On 17 March 2025, in Barranquilla (Atlantico), students at the Atlantico University held a demonstration in support of a proposal for the immediate re-election of the university's rector. Another group of students who opposed to this proposal intervened in the demonstration and clashed with the other group. During the demonstrations, several homemade explosives were detonated, dispersing the crowd. It is unknown if there were any injuries. There were no fatalities.

Supply-chain Risk Briefing

1. Summary

On March 17, 2025, clashes between students occurred at Universidad del Atlántico in Barranquilla (Atlántico Province), Colombia, over the university president's re-election issue. A homemade explosive device detonated during the protests, but there were no fatalities, and the occurrence of injuries remains unclear. The current risk level is assessed as low.

2. Supply-chain impact

• Limited regional logistics impact: While Barranquilla is a major northern Colombian port city and Magdalena River logistics hub, the protests were confined to the university campus with minimal impact on citywide logistics
• Temporary education sector disruption: Campus activity restrictions may cause short-term disruptions to related research and development or human resource supply
• Chemical security concerns: The use of homemade explosives may raise the need for security inspections of chemical raw material distribution
• Potential regional social unrest spread: If student conflicts spread to the broader community, there could be indirect impacts on Barranquilla's industrial complexes and port operations

3. Watch points

• University normalization schedule: Confirmation of class resumption and campus stabilization timeline at Universidad del Atlántico
• Potential protest escalation: Monitoring whether the presidential re-election issue spreads to other educational institutions or downtown Barranquilla
• Local authority response: Colombian government's university stabilization measures and progress of explosive-related investigations