On April 28, 2025, a group of unidentified hooded demonstrators clashed with police officers from the Unit for Dialogue and Maintenance of Order in front of the National Pedagogical University in Chapinero, Bogotá.

According to the demonstrators, they were commemorating the four year anniversary of the social uprising that was triggered by a proposed tax reform, inequality, police brutality, and other systemic issues. Videos show hooded individuals inside the university gates throwing Molotov cocktails at the police, and the police, clad in riot gear, responding with tear gas and water cannons.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about violent and destructive attacks on campus. Students and members of the public must refrain from violence, especially on campus, and respect the right to freedom of association and freedom of expression, and university authorities must take reasonable measures to ensure safe conditions for living, learning, and expression for students. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, such actions undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://www.lafm.com.co/bogota/volvieron-los-disturbios-a-las-universidades-nacional-y-pedagogica-por-aniversario-del
https://citytv.eltiempo.com/noticias/orden-publico/disturbios-en-la-universidad-pedagogica-afectaron-movilidad-en-chapinero_80476
https://www.rcnradio.com/bogota/encapuchados-protagonizaron-disturbios-en-inmediaciones-de-la-universidad-nacional-y-pedagogica