Bogotá, Colombia — A protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Colombia’s capital turned violent on Friday, October 18, 2025, when demonstrators opposing U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies launched arrows and explosives at police officers. Authorities confirmed that four officers were injured in the face, legs, and arms during the clash.
Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán condemned the attack, describing the perpetrators as “hooded delinquents” who assaulted law enforcement and damaged property with incendiary devices. The Defence Ministry later released images of the scene, including one showing an officer with an arrow lodged in his arm.
The protest was organized by a group calling itself Congreso de los Pueblos (People’s Congress), which said the rally aimed to denounce what it described as U.S. interference in Latin America and the ongoing conflict in Palestinian territories. “We are standing for sovereignty—no more U.S. interference, no more imperialism,” spokesperson Jimmy Moreno told AFP.
The demonstrations began peacefully earlier in the week but escalated sharply on Friday outside the heavily guarded embassy. Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro urged authorities to exercise “maximum caution” in protecting the U.S. mission, noting that “a more radical group” had attacked police guarding the facility.
In a statement following the unrest, the protest organizers expressed solidarity with Petro’s remarks but urged the creation of a broader “anti-imperialist front” in Latin America.
