Colombia: Nonviolent Direct Action against Expodefensa repressed by Public Forces

On 1st December 2025, antimilitarist organisations, collectives, activists and artists carried out a nonviolent direct action against the Expodefensa Arms Fair, held in Bogotá, Colombia, from 1st to 3rd December.

The action, called as a peaceful sit-in outside the Corferias exhibition centre at 2pm on the opening day of the fair, was harassed, hindered and obstructed from the outset by the presence of Public Forces. Members of the Military Police carrying long firearms were deployed at the site, together with officers from the National Unit for Dialogue and Order Maintenance (formerly ESMAD), generating an atmosphere of intimidation incompatible with the exercise of the right to peaceful protest.

The joint statement by the participating organisations and artists describes how, for several hours, the Public Forces attempted to prevent the sit-in from taking place and then resorted to a disproportionate use of force against a nonviolent demonstration. As a result, several people were injured by tear gas, rubber bullets fired from launchers, and stun grenades.

The statement also highlights a particularly serious situation: two people with epilepsy suffered seizures at the site due to the gas used. Despite the urgency, immediate assistance was not allowed, and both individuals were taken inside Corferias without accompaniment, increasing the risk to their health.

From War Resisters’ International, we express our solidarity with those affected and join the call made by the collectives to demand full reparation for those injured and real guarantees for the exercise of social protest. We reject the use of force against nonviolent actions and demand that the national government, both the current administration—soon to conclude its term—and those that follow, stop supporting events that promote the militarisation of society.

It is especially concerning that a government which upholds the slogan “Colombia, a Power for Life” supports arms fairs of this kind and fails to respond clearly and forcefully to the allegations of repression. Likewise, the Bogotá City Council and the city’s Mayor have not spoken out regarding the reported events or the harm caused to those who took part in this action.

It is also necessary to point out the responsibility and complicity of Corferias in hosting this type of event. That a venue which hosts important spaces such as the Bogotá International Book Fair or the Artisans’ Fair—dedicated to culture, critical thought, creativity and the care of life—should also serve as a setting for arms fairs like Expodefensa represents a profound contradiction. Corferias is not a neutral space: by hosting and promoting such events, it legitimises the war industry and contributes to the normalisation of militarisation, in open contrast with the values of peace, cultural diversity and collective construction that it claims to foster through other fairs.

The holding of arms fairs such as Expodefensa contributes to the normalisation of war and presents militarisation as a supposed solution, when in reality it deepens violence and human suffering. In a country marked by decades of armed conflict, promoting the arms industry contradicts any genuine commitment to life, peace and social justice. Defending peaceful protest and rejecting militarisation is not only a right: it is an urgent necessity for building a society based on care, dialogue and human dignity.