US arrests activist allied with President Gustavo Petro for violating immigration laws over the course of a decade

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Franklin Humberto Coral-Garrido, an active propagandist and supporter of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, on U.S. soil.

According to an official report issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the arrest took place on June 16 due to the foreign national’s unlawful status.

Official records indicate that Coral-Garrido entered the country in December 2015 on a B1/B2 tourist visa valid for six months. However, the activist violated federal regulations by extending his stay illegally for ten years.

He currently remains in the custody of the federal agency pending formal deportation proceedings, which also include a ban on re-entry into the United States for a minimum period of one decade.

Political turmoil in the midst of the Colombian election campaign

The arrest of the Colombian citizen took place in Miami while he was walking with his son; at that moment, he was approached by federal agents, according to video footage shared on X by journalist Daniel Coronell.

The arrest comes at a time of heightened political sensitivity, just days before Colombia heads to the polls to decide its presidential direction in a runoff election, a race in which right-wing candidate Abelardo De la Espriella has the explicit backing of Donald Trump.

Sources close to the case indicated that the detainee was in Florida organizing protests against conservative sectors in Colombia. Sectors of the left in that country have attempted to portray the enforcement of immigration law as a civil rights violation.

However, the Republican senator of Colombian origin Bernie Moreno dismissed such claims and stated on his social media platforms that it is unacceptable to enter the country under the pretext of seeking asylum and then act as a foreign agent who undermines the Union’s foreign policy, bidding farewell to the activist with the phrase: “Have a good life back in Colombia.”

Heated reaction from the international left

Colombian President Gustavo Petro reacted belligerently to the ruling by U.S. federal agencies.

The leftist leader denounced the arrest as persecution based on his ideological views and lashed out at the U.S. prison system by falsely claiming that the activist had been placed in what he called “a concentration camp.” Petro also demanded respect, arguing that the United States had previously granted him asylum to protect him from criminal gangs.

For its part, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) noted in its official statement that being detained is a choice and urged offenders who wish to cooperate to use the technological tools for assisted self-deportation provided by the government, which offer a financial incentive and free airline tickets.

The agency reaffirmed that failure to comply with legal deadlines results in strict penalties, warning explicitly that, otherwise, the offender “will be arrested and deported with no possibility of returning.”