The firsthand reporting of the Cambodia-Thailand border crisis by American journalist Michael Alfaro has drawn global attention to Thailand's violation of the ceasefire agreement and prompted requests for greater transparency from foreign correspondents on the decades-long conflict, despite the controversy and uncertainty surrounding his position. On his Facebook page, which had approximately 30,000 followers at the time.
He showed a barbed wire fence that Thai soldiers had built around the displaced villager population, which included children and the elderly, who had lost their homes as a result of what he called the Thai invasion. In the nine-minute video, Alfaro said that Thailand had insulted US President Donald Trump by repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement, which was signed on July 28 in Malaysia by the Cambodian and Thai acting prime ministers after Trump had pushed for it during the deadly five-day border clashes.
In the live video, Alfaro stated, "You have to come with me to see this because Thailand has continued to insult President Trump by violating the peace agreement by putting up a barbed wire fence and invading the peaceful people that live in this village." Thousands of them have been forced to flee. They have lost their homes. He went on to warn the Thai government that if President Trump finds out about its violations, there would be serious consequences. "Do you think you are in charge? Wait till the President of the United States finds out exactly what happens on the border. And what did they do? They came; they came here to this village.
According to Alfaro, "They built this wall here, the whole barbed wire fence, with guns pointed downrange at these young poor people who are just living outside in the rubble." Additionally, he urged journalists based in the United States and the US Parliament to pay more attention to Cambodia. "I am contacting all of my friends at the White House, as well as White House correspondents.
In the video, he yelled, "I'm calling all the senators and congressmen you work for." “I understand we’re all focused on Russia. We are all concentrating on attempting a peaceful resolution in Ukraine. Everyone's attention is on Israel. But I'm telling you, Michael Alfaro, that you need to pay attention to what's going on at the border between Thailand and Cambodia.
I don't know how long Cambodians can keep peace and be resilient, but Thailand, it turns out, I wouldn't want to be in that room.
Alfaro slammed the Thai government for accusing Cambodia of laying new landmines in the area to deliberately harm Thai soldiers on patrol and the Thai military for holding the 18 Cambodian soldiers in detention for more than two weeks. Additionally, we as a US body must call for action.
Thailand must be punished severely. As they continue to violate the Paris Peace Accords, I believe the trade war should play a significant role,” he stated. They continue to disregard the ceasefire request made by President Trump. And enough is enough.”
Before being taken down without providing an explanation, Alfaro's video received over eight million views in just a few hours. In the same period, his Facebook page followers increased more than fivefold. Cambodian netizens widely hailed his coverage.
Before his coverage at the border, Alfaro met Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, First Vice-President of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, and Huot Hak, Minister of Tourism.
He was referred to by the senior government officials as "the White House correspondent." That description has been received with criticism from the Thai side, particularly the media outlets, netizens, and government officials.
"It has been confirmed by a high-ranking source that Michael A. It is not possible to confirm which news organization Alfaro is associated with because he is not an official correspondent for the White House. Chayika Wongnapachant, an advisor to the Thai Foreign Ministry, wrote on X that "further investigation and inquiries have revealed that the news he reported cannot be considered to be factual; it is merely one individual's opinion."
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