Biography
Franklin Humberto Coral-Garrido, known as Beto Coral, is a Colombian lawyer and leftist activist and an ally of President Gustavo Petro. Born in Medellín — the son of a Colombian police captain killed shortly after taking part in the operation that tracked down Pablo Escobar — he had lived in Arizona, where he drove for Uber. On June 16, 2026, ICE arrested him in Phoenix for overstaying his B1/B2 visa. The detention and deportation were authorized by a memorandum personally signed the same day by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which cited Coral's "political activities in support of the Petro government" and his campaigning against U.S.-aligned Colombian presidential candidate Abelardo De la Espriella. President Petro condemned the arrest as "political persecution" and demanded his release, and supporters have described him as a political prisoner. An immigration court hearing was scheduled for June 30, 2026.
He left the United States on a removal flight to Colombia on July 16, 2026 — a voluntary departure negotiated by his lawyers after about a month in ICE custody — and is no longer detained.
