The story began to go viral, the Colombian had allegedly been captured in El Salvador because of a tattoo on his chest that would link him to gangs in that country, that complaint was made by his own family in Colombia. But he showed up and said it was all “a misunderstanding.”
News Colombia.
“Right now I am here in the streets of El Salvador, free,” said José Antonio Potes, the young Colombian who, according to his family, had been arbitrarily detained by the government of that country, mistaking him for a gang member “because he had a tattoo on his chest.”
The story of his family, his mother and his partner, asking for help and intervention from the government of Gustavo Petro, quickly went viral.
It was published in different media and many pointed out that there was a dictatorship in the Central American country.
Currently, the country led by Nayib Bukele is under an exceptional regime in an unprecedented “crusade” against the gangs of that country, which in less than two years has already left more than 30,000 gang members in jail.
There have been complaints of arbitrary actions and even the capture of innocent people.
So the arrest of a Colombian, a Cali, “just because he had a tattoo”, divided opinions but gained more messages of support than against.
His family in Valle del Cauca denounced that they had captured him because he had a tattoo and they related him to Mara Salvatrucha in Colombia.
It was even pointed out that the young man had left “excited by the security that was now in El Salvador and as a follower of Bukele” and that he ended up disappointed.
What happened?
It is not clear why his mother and her partner decided to make the public complaint, apparently they had not been able to communicate.
The family of the caleño denouncing his alleged arrest.
If the Colombian was detained in that country, it was in January 2023, as confirmed by Semana with information obtained from the Foreign Ministry.
This was the complaint originally published:
Bukele’s admirer went to El Salvador and ended up in jail and incommunicado for having tattoos.
And here many applaud. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/4kzGGOzvKw
— Luis Ernesto Gomez???? (@LuisErnestoGL) April 17, 2023
However, neither from El Salvador nor from the Colombian government has there been any clarity on the exact cause of that arrest.
He himself said that it was because of his immigration status, since he did not have the legal documents to be in that country at that time. However, he does not clarify what happened next, nor how he did the process for today, “walking free” for that nation.
Colombian media took a note out of context saying that Juan Antonio Potes had been captured by the #RegimendeExcepcion in El Salvador for having tattoos.
The young Colombian denies such news and affirms that it was due to immigration problems. pic.twitter.com/Ygovygkgo6
— Trends SV (@Trends_sv) April 19, 2023
