The US administration, presided over by Donald Trump, has denied the Frente Amplio candidate, Ada Colau, entry into the country to attend an event in Puerto Rico, a decision that the former mayor also suspects is due to ideological reasons.
Colau had been invited to the 'Fearless Cities' event in Puerto Rico, a gathering that brings together municipalist movements and began in Barcelona in 2017. According to the sources consulted, the delegation requested the mandatory electronic travel authorization for citizens of countries in the Visa Waiver Program (ESTA), and the permit was granted to the rest of the group, with the exception of the Frente Amplio candidate.
The interview with the embassy and doubts about the veto
After the initial refusal, a personal interview with the US embassy was requested to try to have the decision reconsidered. That meeting with diplomatic personnel from the United States took place 15 days ago and, according to the same sources, revolved around the Gaza solidarity Flotilla in which the former mayor participated, as well as her "pro-Palestinian activism, with much insistence on the three days she was detained in Israel".
Finally, this Tuesday, Colau received the definitive denial of her request for entry into the United States, based, always according to these sources, on the "suspicion that she wants to illegally migrate to the country", an explanation that the candidate's entourage considers implausible and interprets as a political veto. For these same sources, it is an "obvious fact that she has been vetoed for her activism and for ideological reasons".
The lawsuit against Netanyahu after her detention in Israel
After being detained by Israeli authorities for participating in the flotilla heading to Gaza, Ada Colau filed a lawsuit against the Hebrew prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for an alleged crime of torture, a procedure that is part of the context that, according to her entourage, has weighed on the review of her entry into the United States.
Reactions in Frente Amplio and Izquierda Unida
Several leaders of Frente Amplio have shown their support for Colau after the denial was announced, among them the number one on the list for Madrid on 29N, Emilio Delgado, who pointed out that the United States was an example of welcome, but that "neither Trump has made America great nor Abascal would make Spain great".
The federal coordinator of Izquierda Unida (IU), Antonio Maíllo, also spoke, emphasizing that the Argentine president, Javier Milei, "can enter Spain to talk about cuts, but Colau cannot enter the US to talk about rights". Maíllo concluded his message with another phrase: "What a paradox the censorship of the defenders of freedom".