US ambassador says African American official denied entry to Uruguay restaurant due to race

By Leonardo Haberkorn

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay _ The U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay says an African-American embassy official was denied entry to a restaurant in Montevideo due to her race.

Ambassador Julissa Reynoso tells the El Observador newspaper that she’s “surprised with the level of ignorance” shown by the Circus restaurant in the Uruguayan capital.

She tells the newspaper the incident is not in line with Uruguayan culture and that she’s evaluating what actions to take next.

U.S. Embassy sources said the incident happened Friday night. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.

A manager at the restaurant who gave his name only as Sebastian denied that any discrimination took place, and declined to provide any details.