Mahud Villalaz was attacked with acid on the weekend in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. central-eastern United States), following an argument
over a parking space that ended when the assailant yelled at him, "Out of
this country" and threw a corrosive liquid at him, he denounced this
Monday the Forward Latino association.
"This
was a premeditated attack". Darryl Morin, president of Forward Latino, told
AFP that he believes that given the rhetoric used and the fact that the
attacker had acid with him, the incident constitutes a "hate crime".
Villalaz, a Peruvian-born American, told local media that
the fight came on Friday night when a guy disbelieved him for parking his car
near a bus stop.
At one point in the discussion the assailant told him,
"Out of this country" and he responded by saying that he was a
citizen and that in the United States everyone is immigrants and that the most
time-consuming native Americans were, after which the aggressor was obfuscated
the Then giving him a liquid he had in a glass.
"It
started to burn me a lot", Villalaz said on Sunday at a press conference
in which he appeared with half a face burned by acid and with his right eye
severely reddened and semi-open.
I was the victim of a hate crime because of the way he
approached me and said, “Get out of this country”, Villalaz told local network
WISN TV.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett condened the attack and held
on U.S. President Donald Trump accountable for his anti-immigrant rhetoric and
statements against Latinos.
"We all know what's going on. It's because the
president is talking about it every day, that there are people who feel like
they have permission to go against Latinos and that's wrong", the official
told local network WTMJ.
Morin agreed with the official and criticized the
"irresponsible" language used by Trump, who during his campaign said
Mexican immigrants are "rapists" who bring "drugs" and
"crime" to the United States.
Councilman José Pérez said in a statement that the
attack, which is being investigated by the police as a hate crime, "is
going to have long-term affections for the victim".
Trump's language was also criticized in August
after the El Paso massacre in Texas, which left 22 dead and whose author
denounced an "Hispanic invasion" in an online manifesto.
SOURCE: Panorama
