Latino superstar Ricky Martin slammed Donald Trump in an op-ed for Univision following an incident between the Republican and the network’s news anchor Jorge Ramos at a campaign press event in Iowa Aug. 25. The following are excerpts from a translation by BIllboard.com of Martin’s Spanish-language op-ed: 

“The fact that an individual like Donald Trump, a candidate for the presidency of the United States for the Republican party, has the audacity to continue to gratuitously harass the Latin community makes my blood boil.

When did this character assume he could make comments that are racist, absurd, and above all incoherent and ignorant about us Latinos?

From the beginning his intention was transparent: basically tell barbarities and lies to remain relevant in the public opinion, for votes or simply to stay on the media’s radar.”

“We have to defeat the power that Trump pretends to have over Latinos, anchored in low rhetoric and xenophobic speech, which his campaign team is convinced works for him.

Let’s show that our Latin race is to be respected, let’s not allow a political hopeful to plant his campaign in insult and humiliation. Let’s demand respect for those first generations of Latinos who came to the United States and opened a path for us. We have fought for every right that we have today.

Xenophobia as a political strategy is the lowest you can go in search of political power.”