Dan Beeton

International Communications Director, Center for Economic & Policy Research (@ceprdc). Member, @ReformNPEU. Opinions are mine only. he/him

[Dan Beeton @Dan_Beeton]

There's a lot to keep up on with US hostilities toward countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. @ceprdc is here to help:

[CEPR @ceprdc]

US strikes on boats. Threats against Venezuela and Colombia. International law ignored across Latin America. CEPR's new live tracker captures the escalation as it happens. This is urgent. Follow our live tracker to stay up to date: https://t.co/JU2xSNDzdR

[Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez @repdeliaramirez]

As authoritarians do, the Trump administration is using ICE and DHS as a force to terrorize us and silence dissent.

An influencer and activist, Beto Coral was taken by DHS agents in his own home. As an asylum seeker he has every legal right to be in this country.

DHS is a tool to push authoritarianism. We must abolish ICE and dismantle DHS.

[Dan Beeton @Dan_Beeton]

Prominent Colombian journalist @DCoronell reports that Colombian national and De la Espriella-critic Beto Coral says he has been beaten and coerced in ICE custody since being arrested Tuesday in an apparently targeted arrest

[Daniel Coronell @DCoronell]

#ElReporteCoronell https://t.co/0x3bqIQsgm

[Al Punto @AlPuntoCol]

#AlPunto 🎯 ¡Se le complica el panorama a Abelardo! Legisladores de EE.UU. reabren el debate sobre sus presuntos vínculos con paramilitares y piden que sea investigado de forma inmediata ⤵️
https://t.co/zLDfwTOzhA

[Rep. Nydia Velazquez @NydiaVelazquez]

Colombia's election is for Colombians to decide. Trump's endorsement of Abelardo de la Espriella is brazen interference in another nation's democracy.

I joined my colleagues in demanding our government respect Colombia's sovereignty.
https://t.co/ElaRBdi09S

[Joseph Bouchard @GeopolWonk]

Bolivia: Multiple politicians on the right have said that "foreign leftists" would "end up like Che Guevara." This is as they have deported a human rights mission and politician from Argentina. Note that Che Guevara was killed by Bolivian Special Ops and CIA in Bolivia in 1967.

[Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez @repdeliaramirez]

For someone who claims to be unhappy about being called a fascist, Miller continues to advocate for the fascist playbook.

Habeas Corpus is a constitutional right that ensures our due process. Suspending Habeas is a hallmark of tyrannical, dictatorial, fascists regimes.

We can't pick and choose who is entitled to the right of Habeas Corpus. And we have to remain vigilant against those who demand we surrender our rights in the name of "security," because fascism ALWAYS requires a public enemy.
https://t.co/Ic9e5ArAy8

[Congressman Chuy García @RepChuyGarcia]

I led my colleagues in opposing the shameless interference of senior U.S. officials, including President Trump, in Colombia’s presidential elections. 

We demand the Trump admin respect Colombia’s sovereignty, review serious allegations against Abelardo De La Espriella, and allow the Colombian people to choose their own future freely.

[Mark Weisbrot @MarkWeisbrot]

Trump’s intervention in Colombia’s Sunday election is yet another example of how he – and the US government – intervenes and causes grave political and economic damage in Latin America. US intervention in Brazil helped put Lula in jail in 2018, thus Bolosonaro as president.The US-backed coup in Bolivia in 2019 that overthrew Evo Morales led to the right-wing, anti-democratic government there today. And the tens of billions of dollars that Argentine President Javier Milei got from institutions dominated by Washington: The IMF, World Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank have been essential to his political survival.

These are just a few examples from recent years. And now Trump, complete with threats – as he successfully used in Honduras 6 months ago– is trying to choose the next President, in Colombia. https://t.co/GhMzjysXoi

[Rep. Jim McGovern @RepMcGovern]

Deeply alarmed by the arrest of Beto Coral in his home by DHS agents. He is an asylum seeker with a legal right to be in the United States. I’m very troubled by allegations of coordination between American officials and Colombian political actors in this arrest—that would amount to our government aiding and abetting transnational repression.

Mr. Coral’s right to due process must be respected.

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

🇨🇴 Colombian Activist Arrested by ICE Days Before Colombia’s Election

Beto Coral, a Colombian activist, content creator, and prominent supporter of President Gustavo Petro, was detained by U.S. immigration agents in Arizona on Tuesday, prompting allegations of political persecution days before Colombians abroad vote in the country’s June 21 presidential runoff.

🔸 Coral, who has a pending asylum claim and a U.S. work permit, was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations agents outside his home as he arrived with his young son, according to video shared by journalist Daniel Coronell, who spoke with him during the detention. Coral says an agent told him the arrest order came directly from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, an account relayed by Coronell and a second activist. U.S. authorities have not publicly stated the reason for the arrest.

