by Jacob Richards
On Wednesday, Juan Carlos Membrano Portillo was released from ICE custody at the GEO Group detention center in Aurora Colorado.
Portillo was taken by ICE from Glenwood Springs near the City Market back on Feb.16, while on his way to work as a roofer in the Roaring Fork Valley.
On February 17, ICE Denver and other ICE social media accounts put out a social media post with an image of Juan Carlos Membrano Portillo claiming that they had arrested Portillo in Grand Junction, Colorado and that he was a member of MS-13.
Both those assertions are untrue. They lied.
Readers in Glenwood Springs put The Revolutionist in touch with Portillo’s loved ones. They confirmed Portillo was arrested in Glenwood Springs that had come here legally and was going through the processes he needed to work and live in the United States. They denied any MS-13 affiliation or any criminal activity. They said Portillo loved soccer, and was a hard-worker and people described him as kind-hearted.
We were trying to confirm some elements of the story, when Voces Unidas scooped us and published a rebuttal to the ICE propaganda mid-day on Feb. 20. The Rev shared their post on social media, and moved on to other injustices since it was so well covered by Voces.
But then later on Feb. 20 KREX, and followed a few days later by KKCO and KJCT, broadcast ICE’s social media propaganda as news, when a simple google search of Portillo’s name would have shown that his story was at least in dispute.
The Rev, having independently verified the Voces article, put out a call to action late that same evening. Calling out the editors of the TV stations for publishing a single-source, an untrustworthy source at that, as if it was news.
KREX heard our voices and to their credit looked into it deeper and ran a better story a few days later.
The controversy made some waves, Cory Hutchins’ substack which covers the news behind the news picked up on the David vs Goliath vibes of the battle happening for truth between the mainstream media and the independent grassroots media on the Western Slope.
Potillio’s release for ICE custody is the conclusive and final proof that ICE lies, our media system helps them lie, and truth can be found in community and not in corporations and shareholder profits.
A statement from the family on Are Saucedo Report facebook page translates to: “My husband and I are very grateful to everyone, because in the most difficult times, they did not let us go, they gave us strength to keep fighting. . . Thank you for your empathy, support and understanding.”
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