Four police injured in violent protest at US embassy in Bogota
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Four Colombian police officers were injured as protesters attacked the US embassy in Bogota with arrows and explosives during an anti-Trump rally.
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Tear gas is launched by police to disperse protesters demanding action from President Gustavo Petro's government in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, October 17, 2025. (AP)
Four police officers were injured on Friday after protesters outside the US embassy in Colombia’s capital attacked security forces with arrows and makeshift explosives during a rally denouncing US President Donald Trump’s policies, local authorities confirmed.
Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galan said “delinquents, some of whom were hooded, attacked the embassy with incendiary devices, explosives and arrows.” The officers, according to Galan, sustained injuries to the face, legs, and arms.
Images released by the defense ministry showed chaotic scenes near the embassy, including one officer with an arrow lodged in his arm.
Demonstration to reject US interference
The protest was organized by a group calling itself Congreso de los Pueblos (People’s Congress). Spokesperson Jimmy Moreno told AFP that the demonstration was meant to reject US interference in Latin America and condemn what he described as Washington’s complicity in “the genocide of Palestinians.”
“We are demonstrating for our sovereignty, no more interference from the United States, against everything the United States has been involved in, the genocide of Palestinians, its interference in Latin America, and the threats it has been making in the Caribbean... against the Venezuelan Bolivar model,” Moreno said.
The group had been staging protests throughout Bogota since Monday, though Friday’s rally was the first to turn violent.
'Radical group' behind attacks
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who has clashed with Trump on several occasions this year, said on the social platform X that he had “ordered maximum caution with the US embassy in Bogota.”
“A more radical group has attacked the police guarding the embassy, with several young people injured with arrows,” Petro added.
While the protest group expressed agreement with Petro’s position, it also urged his government to establish “an anti-imperialist front” in solidarity with global movements opposing US influence.
Trump authorizes CIA operations
US President Donald Trump confirmed that he authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to carry out operations in Venezuela, a move that significantly escalates Washington’s offensive against President Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking at a White House news conference, Trump declined to clarify whether the authorization included plans to overthrow Maduro, but stated, “I think Venezuela’s feeling the heat.” His remarks followed reports that he had signed a highly classified directive, known as a “finding,” granting the CIA broad powers to conduct covert actions in foreign countries. These may range from clandestine information campaigns to supporting opposition forces or even conducting targeted strikes.
While the scope of the CIA’s new authorities remains undisclosed, sources familiar with the matter indicated that US intelligence personnel have increased their presence in the Caribbean and Central America. According to these sources, they are currently focused on intelligence gathering rather than direct armed operations.
