May 31, 2018 12:29 PM UTC

Caption This Photo: Cory and the General of Siam

• 3 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Sen. Cory Gardner is in Thailand this week, and here’s photographic proof:

We hadn’t seen any announcement of a foreign junket by Sen. Gardner, but his duties on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee frequently send him to Asia–like last year, when he paid a visit to controversial Filipino strongman Rodrigo Duterte and caught flak for helping legitimize Duterte’s violent crackdowns.

In this case, Gardner was meeting with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to discuss “non-traditional security threats” facing the two nations. But in terms of supporting, you know, the good guys, meeting with Prayut Chan-o-cha is more than a little problematic–since Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s previous title was General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army. Prayut seized power in a 2014 coup d’etat, overthrowing the democratically-elected first female PM of Thailand Yingluck Shinawatra. Thailand is now ruled by the National Council for Peace and Order, otherwise known as a military junta:

Thailand endures a human rights crisis four years after the 2014 coup. The military junta under Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha has banned political activity and public assembly, enforced media censorship, arbitrarily arrested dissidents, and detained civilians in military facilities. Authorities have used lese majeste (insulting the monarchy), sedition, and computer crime charges to suppress free speech. In the Thailand southern border provinces, rights abuses persist in the conflict between separatist groups and the government. Over three million migrant workers face systematic abuse and exploitation, including in the fishing industry, despite government promises for reform. Refugees and asylum seekers are subject to arrest and deportation.

On the upside, the food is really tasty.