U.S. persecutes Latin American leftists abroad
Minneapolis, MN – Two Latin American leftists, Gloría Inés Ramírez and renowned Marxist sociologist Atilio Borrón, were detained by Mexican immigration authorities based on information provided by the U.S. government.
Gloría Inés Ramírez is a former Senator in her native Colombia, and is now a leader of the Marcha Patriótica and the Communist Party of Colombia. Atilio Borrón is a renowned sociologist from Argentina who is well known for his journalism and commentaries on Latin American politics.
These two distinguished personalities were on their way to the International Seminar “Parties and a New Society” when they were detained in the airport of Mexico City based on information from the U.S. government indicating that these intellectuals were dangerous to the security of the U.S. Gloría Inés Ramírez was held for three hours and questioned about her political beliefs and activities.
This is not the first time that this U.S.-directed harassment has occurred targeting Latin American leftists traveling. Gloría Inés Ramírez was detained and questioned in Panama in 2015, including by agents with North American accents, on her way to engage in the Colombian Peace Process in Havana, Cuba. Last year a leader of the Young Communist League of Colombia (JUCO) was summarily deported from Mexico on her way to a conference.
Senator Iván Cepeda, of the Polo Democrático of Colombia, described the detention of the Colombian former senator as “a clear case of political persecution.” Persecution based on one’s political beliefs is in contravention of numerous international treaties and agreements, as well as the U.S. constitution.