Juan Manuel Santos, presidential candidate for Partido de la U, had to be escorted by police from a university in the Colombian city of Cali on Wednesday after student protesters prevented the politician from giving a planned speech.
Santos had intended to give a campaign speech at the Santiago University in the Valle department capital, but was forced to cancel the event due to threats to security.
Protesters were positioned at the main university entrance and the entrance to the auditorium where Santos was scheduled to give his presentation.
According to a report by CM&, the protesters’ main concern was Santos’ role in the “false positives” scandal during his time as Colombia’s defense minister.
Authorities say that many of the protesters were acting violently and that several were armed and hooded.
In reference to the incident Santos later said, “To prevent them from continuing to target those student that did want to take part [in the discussion] I decided to leave, as I thought it was the most prudent and responsible thing to do. But I promise to the university that I will return, as I will not give up discussing these ideas.”
