Rubio has approved previous memos with the same argument, recommending the Department of Homeland Security the deportation of specific people, such as the case of the Palestinian-Syrian student Mahmoud Khalil, who participated in protests against Israel.
In an audio broadcast on social networks by Colombian legislators this week, Coral had denounced that the agents who arrested him told him that the order to detain him came, “supposedly,” from the Secretary of State.
Last Thursday, the United States Department of Homeland Security United States (DHS, in English) told EFE that Coral would remain in the custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) until the deportation process is completed.
Petro today demanded that his American counterpart clarify the location of Coral, son of a Colombian police officer who was murdered in an operation against Pablo Escobar.
The Colombian president ordered the Chancellery to intervene in Washington to obtain the release of the activist, who has lived in the United States since 2015 and was arrested in Arizona.
Coral’s arrest took place days after he participated in a protest in Miami against From Espriellafar-right candidate for the Presidency of Colombia, who will face this Sunday the left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda, of the Historical Pact.
