BOGOTA, Colombia — The U.S. Embassy in Bogota closed its doors and requested additional police protection Tuesday because of security concerns over pro-Palestine protests on the anniversary of the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

An additional 200 officers guarded the U.S. compound, according to local police, while the embassy reduced staff and suspended consular services, warning the protests may “turn violent.”

But protest organizers said the U.S. response was an overreaction, with activists meeting briefly outside the embassy before marching towards central Bogota. Roughly 1,500 protesters joined the march, according to police.

The U.S. Embassy sent a letter to the government on Oct. 2 – published on Monday by Colombian newspaper El Tiempo – requesting increased security on the anniversary of Hamas’s 2023 attack, which killed nearly 1,200 Israelis.

“The Embassy expresses its concern about the potential for additional, heightened protests and violence. The Embassy requests additional security support from the Colombian government,” the letter said.

The note cited recent pro-Palestinian protests in the capital, including one outside the U.S. Embassy on Sept. 28 in which “around 100 pro-Palestinian protesters defaced barriers… and threw a smoke flare into the property.”

On Monday night, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he had approved the request for heightened security while also defending citizens’ right to protest.

“The Colombian government will protect the U.S. embassy,” wrote Petro in a post on X responding to the letter, “but will allow the Colombian people their right to freedom of expression and assembly.”

On Tuesday afternoon, protestors gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in the west of Bogotá, where the surrounding streets were barricaded and guarded by police in riot gear.

Demonstrators briefly rallied outside the embassy, with protestors writing pro-Palestine graffiti and ‘”Gringos go home” around the area.

Luis Torres, a member of the Colombian Action Front for Palestine, which co-organized the protest, mocked the U.S. Embassy for saying the march constituted a security threat.

“Do you see drones here, or atomic bombs, or F-35s....? What you see here are outraged people telling you to stop killing more babies,” Torres told the Miami Herald.

Congresswoman María del Mar Pizarro, a member of the ruling Historic Pact coalition, also criticized the enhanced security measures.

“The U.S. Embassy’s call for heightened security and its decision to close in the context of today’s pro-Palestine protests appear exaggerated and alarmist,” Pizarro told the Herald. “These are peaceful, organized demonstrations that have expressed themselves through art, culture and collective action.”

Tuesday’s events follow a war of words between Petro and the Trump administration over the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Petro has been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause and a harsh critic of Israel, recently expelling the final four members of the country’s diplomatic delegation in Colombia.

The White House revoked Petro’s visa to the U.S. on Sept. 26 after he called on American troops to disobey orders at a pro-Palestine march in New York City.

The president also suggested forming an international army to fight in Gaza, suggesting he might even join its ranks.

But on Monday, Petro called for peaceful demonstrations in Colombia’s capital city.

“My position differs from that of the U.S. government, and we are attacked for it, but we stand firm on the principles of our constitution,” he said.

The U.S. State Department and the Colombian President’s Office did not respond to request for comments.

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