On Monday, Peruvian writer Alvaro Vargas Llosa was detained for over two hours at Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar International Airport. After being questioned and searched, the writer claimed that local authorities warned him not to make “any political statements during his visit to Venezuela.” Today, his father, Mario Vargas Llosa—who had criticized the government of President Hugo Chávez before departing from Bogotá—was also pulled aside upon arriving in Caracas.
Both father and son are in Venezuela to participate in “The Latin American Challenge,” a forum by the Knowledge Disclosure Center for Economic Freedom (CEDICE) that is addressing themes such as democracy, freedom and property. President Chávez claimed that the Vargas Llosas are in Venezuela to promote neo-liberal ideals and warned that he would not tolerate suspicious activity.
