Police Detain Spanish Citizen at São Paulo Airport Over Alleged Racist Remarks

Brazilian federal police detained a Spanish citizen at São Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport after the crew of a Latam flight from São Luis reported that the passenger made racially abusive remarks toward baggage handlers. The airline stated there was no justification for the aggression and condemned all forms of racism and discrimination.

Police took the passenger into custody upon arrival.

Brazilian law treats insults based on race as a criminal offense carrying two to five years in prison plus a fine. The federal police statement described the case as the latest in a series of arrests of foreign tourists on similar grounds.

January, police arrested an Argentine citizen in Rio after video showed the individual mimicking a monkey toward a waiter; the person was later allowed to return to Argentina while proceedings continued. In May, authorities detained another Argentine in Minas Gerais after the individual allegedly photographed a child without permission and shared the images with racist messages in Spanish; a court indicted that suspect, who remains in pretrial detention.

Police also arrested a Chilean citizen in May after the passenger allegedly directed racial and homophobic slurs at crew members on a flight from Guarulhos to Frankfurt and attempted to open an aircraft door.