Two Foreigners Deported After Assaulting an Immigration Official and Police Officer at Bogotá’s El Dorado Airport

Two bizarre cases of violent attacks by foreign nationals at Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport made headlines after a Norwegian woman hit an immigration official and a Canadian man punched a police officer a week later.

Photo: Canadian citizen Vince-Tong Sozio takes a photo in handcuffs after being detained for assaulting a police officer. (Screenshot via Policiá video)

Norwegian Gets Violent After Documents Questioned

The first social media-rocking incident came last month when Maria Michaela Bagherian, who saw the validity of her documents came into doubt as she intended to travel to Central America, hit and insulted an official of Migración Colombia who suspected she was motivated to enter the United States on the trip.

When the officer questioned the Norwegian citizen’s documents, the Colombian migration official told Bagherian that they would call the Norwegian Embassy, angering Bagherian, who then tried to take her passport away from the official.

According to Migración Colombia, Bagherian reacted violently to the Colombian female immigration official and “hurt her hand and scratched her chest.”

“We welcome foreigners with open arms, but they must respect the authorities and comply with Colombian regulations as in any country in the world,” said Hernando García Manosalva, general director of Migración Colombia.

“We welcome foreigners with open arms, but they must respect the authorities and comply with Colombian regulations as in any country in the world.”

– Hernando García Manosalva, general director of Migración Colombia

The Norwegian woman was handed over to the Colombian attorney general’s office, but it  determined that there were not sufficient cause for Bagherian to go to jail. Migration Colombia’s resolution was to expel her from Colombia and ban her from re-entering the country for 10 years.

In addition, Bagherian had a suspicious background: she told different stories to the airlines to enter the United States even though she had neither a visa nor an exit ticket.

Canadian Boxer Punches a Police Officer

A week later, another shocking case violence at the airport caused a nationwide stir when Vince-Tong Sozio, a Canadian citizen, punched a Colombian police officer in the early morning hours.

Sozio “had no previous contact with the policeman, he crosses by his side and then turns back and promptly goes to take the police officer’s gun,” said Police Colonel Augusto Gil González. “This man was left at the disposal of the competent authorities,”

The incident was recorded on video by people who witnessed the situation and shared widely on Twitter, Instagram, and other major social media platforms in addition to traditional new outlet channels.

The attorney general’s office immediately requested that the tourist be charged for assaulting a public servant.

“I hope justice will be done.”

– Jhon Jairo Fabio Largacha, police officer attacked at El Dorado

The law, Article 429 of Law 599 of 2000, states that “whoever exercises violence against a public servant, by reason of his functions or to force him to execute or omit any act proper to his position or to perform one contrary to his official duties, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for four (4) to eight (8) years.” However, the security measure (instance in which the time and place of imprisonment is established) was not requested.

Sozio, a boxer by trade, according to Cambio Colombia, was detained by Migración Colombia. He told the police that he entered Colombia from Panama and that he was in the country undergoing drug detoxification treatment.

At the hearing, the Canadian did not accept charges when he was presented before a judge.

Jhon Jairo Fabio Largacha, the police patrolman attacked by Sozio told Semana magazine that “a guy came at me from behind and tried to take my gun; I turned around, asked the man what was wrong, he did not answer me, ignored me, and walked a few steps forward, obviously seeing the man’s attitude I asked for support through the communications radio to be able to identify him.

He added that, “I hope justice will be done.”

Whether or not Largacha feels that the punishment fits the crime, Sozio also avoided a jail sentence but was similarly deported and cannot return to Colombia for at least 10 years.