Four Colombian police officers suffered injuries on Friday when protesters fired arrows and explosives outside the US embassy in Colombia’s capital Bogota during a rally opposing US President Donald Trump’s policies, authorities said. Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galan stated that masked individuals launched incendiary devices, explosives, and arrows at security forces guarding the embassy. “Four police officers were wounded in the face, legs, and arms,” he said.
Moreover, images released by the defense ministry showed a chaotic scene, including one officer struck in the arm by an arrow.
Protesters denounce US interference
The group behind the protest, “Congreso de los Pueblos” (People’s Congress), said the demonstration aimed to reject Trump’s right-wing agenda and US intervention abroad. “We are demonstrating for our sovereignty, against US interference, its involvement in the genocide of Palestinians, and threats against the Venezuelan Bolivar model,” group spokesperson Jimmy Moreno told AFP.
The movement had organized peaceful demonstrations across Bogota since Monday, but violence erupted for the first time on Friday.
However, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on the social network X that he ordered maximum caution around the US embassy after the attack. “A more radical group attacked the police guarding the embassy, injuring several young officers with arrows,” Petro wrote.
The protest group later issued a statement aligning with Petro’s stance but urged his government to create “an anti-imperialist front.”
