Up until a couple of years ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was a leader much in demand by foreign statesmen. And it wasn't just Erdogan who was in demand: Prestigious think tanks used to mobilize to host Turkish government officials and parliamentary teams visiting Washington.

But Turkey's growing authoritarian trend has made Turkish officials unwanted guests. As if this was not enough, we now have to deal with incidents caused by Erdogan’s bodyguards.

What we remember from Erdogan’s trip to Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit are the scenes of senseless assaults on journalists and protesters. This wasn’t the first case of friction between Turkish bodyguards and security units of host countries. What is clear is that protesters and journalists now have to risk suffering violence from the bodyguards not only in Turkey, but also in the countries Erdogan visits.

The most-remembered incident of recent times was in Ecuador during Erdogan’s Latin America trip when his bodyguards handcuffed three Ecuadorian women and smashed the nose of legislator Diego Vintimilla, who was trying to intervene.