The surfer detained in Ostend defends himself: “I was in transit, not in quarantine”

Federico Llamas, The 27-year-old surfer recently arrived from Brazil, who was delayed by the police on the Pan-American highway and escorted to his home in Flores to comply with the mandatory quarantine, defended himself against the criminal case against him. “I was not in quarantine, I was in transit”, he assured in dialogue with TN.

The young man is detained in Ostend for having twice violated the quarantine. “My situation is catastrophic, they tell me a lot about it over the phone,” he said.

It all started when the members of the Argentine Naval Prefecture (PNA) detained the young man, who was traveling alone, at a vehicle control in Martínez. The driver then explained that had gone on vacation to Brazil At the beginning of March, he returned to the country through the Paso de los Libres border and, finally, went home.

“When I got to the border, I filled out the affidavit form saying where I was going to quarantine,” Llamas said. The day he was delayed, the young man was surrounded by a patrol car and two motorcycle officers who escorted him to his home in Flores, where he had to be visited in the following hours to verify that he was complying with preventive isolation.

However, just a few minutes after the security forces left the block, Llamas climbed back into his truck and fled. “I was at my dad’s house, but three months ago he had cardiac arrest and I can’t live there with him,” he said.

“I am quarantining alone, the best option was in Ostend,” said the young man, who explained that his entire maternal family is on the Atlantic Coast and that he warned from the first moment that he was going to isolate himself there.

The young man stated that, at the time of being delayed by the Police in Panamericana, the media approached him because they saw the surfboards above the car. “The journalists approached, they were glued together and without a mask. With the epidemic we have, that cannot happen,” he complained. He added: “I felt very exposed.”

Llamas said he had no problems with the security forces. “They explained the procedure to me, they wrote me a report and they told me they were going to escort me to my house,” he said.

“In the act they stated that I was violating the quarantine, but I was in transit, not in quarantine,” the young man defended himself, who initially refused to sign the document. “I could not teleport to the place where I was going to quarantine,” added the young man and assured that the police officers were aware that he was not going to stay at Flores’ home.