Activist deported from US after criticizing Trump-backed Colombian politician
Theo Tiago Rogero
Beto Coral, a prominent activist living in the US, was detained and forced to leave the country after urging Colombians not to vote for presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who was backed by former President Donald Trump. He was held for 30 days, allegedly subjected to mistreatment, and deported in mid-July.
In the week before Colombia's presidential election, Beto Coral, a prominent activist living in the US, traveled to Florida to urge his compatriots not to vote for far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella. Coral held signs outside polling stations in Miami, warning that the millionaire lawyer, endorsed by Donald Trump, would "help deport all of you."
The next morning, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a memorandum to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), accusing the activist of "conducting political activities" against a Colombian presidential candidate and stating that DHS could take steps to "facilitate his departure." Hours later, Coral was arrested.
Coral said that during his 30-day detention at DHS, he was assaulted, deprived of food and water, and held in solitary confinement before agreeing to voluntarily leave the US to return to Colombia in mid-July, after more than 10 years living there. While immigrants have previously been detained for political activities, Coral's case is seen as the first involving speech about a foreign election.
"They arrested me just because I opposed a candidate backed by Trump," said the 40-year-old activist, whose full name is Franklin Humberto Coral Garrido.
Coral, who has no criminal record, alleges that his detention stemmed from a request by De la Espriella, who subsequently won the election and was sworn into office earlier this month, replacing leftist President Gustavo Petro. Previously, in early June, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on social media that those "intending to undermine or manipulate democratic processes" would risk losing their visas. De la Espriella responded: "I have the list, Mr. Deputy Secretary."
On the same day Rubio issued the memorandum, De la Espriella posted on X: "There will be good news for Colombia and patriotic Colombians abroad," accompanied by an AI-generated image. By the afternoon, Coral was arrested. "De la Espriella knew I would be arrested and announced it on X," Coral said.
The winning candidate had known the activist from his years as a lawyer. De la Espriella had represented former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez in a defamation lawsuit in Florida against Coral, after the activist accused Uribe of leading paramilitary groups. Coral lost the case and was required to issue a public apology. In May of last year, Coral filed a complaint with the FBI, accusing De la Espriella of secretly recording a phone call between them and attempting to blackmail him.
Coral entered the US on a tourist visa in December 2015 and applied for political asylum in March 2016, saying he received death threats in Colombia after investigating his father's death. His father, a police captain involved in the US-backed operation that took down drug lord Pablo Escobar in 1993, was murdered a few months later.
"I have been waiting for a decision on my asylum application since 2016, but I always had legal status and a work permit," Coral said. He said he worked various jobs, including as an Uber driver, construction worker, chef, waiter, and baker.
Coral was transferred to six different detention facilities across four states. He estimates he was held in solitary confinement for "24 of the 30 days" and was pushed, thrown against walls, and kicked by ICE officers. A DHS spokesperson did not respond to questions about the mistreatment Coral said he endured, instead sending a statement describing him as an "illegal alien" who had "overstayed his visa by 10 years."
Nine Democratic members of the US Congress sent a letter to Rubio on June 23 demanding Coral's immediate release, arguing that the US government had violated his human rights, including freedom of speech. Coral was only released after lawyer Elizabeth Shaw reached an agreement allowing him to leave the country voluntarily. In the filing, Shaw argued that Coral was detained despite not facing any immigration charges.
After returning to Colombia, Coral warned President Petro that "he could be next" to be arrested by the US, but he has since left the country. He said he does not know where he will live next, but it will definitely not be the US, which he called "the worst place in the world for any immigrant." He also expressed irony that Rubio, a Latino, the son of Cuban immigrants who came to the US seeking a better future, would "persecute, mistreat, detain, and deport an immigrant who entered the country legally."
