Back in the beginning of May, German Vargas Lleras, the vice-presidential candidate of president-candidate Juan Manuel Santos, was in campaign in Arauca. A man in the audience interrupted him with a question about housing.
Vargas Lleras grew extremely frustrated that his speech was disrupted, and he called the man a “gamin.” Vargas Lleras said, “With this gamin here, I can’t do this.”
The man responded, “I am from Arauca, and I also deserve respect.”
A “gamin” is a word for someone uneducated, for someone who loiters on the streets. In Colombia, it is a big insult to call someone a “gamin,” because it implies you are the lowest of the lowest.
The YouTube video below grew viral on the internet.
The man Vargas Lleras called a “gamin” was Juan Carlos Santamaría, a former delegate for Arauca and a former candidate for the House of Representatives in the past elections on March 9th.
Santamaría is a follower of the opposition candidate, Óscar Iván Zuluaga.
Santamaría was reported missing last night. He is allegedly kidnapped. Thus far, no illegal armed group has claimed responsibility for his disappearance.
Talking About Colombia 
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