Senior Fellow Alvaro Vargas Llosa Harassed by Venezuelan Police State

Our very own Alvaro Vargas Llosa, on his way to a conference on democracy and free enterprise in Venezuela, was detained by its authorities for two hours. Thankfully, his call to the media made them back off for now. The Buenos Aires Herald reports that his passport was withheld as he was detained and continues:

Álvaro, son of the novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, said that after being released he was told he “didn’t had the right to make any political comments, that I’m only a foreigner, but as a Peruvian citizen, a country that was also freed by Simón Bolivar, I don’t think I have less rights than others of Bolivar’s supporters to defend my ideas.”

The heroic Alvaro intends to do just as he planned, and proceed to speak on behalf of liberty at this conference, despite the dictatorship’s intimidation. The people in Venezuela, and throughout Latin America, need to hear the universal message championing free enterprise and the rule of law, which Vargas Llosa, one of the premier experts on political economy in the region, has tirelessly shown is the one true path to social peace and prosperity there.

Update: The TV station that broadcast Alvaro’s call has apparently already been facing government intimidation. Bold of them to broadcast it anyway.