Latin America

Mexico to offer asylum to Julian Assange while local journalists are killed

The decision to offer refuge to the founder of WikiLeaks has been seen as contradictory in Mexico, where more journalists are murdered than anywhere else in the world

assange mexico freedom of speech
Outside Woolwich Crown Court, protesters of Julian Assange Extradition Case use placards and tents. Photo: Katherine Da Silva/Shutterstock

Mexico, Latin America’s second most populous country, has a long list of famous figures who have been granted political asylum within its borders. Indeed, in November 2019, when former Bolivian President Evo Morales was deposed in a military coup, he hopped on a plane to Mexico City, where he remained for some time before switching to Argentina.

As Mr. Morales was granted safe haven in Mexico, the country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard tweeted a non-exhaustive list of other political refugees taken in by the Mexican government, including Russian Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky, surrealist filmmaker Luís Buñuel, and Guatemalan human rights activist Rigoberta Menchú, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992. 

And now, Mexico is set to add another illustrious name to this list, offering political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who was recently denied bail in the United Kingdom, where he is currently incarcerated

Now, Mexico can add to the list the founder of WikiLeaks, activist and journalist...

Don't miss this opportunity!

Interested in staying updated on Brazil and Latin America? Subscribe to start receiving our reports now!