Memo by Rubio Approved Detention of Immigrant Who Criticized Trump Ally

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/19/us/rubio-beto-coral-colombia.html


https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/19/us/rubio-beto-coral-colombia.html?unlocked_article_code=1.sFA.6iYR.UPiSt0emYVJK&smid=url-share

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Beto Coral’s criticism of a presidential candidate in his home country of Colombia undermined U.S. foreign policy.



The Trump administration detained a Colombian immigrant this week in Phoenix after he spoke out against a Trump-endorsed candidate in his home country’s upcoming presidential election.

Franklin Humberto Coral Garrido, a progressive online activist known as Beto Coral, is a supporter of President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, a leftist who has clashed with President Trump. He has publicly criticized Abelardo De La Espriella, a right-wing candidate backed by Mr. Trump. Mr. Coral was arrested by immigration authorities on Tuesday, the same day Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a memo determining that he was deportable from the United States.

In the memo, Mr. Rubio noted that Mr. Coral arrived in the United States in 2015 on a tourist visa and has a pending asylum application. But “Coral Garrido has used his presence in the United States to conduct political activity in support of the Petro government” and has advocated against a candidate for president, Mr. Rubio wrote, according to a copy of the memo obtained by The New York Times.