This article originally appeared in the October 15, 2025 edition of Aristegui Noticias. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Mexico Solidarity Project.
Arlin Medrano, a Mexican journalist and activist who was part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, the humanitarian mission that sought to bring aid to Gaza and raise awareness of the crisis in Palestine, was targeted on social media by the former United States ambassador to Mexico and current Deputy Secretary of the State Department, Christopher Landau, the self-proclaimed “Visa Remover.”
Last Tuesday, October 14, Medrano posted the following message on her X account:
“Palestine is not far away when we have the Genocid4 State as a neighbor, which is also carrying out ethnic cleansing with our Mexican brothers.”
“The Visa Remover” Responds
Christopher Landau’s response to this message was to spread an [AI generated] image that combines the United States national seal with the popular symbol known as “the bat signal,” reinforcing the identity with the ironic expression he has assigned himself on social media, “The Visa Remover.”
Additionally, Landau has shared avatars on social media such as Instagram and other digital media in which he appears with superhero emblems.
The US official maintains his policy of denying visas to activists he considers to be against US government policies.
Medrano’s Response to Landau
Through her X account, Medrano posted a message to Landau in which she recounted her personal story as a migrant child deported at age 12 and explained that, out of consistency, she has never applied for a visa to enter the United States as an adult. She wrote:
At one time, Christopher Landau was heralded for the novel diplomatic practice of eating food in his host country.
“Don’t worry. Maybe if you had the chance to investigate, you’d know you arrived late. I don’t have a visa: I was a migrant child deported at 12, treated like a criminal for the ‘crime’ of going to school in the United States, like millions of my migrant brothers and sisters. Consistently, I’ve never applied for one as an adult.”
With this statement, Medrano affirmed that the denial of a visa is not an impediment to her activism, proudly stating that she is not considered eligible to enter that country and reaffirming her commitment to the Palestinian people. In expressing her position, she added:
“I stand by every word, and I also maintain my solidarity with my migrant brothers and sisters and the Palestinian people, both criminalized for existing, for resisting. Just as I was kidnapped and called a ‘terrorist’ by the Israeli occupation for carrying humanitarian aid in the face of genocide, pointed at by weapons that, curiously, come from their country. The same weapons that cross into mine and fuel the violence we experience in Mexico.”
Who is Arlin Medrano?
Arlin Medrano Guzmán is a Mexican journalist, activist, and columnist who has worked for children’s rights and vulnerable groups in Mexico and China from a young age. She is currently a host for the Public Broadcasting System and has been recognized for her work focusing on feminism, youth, and human rights.
Medrano was also one of the seven Mexicans who joined the Global Sumud Flotilla, which sought to break the blockade in the Gaza Strip and bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population.
On this mission, which began on October 1, 2025, the group sailed in international waters and was violently intercepted by Israeli forces, who detained the activists.
During their arrest, the group was subjected to harsh conditions at the Ketziot maximum-security prison, where they were held incommunicado and without access to necessary medication, according to the activists and their families. Arlin Medrano and the other activists were repatriated to Mexico after several days of detention.
Medrano has been an outspoken critic of U.S. policy, calling it a “genocidal state” and denouncing the criminalization of both Latin American migrants and the Palestinian people.
President Sheinbaum on US Operations in Venezuela
October 16, 2025October 16, 2025
Mexico’s President responded to news the US is utilizing the CIA to target Venezuela, after murdering dozens in the Caribbean over the past month and a half.
Mexican Journalist from Global Sumud Flotilla Responds to US Deputy Secretary of State Landau
October 16, 2025October 16, 2025
The former diplomat and US government’s self-proclaimed Visa Remover has been reduced to spending his last few years on earth as a virtual hall monitor.
Recovering Mexico’s Bodies of Water: Essential & Preventive
October 15, 2025
After the storm, it’s worth asking ourselves how to prepare for future floods. Restoring the Earth’s runoff must be one of these priorities.
The post Mexican Journalist from Global Sumud Flotilla Responds to US Deputy Secretary of State Landau appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.
From Mexico Solidarity Media via this RSS feed