Ex-US chambers chief held in Myanmar after book criticising junta and US sanctions policy

BANGKOK, June 13 — An American businessman who wrote a book about living through a military coup in Myanmar was detained on his return to the South-east Asian nation on Thursday, according to two people briefed on the matter.

Adam Castillo, a former head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar who is based in Yangon where he runs a security firm, was stopped at an airport after travelling to the country, one of the people said.

A US State Department spokesperson said it was aware of reports of the detention of an American in Myanmar but had no further comment due to privacy concerns.

A spokesperson for the military-backed government told Reuters they had not received any information about the matter and had no comment.

Castillo had been abroad promoting his book, Finding Our Voice, about staying in Myanmar following the 2021 coup that threw the country into turmoil, according to social media posts.

The military’s power grab ended a brief experiment in democratic rule under Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and sparked a civil war between the army and a coalition of pro-democracy armed resistance forces allied to long-established ethnic minority groups.

In early April, former junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as the country’s president, following a widely criticised, military-engineered election that excluded the main opposition groups, including Suu Kyi’s political party, and was conducted in the throes of conflict.

Castillo, a former US Marine, last year visited the White House and suggested to officials that the United States play a peace-broker role with a view to accessing rare earth minerals, Reuters reported.

His book chronicles the military’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters but also criticises Washington’s policy, including sanctions, as ineffective and advocates for more business engagement. — Reuters