Brazilian federal police have detained a Spanish citizen at São Paulo's Guarulhos international airport on charges of racism, marking the latest in a series of high-profile arrests of foreign tourists under the country's stringent anti-racism laws.
Brazil has some of the toughest anti-racism legislation in Latin America. Insulting someone based on race carries a penalty of two to five years in prison plus a fine.
Incident Details
The crew of a Latam Airlines flight arriving from the northeastern city of São Luís alerted police after the Spanish national allegedly directed racially abusive remarks at workers unloading the aircraft's baggage. Police arrested the woman as she disembarked, according to a statement.
LATAM Airlines condemned the aggression, stating there was no justification for such behavior and reaffirming its opposition to all forms of racism and discrimination.
Previous Cases
In January, local media widely reported the arrest of Argentine citizen Agostina Páez in Rio de Janeiro after she was filmed mimicking a monkey toward a waiter at a nightclub. The video went viral. Initially barred from leaving Brazil, Páez returned to Argentina in April, where images showed her meeting with Senator Patricia Bullrich, a close ally of President Javier Milei. Both celebrated her return. Legal proceedings are ongoing.
In May, police arrested another Argentine, Eduardo Ignacio Murias, in Minas Gerais for allegedly photographing and filming a young child without authorization and sharing the images with racist messages in Spanish. According to local news outlet G1, a court indicted Murias on June 17, and he remains in pre-trial detention.
Also in May, police arrested a Chilean citizen for racial and homophobic slurs against crew members on a flight between Guarulhos and Frankfurt, according to a May 15 statement. The suspect allegedly tried to open the aircraft door mid-flight and, when restrained by crew, uttered racial and homophobic slurs.
