Tuesday pro-Hamas “peaceful” protests in the Colombian cities of Bogotá and Medellín concluded with numerous acts of vandalism and clashes between violent protesters and law enforcement, leaving several injured.
Colombian leftists held a series of pro-Hamas rallies on Tuesday in Bogotá, Medellín, and other cities to mark the second anniversary of Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack on Israel, in which the jihadist group killed, raped, and tortured random civilians, including children and newborn babies, leaving some 1,200 people dead and hundreds taken hostage.
The protests appear to have the tacit endorsement of Colombian far-left President Gustavo Petro, who shared footage of the “peaceful” protests in Bogotá on his official social media account, suggesting that “there should be millions of them across the country.”
“Why isn’t it? Because even the working classes still believe that Israel is God’s chosen people, and they don’t realize that Jesus changed that idea, because God’s people are all of humanity,” Petro wrote on Tuesday.
During the first hours of the protest in Medellín, protesters wearing Palestinian keffiyehs and Hamas paraphernalia such as masks and headbands burned a cardboard cutout of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the Israeli and U.S. flags. Protesters yelled slurs and chanted slogans against Israel and the United States while the cardboard burned. The newspaper El Tiempo reported that protesters also burned a cardboard cutout of President Donald Trump.
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will triumph,” the protesters chanted while the image of Netanyahu burned, a genocidal chant calling for the elimination of the state of Israel which spans from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
Towards the evening, some of the Medellín protesters approached a local McDonald’s restaurant, vandalizing its facade and intimidating and harassing citizens who were eating with their children — prompting officials from the Colombian Police’s Dialogue and Law Enforcement Unit (UNDEMO) to intervene in the rapidly-escalating incident.
“What happened in Medellín was not a peaceful protest, it was intimidation and vandalism. Children were eating and playing peacefully with their families, and they came to cause fear, at which point we intervened as the authorities,” Medellín Mayor Federico Gutiérrez said on social media alongside footage taken inside and outside the restaurant at the time of the incident.
Outlets reported that a man later identified as Medellín Councilman Andrés Rodríguez of the conservative Democratic Center party attempted to fend off the violent protesters near the McDonald’s using a wooden bat. President Petro published footage of the incident and accused Councilman Rodríguez of “Nazi” behavior, comparing him to Nazi Germany and Italy under Mussolini’s rule. Rodríguez, in a social media post, defended his actions by stating that he faced the protesters to protect the children inside the restaurant.
“Let those who believe that they can challenge authority, order, and legality in Medellín make no mistake,” Medellín Security Secretary Manual Villa Mejía wrote on social media. “With our security personnel, we have prevented acts of vandalism and attacks on people’s integrity and property. We have even prevented attacks on our secretariat staff.”
“Here, the police must fulfill their legal and constitutional duty to protect the rights of those who are not part of the violent protest,” he continued. “This is not protest, it is vandalism. They spread terror and commit crimes. They want to set Colombia on fire. Medellín will not allow it.”
Petro also criticized Medellín law enforcement’s actions against the violent protesters.
“While in Colombia the marches were peaceful, in Medellín, Fico [Mayor Gutiérrez], the U.S. embassy’s “partner,” ordered violence. Fascism like in the Israeli government,” Petro wrote.
Bogotá Secretary of Government Gustavo Quintero told local outlets that the “peaceful” protesters vandalized buildings, public transport, and other infrastructure — including a Christian church and commercial establishments — while also significantly disrupting public transportation routes, affecting over 300,000 users, many of whom were forced to walk to their destinations.
“We respect and support peaceful social protest, but we reject violent actions and harm to citizens,” Quintero said, and explained that 12 people were injured during the protests, nine as a result of a traffic accident in the city center.
Marco Acosta Rico, Bogotá Councilman and pastor of the Evangelical Christian “God is Forming a People” congregation, denounced that the church’s headquarters were vandalized with “death to Israel” and other messages written by the protesters.
“As a councilman and pastor in Bogotá, I raise my voice against the vandalism suffered by the IDEFUP church. Intolerance has no place in Colombia. Intolerance has no place in Colombia. Respect for faith, respect for religious freedom, respect for all Colombians,” Acosta Rico wrote.
“Below are videos showing how pro-Palestinian activists destroyed property, sprayed graffiti on walls, and used threats to intimidate us Christians,” he added, before publishing a series of videos showing the extensive damage caused to the facility.
President Gustavo Petro, a former member of the Marxist M19 terrorist group and Colombia’s first leftist president, has repeatedly accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza and has publicly called for the creation of a United Nations-endorsed multi-national army to “free Palestine.”
Petro first issued his proposal during his unhinged September speech at the U.N. General Assembly in which he also accused President Donald Trump of allegedly being an “accomplice” in the “genocide.” He then reiterated his accusations during a pro-Palestine demonstration in New York City, calling for U.S. military officials to disobey President Trump as commander in chief and to join his proposed army while also demanding Trump be arrested for his alleged “genocide” role. The U.S. State Department revoked Petro’s U.S. visa in response to his remarks.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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