Editor's Note: Frida Ghitis, a former CNN correspondent and producer, is a world affairs columnist. She is a frequent contributor to CNN opinion, a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, and a columnist for the World Politics Review. Follow her on Twitter @fridaghitis. The opinions expressed in this comment are those of the author. Read more opinion at CNNe.com/opinion.
(CNN Spanish) - How far will President Donald Trump go to win reelection? We'll only know the answer in November, maybe later, but to see the more sinister aspects of his campaign, take a look at what's going on in Portland, Oregon, and combine it with the overall theme of Trump's campaign announcements trying now to paint America as a raging hell of anarchist chaos.
In recent days, federal security forces have taken to the streets of Portland, dressed in camouflage clothing suitable for a war zone, and treating anti-racism protesters with tactics reminiscent of dictatorships.
The people of Portland have been busy filming and sharing the gruesome scenes, as officers in uniforms and unidentified camouflage markings have taken people off the street, sometimes showing up subduing them in the process and hauling them in vehicles.
Oregon Public Broadcasting documented the allegations of a protester, Mark James Pettibone, who said he was walking home long after the demonstration on Wednesday night, when several “guys in camouflage” grabbed him, threw him in an unmarked van. , and covered his eyes with his hat.
"I couldn't see and they held my hands over my head," he told reporters.
The people who detained him never identified themselves, Pettibone said, nor did they explain why they had detained him. The man told Oregon Public Broadcasting that he was taken to what he recognizes to be a federal detention center, where, he said, he was forced to look at the wall while being beaten, photographed, and then put in a cell. He said that two agents came to read his rights, asked for a lawyer and was finally released.
"In a statement, the US Marshals Service declined to comment on the practice of using insignialess vehicles, but said its agents had not arrested Pettibone. 'All detainees from the United States Marshals Service have public arrest records documenting their charges. Our agency did not arrest or detain Mark James Pettibone. '” according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Other Oregon protesters tell and share similar stories. A video, which went viral this week, showed two men in camouflage clothing quickly approaching a young protester, with their hands raised, on the street at night, detaining the person, taking him to a minivan, and they were leaving. It was unclear what happened to this protester, but in a statement Friday, according to The Washington Post, "US Customs and Border Protection said its agents had taken the action and that they had information indicating that the person in the Video was suspected of attacks on federal agents or destruction of federal property. "
In what is clearly hyperbole, but captures the backlash, actions by unidentified federal forces in Portland posted the hashtag #Gestapo on Twitter.
Who arrested Pettibone? No one says anything, and the Marshals Service appears to have rejected the meeting.
The use of security forces without insignia is the distinctive tactic of a despot, and can be unconstitutional in the United States, especially when done without following proper police procedure. In fact, it is likely a violation of the Department of Justice rules. In 2014, the Civil Rights Division criticized the Ferguson, Missouri Police for allowing its officers not to display their names on their uniforms, calling it an "almost universal requirement for sound police practice."
Not identifying the agency is much, much worse. There is zero liability; there is no process to track abuse. Everything but guarantees excesses.
It is not the first time that Trump has deployed federal forces against protesters. For his infamous biblical photo shoot - near the White House last month, in which peaceful protesters were forcefully dispersed using stun grenades, pepper spray, and swinging batons - he used officers from the Bureau of Prisons, the Park Police of USA and others.
Unexplained and unidentified security operations are a favorite practice of dictators with questionable intent.
The approach is reminiscent of Vladimir Putin's "Little Green Men," the Russian forces that invaded Crimea in Ukraine in uniforms without insignia while Putin vehemently denied it. Seizing critical politicians on the street reminds me of the actions of South American military dictators in the 1970s and 1980s, who "disappeared", activists in their dirty war.
We are not there yet, to say the obvious. But the trajectory is unmistakable. Jann Carson of the Oregon Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Oregon said: "When we see people in unmarked cars forcefully grab someone off the street, we call it kidnapping."
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), created after September 11 to protect the country from external threats, has apparently enlisted for Trump to jumpstart his presidential campaign. And the president seems to yearn for a fight, waiting for street battles to be able to claim that it is he who can stifle them, to be able to argue - as he does in his commercials - that a victory for Democrats will put anarchists and socialists in power. That is a laughable statement, but he agrees.
After it issued a decree to defend the statues from American and other traitors, following protesters' demands that racists should not be honored, the Department of Homeland Security created the American Communities Protection Task Force and sent security forces from various agencies to "quell" the protests, as Trump put it, in Washington, Seattle and Portland.
Portland leaders are asking Trump to eliminate federal forces. But Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf echoes the rhetoric of the Trump campaign to justify his continued presence, claiming that Portland "has been besieged by a violent mafia [of] lawless anarchists."
Federal agents are inflaming the situation, not calming it down. And that is precisely what Trump wants. Nothing would suit him more than more violence. Oregon Governor Kate Brown was absolutely right when she tweeted: "Trump is looking for a showdown in Oregon in hopes of earning political points in Ohio or Iowa."
This is far from over. Acting United States Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan called the protesters "criminals", glancing at Trump's playbook on Fox News on Thursday, which should concern all Americans who appreciate the freedom to exercise your constitutionally protected First Amendment rights.
"I don't want to get ahead of the president and his announcement," Morgan said, "but the Justice Department will be involved in this. [The] DHS will get involved in this. We are really going to take a position across the board. And we will do whatever it takes to protect the men and women of this country. ”
Trump believes the images of chaos and violence will help him. How far are you willing to go? Stay tuned.