Shocking scenes unfolded at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota on Sunday night after a man violently slapped a woman across the face for refusing to give up a seat at a Colombian terminal, sparking a full-scale brawl in the terminal. Footage of the ordeal, now widely circulated online, shows Hector Santacruz confronting Claudia Segura after she took a seat next to his wife, which he claimed was already occupied. According to reports from the Daily Mail and local outlet El Tiempo, the incident occurred while Santacruz had stepped away. Segura said she found only one empty chair when she arrived at the packed gate area, “I didn’t have any bags or clothes on me to indicate it was occupied, so I sat down,” she explained.Santacruz’s wife, Karen, had informed Segura that the seat was occupied, but she was finishing a work related call and stayed seated. When Santacruz returned, he demanded she vacate the spot and became irritated when she refused. “Get up or I’ll get you up,” he warned, before asking someone nearby to film the confrontation. He then knocked the phone from Segura’s hand and struck her in the face. “He hits me on the hand, knocks off my phone, and hits me hard in the face and head. The magnitude of the impact knocked my earring off,” Segura told El Tiempo. Witnesses reacted immediately, with several men rushing to her defence and shoving Santacruz away.As tensions escalated, more travellers joined the scuffle, while Santacruz attempted to fend them off, shouting aggressively. His wife also stepped in, trying to calm the chaos. Footage taken moments later showed Segura lying on the floor as airport staff attended to her injuries. She was later taken to urgent care for treatment. “I am affected and very afraid,” she said. Santacruz was escorted away in handcuffs by airport security to the applause of onlookers. It is still unclear whether he will face formal charges, New York Post reported. His wife later released an emotional apology via Instagram. “The person shown physically assaulting a woman is my husband. And you don’t know how much it hurts me to say this out loud,” she said, adding, “It really hurts me as a woman, as a mother.”
