Students at the National University in Bogotá held two undercover
police officers for two hours after finding out their demonstration
meeting had been infiltrated by the police.
The policemen were handed over to deputy security secretary Andrés Restrepo after mediation by the city’s ombudsman.
The police confirmed the two men were members of the security forces doing intelligence work on the campus.
Restrepo objected the presence of undercover police on campus. “The university should be a place for quiet deliberation, without pressure,” he said.
The two policemen were unmasked during a gathering of students that wanted to protest the inauguration of a building donated by banker Luis Carlos Sarmiento. According to the students, the policemen were taking pictures of the event when they were caught.
Approximately 200 students protested outside the university campus demanding to know why armed security forces without their uniforms were allowed to enter the school. Police commander Rodolfo Palomino denied the men were armed.