SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Starting July 1, 2026, SAR no longer publishes reports for the incidents that it records. SAR continues to monitor and record incidents that will be used in the annual Free to Think report. This page provides a record of incidents reported up to that date. Learn more about the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.

Date of Incident: October 06, 2025

Attack Types: Killings, Violence, Disappearances | Other

Institution(s):Industrial University of Santander

Region & Country:Americas | Colombia

New or Ongoing:New Incident

On October 6, 2025, unidentified individuals entered the campus of the Industrial University of Santander (UIS) and detonated several homemade explosive devices.

According to witnesses, fifteen masked individuals disrupted an academic event in a university auditorium, and detonated explosives, causing panic among attendees. Video footage shows the intruders claiming to be students, stating: “They will ask us who we are; just like you, we are students, children of the people, workers.” The group then summoned students to the plaza in front of the auditorium, where they spray-painted walls and university property and declared the demonstration a commemoration of Che Guevara Day.

Although UIS administrative staff activated security protocols and police responded in coordination with campus authorities, no arrests or injuries were reported. Academic and administrative activities resumed later that afternoon.

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. State authorities should take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of scholars, students, and staff, including by investigating and holding perpetrators of such acts responsible, in line with international human rights standards. 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.eltiempo.com/colombia/santander/encapuchados-lanzaron-papas-bomba-en-la-universidad-industrial-de-santander-irrumpieron-un-evento-e-intimidaron-a-la-gente-3497278
https://www.facebook.com/canaltro/posts/noticia-durante-la-mañana-de-este-lunes-un-grupo-de-al-menos-15-encapuchados-irr/1245200344320961/
https://www.eluniversal.com.co/colombia/2025/10/06/encapuchados-irrumpieron-en-la-uis-y-causaron-caos-con-papas-bomba/
https://elfrente.com.co/encapuchados-vandalizaron-edificio-recien-inaugurado-de-la-universidad-industrial-de-santander/