Paraguayan tourists denounce “humiliating differential treatment” to enter Uruguay

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This weekend ABC Color, one of Paraguay’s leading newspapers, published the complaint of a Paraguayan citizen who claims that his family was “humiliated” when entering Uruguay through Paysandú. Alessandro Molfessi, whose children traveled from Paraguay by land, assures that his was not an isolated case and that other Paraguayans experienced similar situations.

According to the aforementioned newspaper, several Paraguayan citizens indicated that, despite having all the documentation required by the Covid-19 protocol, “all the occupants of vehicles with Paraguayan plates were stopped and searched as if they were looking for smuggling or drugs. In other words, it was humiliating.”

In contrast, the treatment on the Argentine side was quite different, where although they were checked according to the border crossing requirements, “professionalism and cordiality” prevailed.

“My children have been going to Uruguay for two years, we have a house there because my wife is Uruguayan and after the borders were reopened they wanted to drive there, but they were mistreated in Paysandú. We flew there, and my children took our suitcases because we are going to be there for two months and there are limitations when flying, that is why they were questioned, because there were too many clothes, they were taken out of the vehicle, they were searched by four agents, they took all our belongings out of the vehicle in the middle of the bridge. My children are Paraguayan and they were humiliated just for being Paraguayan, because the cars with Argentine plates were allowed to pass unchecked,” said an outraged Alessandro Molfessi to the Asunción newspaper.

Molfessi said that they were also mistreated because they were carrying his diabetes medication and other prescribed medical supplements not available in Uruguay.

“My children were carrying my prescription drugs and they questioned them for that, they wanted the prescription, but the prescription is kept by the pharmacy; they tried to confiscate my diabetes medication, my daughter cried, she begged them because I use these drugs and there are none in Uruguay. They asked her why hadn’t I taken them, so we had to send them the data through the internet, they humiliated them,” he said.

However, this was not the only family poorly received by the Paysandú customs, but many other Paraguayans, whose clothes were confiscated and were held for several hours. “Controls of vehicles with Paraguayan plates are differentiated and stricter as if by being Paraguayan one is considered a criminal,” lamented the tourists.

Molfessi said that he formally complained to the Uruguayan Consulate in Paraguay and also sent the same complaint to the Paraguayan Embassy in Montevideo so that measures are taken or at least to ensure that, should there be some kind of restriction to Paraguayan tourists, requirements are shared and thereby avoid the unpleasant situations experienced.

“Uruguay lives from tourism and should there be any kind of restriction or protocol for Paraguayans, they should be published, shared, because I have not seen any requirement anywhere and we are humiliated at Customs; this is unfortunate, when others are not looked at, Argentines are not even checked, why are we Paraguayans treated like this?” the tourist complained.

The newspaper emphasizes that there is no special protocol in Uruguay for travelers coming from Paraguay, so the discriminatory treatment would have no legal basis.

Later, Molfessi was interviewed by El Telégrafo newspaper, where he again expressed his discomfort with what had happened to his children and emphasized his close ties with Uruguay.

“I am Italian, but I lived in Uruguay for 11 years, I completed my Spanish studies there and I married an Uruguayan. I also graduated as a pilot there. So my bond with the country is very deep. And I know that Uruguayans are not like this, it is not their nature, they are kind and polite. That is why I do not understand how something like this could happen. To make matters worse, when in Paraguay I gave an interview about the incident to ABC Color newspaper, there were many Paraguayans who wrote and called saying that they were treated the same way. Therefore, my only inference is that it is something against Paraguayans, a direct discrimination and suspicion towards them,” he said.