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A warning by the U.S. Forest Service is being called racist by advocates for Latino rights.
Officials for the service, which have been in a war against marijuana growers in Colorado’s national forests, <span style="font-weight: bold">cautioned people to beware of campers who eat tortillas, drink Tecate beer and play Spanish music</span>. “That’s discriminatory, and it puts Hispanic campers in danger,” said Polly Baca, co-chairwoman of the Colorado Latino Forum.
While Forest Service officials declined to comment specifically on Baca’s statement, they note that illegal immigrants are being brought to Colorado by Latin American drug cartels for mass cultivation of marijuana. Officers recently discovered more than 14,000 marijuana plants in Pike National Forest. Michael Skinner, a law enforcement officer with the U.S. Forest Service in Colorado, <span style="font-weight: bold">said warning signs of possible drug trafficking include “tortilla packaging, beer cans, Spam, Tuna, Tecate beer cans,” and campers who play Spanish music.</span> He said the warning includes people speaking Spanish. “<span style="font-style: italic">Our goal is to not allow organization using foreign nationals or any other persons involved in illegal drug production to take over our national forests,” the department warned. </span>
But Baca said there’s no proof that Latinos are the only people involved in drug trafficking, calling the service’s warning an example of racial profiling. He said he is “appalled that anyone, especially someone from the federal government, would say something like that.”
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