Colombian police academy cadets dressed in Nazi regalia at a cultural exchange event. Photo: Twitter.

i24 News – Colombia’s President Ivan Duque issued an apology Friday after cadets at a police academy caused outrage by dressing up as Nazis for a “cultural exchange” event in honor of Germany.

Photos of the ceremony were shared Thursday on an official police Twitter account.

In it, students are seen dressed in the gray-green uniform of the Wehrmacht, one of them sporting a small, Adolf Hitler-style mustache.

Others are dressed in the black uniform of the SS, complete with the red swastika armband.

The black, red and yellow German flag and balloons in the same colors decorated the venue that also featured a replica Luftwaffe plane, copies of Nazi firearms, and swastikas on the tablecloths.

Two police officers in Colombian uniforms inaugurated the event by cutting a ribbon, the pictures showed.

“From the Simon Bolivar police academy in the city of Tulua, we are organizing an #InternationalWeek with guest country #Germany. With these cultural exchanges, we are strengthening the knowledge of our police students,” proclaimed the police Twitter account.

The photos were met with a mixture of anger and incredulity on social media, provoking deep embarrassment for the authorities.

#Colombia’s @PoliciaColombia glorified the Nazis in honor of Germany after Defense Minister @Diego_Molano and ambassador @alemEmbajador signed some kind of bilateral cooperation deal. https://t.co/UzvkLdcQOn

— Colombia Reports (@colombiareports) November 19, 2021