Colombia security package would let police enter universities
COLOMBIA · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —What happened Colombia’s president announced a security package that would let police enter public universities during violent protest.
- —How big He reported 17,147 arrests in 36 days and a 2027 budget leaning heavily on borrowing.
- —What it means Police would get a written protocol for entering public campuses when protests turn violent.
- —The catch This is an announcement. Decrees to put the campus protocol into force have not been published.
- —Who it hits Public university students, protest organisers and taxpayers facing a tighter 2027 budget.
- —What comes next Decrees, a congressional fight over the 2027 budget, and reaction from universities that has not arrived.
Colombia’s president used an address to the nation to set out a Colombia security package for public universities. Police could enter campuses during violent protest. He also blamed the last government for the state of public finances.
Colombia’s president, Abelardo De la Espriella, set out a Colombia security package in a Sunday address, 36 days into his term. Police would be able to enter public universities when protests turn violent.
What the president announced
De la Espriella spoke to the nation for almost an hour on Sunday 13 September. Blu Radio counted nine announcements, from public finances to policing.
It was his third address to the nation since he took office on 7 August. The second came on 30 August.
The centrepiece this time is a new protocol for violent protests inside public universities. He said the National Police would be the first operational authority to respond.
He told viewers that university autonomy “is not a licence for impunity”. He said he would go after offenders “even entering the universities” to remove them.
Other announcements covered a United States consulate in Barranquilla and special mining and tax rules for Choco. He also pushed back on court limits on air strikes.
The arrest figures he cited
De la Espriella said there had been 17,147 arrests since 7 August, his first day in office. That figure is his own, reported by Blu Radio.
He also said six criminal ringleaders had been killed and 19 members captured in 36 days. He named the dead men by their aliases.
These are government counts, not an independent tally. No breakdown by crime or region came with them.
A different government count circulated the same day. Infobae reported his own social media tally of more than 18,000 arrests.
His government has also stepped up extraditions. That count stood at 73 in his first five weeks.
Why universities are legally sensitive
Article 69 of the Constitution guarantees university autonomy in Colombia. Universities may pick their own leaders and run by their own statutes.
That wording does not say police may never enter a campus. It also does not set out when they may.
De la Espriella said autonomy “is not above public order”. He said campuses are not territory removed from the Constitution or the law.
The announcement followed disturbances at the state-run Universidad Nacional in Bogota on Friday 11 September. A march heading for the United States embassy passed through the campus.
Blu Radio reported damage to the campus newspaper library, and the university ordered an evacuation from 6pm. No reaction from rectors, students or opposition parties had been reported by Monday morning.
The fiscal claim and what it rests on
De la Espriella blamed the outgoing Petro government for the state of public finances. He called it the most complex fiscal crisis in Colombia’s republican history.
He said 281 trillion pesos (about US$90.5 billion) of the 2027 budget would come from borrowing. That is about 44 percent of a budget he put near 635 trillion pesos (about US$204.5 billion).
He called the 2027 budget a “presupuesto de la verdad”, or budget of truth. It carries an austerity effort of about 17.4 trillion pesos (about US$5.6 billion).
Within that, 3 trillion pesos (about US$966 million) comes off goods and services. The same budget adds 700 billion pesos (about US$225 million) for public higher education.
These are the president’s figures and his framing, not an independent audit. Currency conversions use the 14 September 2026 open.er-api.com rate of 3,105.8 pesos to the US dollar.
What is new and what is rhetoric
The campus part of the Colombia security package is an announcement, not a law. Whether police gain fresh powers depends on decrees that have not been published.
His claim that campuses shelter violence and terrorism is an allegation. It has not been independently established.
The arrest totals are government counts. Outside monitors have not verified them.
The fiscal blame is political framing. Petro and his former ministers had not answered it by Monday morning.
How this affects daily life
Students at public universities could see police enter campuses during disturbances. On 11 September the university responded by evacuating the campus instead.
Protest organisers will want to know where peaceful marching ends and vandalism begins. The promised protocol is supposed to draw that line.
Taxpayers face a tighter 2027 budget that must also fund earthquake reconstruction. The president says the squeeze is needed to repair state finances.
Businesses will watch whether the austerity plan survives Congress. Budget cuts often shrink between announcement and approval.
What comes next
The government must issue decrees to put the campus protocol into force. Until then it stays an announcement.
Colombia’s Congress will debate the 2027 budget and the austerity figures. The president will need support he cannot take for granted.
The fight over court limits on air strikes and crop spraying will go on. He said he will use legal channels rather than confront the judges.
Reaction from universities and opposition parties had not been reported by Monday. That is likely to change this week.
More: Colombia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can police enter universities in Colombia?
Colombia’s Constitution guarantees university autonomy, but it does not bar police from campuses. De la Espriella announced a protocol for entering public campuses during violent protest.
What did De la Espriella say about Colombia’s debt?
He said 281 trillion pesos (about US$90.5 billion) of the 2027 budget would come from borrowing. He put that at about 44 percent of the budget.
How many arrests did De la Espriella announce?
He said there had been 17,147 arrests since 7 August, as reported by Blu Radio. Infobae reported a separate government count above 18,000 the same day.
What triggered the university announcement?
Protests near the Universidad Nacional in Bogota turned violent on 11 September. The university ordered the campus evacuated that evening.
Sources: Reporting by Blu Radio, EFE, La FM and La Patria. https://www.bluradio.com/politica/presidente-anuncia-medidas-ante-situacion-fiscal-vandalismo-en-universidades-y-limites-a-bombardeos-rg10 https://efe.com/mundo/2026-09-14/de-la-espriella-permite-ingreso-policia-universidades-colombia-actos-vandalicos/ https://www.bluradio.com/regiones/bogota/universidad-nacional-ordeno-desalojar-el-campus-tras-actos-vandalicos-durante-manifestaciones-rg10 https://www.lapatria.com/colombia/de-la-espriella-presento-el-presupuesto-de-la-verdad-por-635-billones-estas-son-las-cifras https://www.lafm.com.co/orden-publico/protestas-disturbios-11-de-septiembre-bogota-universidad-nacional-embajada-estados-unidos-410717
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