Not all American citizens are equal regarding their safety in a foreign land. And if an American citizen detained abroad is politically incorrect, the Biden administration couldn’t care less for his/her safety.
Both media and the government have ignored Gonzalo Lira’s detainment in Ukraine.
When Ukrainian media reported the arrest of Gonzalo Lira early this month, he was called a “pro-Russian blogger” and “a citizen of a Latin American country” who had been living in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region for several years. The Ukrainian authorities arrested him for “supporting Russia” and denying various war-related claims of the Ukrainian side. His online reporting and vlogging were called an attempt to “discredit Ukraine’s highest military and political leadership.”
Media in the West largely ignored the story of Lira’s arrest, but some were concerned for the freedom of information, and the press called out his arrest as an attack on journalism and free speech.
Finland’s Helsinki Times wrote (May 06, 2023) that the arrest of Gonzalo Lira, a US-Chilean national residing in Kharkiv, over accusations of pro-Russian sentiments is another blow to Ukraine’s freedom of the press. The story published pictures of Lira being arrested by the Ukrainian military with their rifles pointed at him.
Under Article 436-2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code – a law passed in March 2022 under martial law declared by the Zelensky regime – it is a crime to justify or deny “Russian military aggression and the occupation of Ukrainian territories.” The law also bans the “glorification of those involved in the aggression or occupation.”
But despite Lira being an American citizen, American media and the Biden administration have expressed little concern for his safety or human rights.
On the contrary, when reporter Liam Cosgrove recently asked Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the State Department, about whether the US government is making any efforts to negotiate the issue with Ukraine, Miller simply refused to speak about the issue other than a general statement that the US government supports free speech.
Following Miller’s comments, conservative news sources reported that the Biden administration would not publicly commit to helping Lira.
The Biden administration’s apparent lack of concern can be understood in the context of Lira’s criticism of the Bidens in particular and the globalist left in general in his YouTube video and social media commentary. In one of his videos before his arrest, Lira mocked the Bidens and their involvement in Ukraine and “endorsed” Hunter Biden for 2024.
While the pro-Ukrainian and anti-Russian media in the West refuses to address Lira’s detainment and possible imprisonment without a fair trial, his followers and supporters have expressed their concern and support for the independent journalist and commentator.