Citing Racist Massacres and ‘Inexcusable’ Prevalence of Guns, Foreign Countries Issue Travel Safety Warnings for United States

Common Dreams – by Julia Conley

While President Donald Trump and the Republican Party have spent the past several years claiming foreign migrants and refugees pose a threat to Americans, a pair of massacres in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio over the weekend has compelled two Latin American countries to warn their own  citizens of the travel dangers lurking in the United States. 

The foreign ministries of Venezuela and Uruguay issued urgent warnings to people in their countries who may travel to the U.S. following the deaths of 31 people in the two mass shootings. Both countries informed their citizens of the “indiscriminate possession” of guns by the U.S. population and the refusal of the federal government to address the problem.

Travelers from Uruguay were specifically urged to “take precaution amid the growing indiscriminatory violence, specifically hate crimes including racism and discrimination,” following the shooting deaths of 22 people in El Paso on Saturday by an accused gunman who reportedly posted an anti-immigrant, white supremacist manifesto online minutes before the attack.

The foreign ministry listed several crowded public venues which could pose a threat to travelers: “theme parks, shopping centers, festivals, religious events, gastronomic fairs and any kind of cultural or sporting events.”     

Read the rest here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/06/citing-racist-massacres-and-inexcusable-prevalence-guns-foreign-countries-issue