🔸 The timing has drawn scrutiny. Days earlier, Coral traveled to Miami to monitor overseas voting and protest right-wing presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, a frequent target of his political activism. Hours before the arrest became public, de la Espriella posted: “There will be good news for Colombia and for patriotic Colombians abroad. Dura lex, sed lex (‘the law is harsh, but it is the law’)… Coming soon.” He has not said whether the post referred to Coral.

🔸 De la Espriella and his campaign account have also publicly tagged U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau while urging authorities to examine the immigration status of political opponents aligned with Petro. In one post, the campaign account suggested officials “take a closer look” at the status of another Petro ally in the United States.

🔸 U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno celebrated Coral’s detention, writing: “Have a nice life back in Colombia Beto!”

🔸 Petro condemned the detention as political persecution and said he had instructed Colombia’s foreign ministry to seek information and assistance in the case.

🔸 No U.S. authority has publicly stated the legal basis for Coral’s detention or possible deportation proceedings.

[CEPR @ceprdc]

"@ABDELAESPRIELLA has proposed bringing US military bases back to Colombia, creating Plan Colombia 2.0...reminding the people of Colombia that he does not care all that much about the immense human suffering that war...can bring," @MarkWeisbrot argues. https://t.co/Aa5doUZReK

[CEPR @ceprdc]

Do you have a strong interest in international affairs, economic justice, and the role of Congress and US policy in shaping global outcomes, particularly in Latin America?

Apply for our Fall 2026 International Team internship!

Deadline: June 30, 2026 👇https://t.co/35DslBnwJk

[Dan Beeton @Dan_Beeton]

Poverty has declined by 28% under Petro and Salazar is saying to "Vote to leave behind the failed ideas that have destroyed nations, impoverished peoples and threatened democracy in our hemisphere."

[Rep. María Elvira Salazar @RepMariaSalazar]

Hoy comienza la votación en el exterior para la segunda vuelta presidencial de Colombia. 🇨🇴

Desde el sur de la Florida, donde miles de colombianos que represento han construido sus vidas con esfuerzo y libertad, envío un mensaje claro: participen y hagan escuchar su voz.

Voten por la libertad. Voten por el progreso. Voten para dejar atrás las ideas fracasadas que han destruido naciones, empobrecido pueblos y amenazado la democracia en nuestro hemisferio.

Abelardo de la Espriella sabe lo que está en juego y representa una solución basada en la libertad, la seguridad y las oportunidades que Colombia necesita para salir adelante.

Porque la libertad no se hereda. La libertad se defiende.

¡Adelante, Colombia!

[Dan Beeton @Dan_Beeton]

Reps. @JoaquinCastrotx and @USRepKeating are "demanding answers on any U.S. involvement in Ecuadorian boat strikes this year that have resulted in eight missing persons." https://t.co/aXu738usMe

[Kenneth Roth @KenRoth]

The Trump administration claims it is not responsible for strikes on Ecuadorian fishing boats. Three vessels have been attacked in the eastern Pacific in recent months and eight killed. So who is responsible if not the US military? https://t.co/c0oy5Ej3QY

[Dan Beeton @Dan_Beeton]

Maybe Salazar, Rubio, and other Cuba blockade defenders can explain how this will help accomplish the US's goals, as well as how it somehow helps the Cuban people?

[AFP News Agency @AFP]

Bitter communion: Cuban priests ordered to ration mass wafers.

Communion wafers consumed by Cuba's Catholics are made at a Carmelite monastery in Havana, which like the rest of the city and country has been battling extended power cuts, made worse by a five-month-old US oil blockade

https://t.co/ZQiO86jgG1

[Lee Schlenker @lee_schlenker]

Colombian presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, also a US citizen, deleted a 2018 thread in which he boasted about donating to the Republican Party every month and maxing out contributions to Rick Scott's gubernatorial and Maria Elvira Salazar's congressional campaigns

[Marcus Stanley @MarcusMStanley]

It’s an honor to work with Trita. The excellent Substack post he links here is typical of his forthrightness, clarity, and courage in working for an end to destructive and counterproductive foreign wars.

[Rep. Jim McGovern @RepMcGovern]

The future of Colombia should be decided by the Colombian people alone—not by American politicians trying to tip the scales or interfere in another country’s elections.

20 Members of Congress are calling on the U.S. to respect Colombian sovereignty.

Read our statement here:
https://t.co/sAEVzMls5X

[Dan Beeton @Dan_Beeton]

Important context for understanding the situation in Bolivia from my colleague @ecuarauz: the role of the IMF in promoting austerity

[James North @jamesnorth7]

Bolivia’s Streets Have Erupted. Here’s Why. https://t.co/ExR1vGmKsu

[Michael Galant @michael_galant]

To accuse the Cuban government of “weaponizing energy” when you yourself have caused a humanitarian crisis by imposing a fuel blockade on the entire country... No words.