• The protests were part of “an anti-imperialist day.”
• The People’s Congress, which occupied a square in the Colombian capital four days ago, is participating in the demonstrations.

Four Colombian police officers were injured this Friday after being shot with arrows by a group of protesters demonstrating in front of the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, as part of a protest against Gustavo Petro’s policies toward Gaza, Venezuela, and Ecuador.

The demonstration, called by civil society groups as part of an “anti-imperialist day,” turned violent in front of the U.S. diplomatic headquarters , located on one of Bogotá’s main avenues in western Bogotá.

The officers had to be taken to hospitals by emergency services due to injuries to their limbs and head.

In response to the incidents spreading across the area, Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán reported that he had ordered “the police to intervene in the vicinity of the United States Embassy, ​​where criminals, some of them hooded, attacked the embassy with incendiary devices, explosives, and arrows.”

Galán explained that the four police officers who were shot with arrows “were wounded in the face, legs, and arms.”

After stating that “there is no room for violence in Bogotá,” the mayor announced that he will report “these acts to judicial authorities, the Ombudsman’s Office, and the UN.”

“Whenever there is violence and destruction, in Bogotá we will respond with the legitimate use of force, as we did today,” Galán added.

Among the protesters are several members of the so-called People’s Congress, a platform that brings together indigenous, peasant, and Afro-descendant communities and social movements.

The People’s Congress arrived in Bogotá on Monday, October 13, after marching from various locations. Without municipal authorization, it set up shop in a plaza at the National University, the main public university in Colombia, and currently controls access to the campus.