Samia el Zein, 53, said that she, too, had hit the road in the morning in a good mood, thrilled at the thought of returning to her own bed.

“I laugh because I’m like, con el nopal en la frente,” she said, lightly slapping her forehead after uttering a colloquialism often used to emphasize someone’s evident Mexican roots via their appearance.

He left Aita el Shaab with his family immediately after the hostilities started in October last year, but he said he returned almost every fortnight, mainly to attend funerals.

Cuellar was at one time the co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus and the indictment against him says an Azerbaijani diplomat referred to him in text messages as “el Jefe” or “the boss.”

“We are here because it’s an important day for the workers, for the community, for the Hispanic community,” said Josue Valdivieso, a student support advocate for el Centro de la Raza.