MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean executive detained in Brazil for racist and homophobic insults to Latam flight attendant

The executive refers to the cabin crew member as “mono” (monkey) and makes gestures imitating a primate

Chilean executive Germán Naranjo Maldini has been held since Friday 15 May at the Guarulhos prison on the outskirts of São Paulo, charged with racial slur after directing racist and homophobic insults at a flight attendant of the airline Latam during a flight between São Paulo and Frankfurt on 10 May. The Chilean fishing company Landes, where he served as commercial manager, formally and preventively removed the executive from his position following the circulation over the weekend of a video showing the verbal attacks.

In the footage, which quickly went viral, Naranjo is seen standing in the cabin berating the flight attendant with racist remarks directed at his Brazilian origin and skin color, alongside homophobic comments. The executive refers to the cabin crew member as “mono” (monkey) and makes gestures imitating a primate, in an episode reminiscent of the case of Argentine lawyer Agostina Páez, detained in Rio de Janeiro in January for analogous conduct at a bar in Ipanema. Following a formal complaint by Latam Brazil, Naranjo was detained five days after the incident when he passed through Guarulhos airport on a subsequent layover.

The airline Latam issued a public statement saying it is cooperating with the Brazilian Federal Police and “strongly repudiates any act of violence, discrimination, racism, xenophobia, or homophobia.” The executive's lawyer, Pedro Mollo, told the television channel Mega that his client has seen the video, “does not remember” what happened, and is repentant. Mollo added that Naranjo is undergoing psychological treatment and uses sleep medication, although he could not specify whether he had consumed alcohol during the flight. The International Air Transport Association has warned that cases of disruptive passengers rose to one per 392 flights in 2024, up from one per 835 flights recorded in 2021.

Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez, of the José Antonio Kast government, condemned the conduct and described it as “unacceptable” in a radio interview, while emphasizing that the case “is a personal matter” and that the Chilean state will limit itself to ensuring respect for the rights of the detained citizen. Naranjo also has two prior cases in the Chilean justice system: one from 2013 over a false bomb threat at Hotel W in Santiago, and another from February 2025, filed by the Civil Registry after an episode in which he allegedly attempted to bribe a public servant to expedite the issuance of his son's passport.

The case revives the legal debate generated by the detention of Páez, who spent two months held in Rio de Janeiro and was only able to return to Argentina after paying a bail of close to USD 20,000.

 

 

 

 

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Una publicación compartida por Radio ADN (@adnchile)