Santo Domingo.– The United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Leah Francis Campos, responded this Sunday to the questions raised by communicator Aneudys Santos, who issued criticisms toward her person and comments regarding her Christian faith, asserting that freedom of expression must be defended even when opinions are uncomfortable.
Through a post on her Instagram account (@ambleahcampos), the diplomat shared a video with excerpts of the commentator’s statements and affirmed that such expressions should not affect the commitment to fundamental freedoms.
“Absurd disquisitions like this should not change anything: regardless of who may have motivated such nonsense on the part of this gentleman, freedom of expression is necessary for a free and functional republic. Those who truly value freedom of expression will always defend it, even when it is uncomfortable. ESPECIALLY when it is uncomfortable,” the diplomat cited.
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The communicator’s statements arose in the context of a debate generated by previous comments from fellow communicator Domingo Páez. During his intervention, Santos maintained that, if one were to accept the premise that the person with whom the ambassador has been seen publicly was allegedly linked to drug trafficking, it would imply that the diplomat is “incompetent,” “nefarious,” and “frivolous,” considering that, due to the access to information she has, she should know the profile of those who accompany her.
Instead of responding to the disqualifications, Campos focused his message on vindicating freedom of expression as an essential principle in a democratic society and concluded his post with a quote from the Bible.
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“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
The ambassador’s post has generated reactions on social media, where users have debated both the scope of freedom of expression and the tone of the comments directed at the American diplomatic representative.
