New York realtor gets banned from Columbia for 10 years after violent airport tirade
Emmanuel Hernandez was waiting in line at an immigration checkpoint when he removed his shirt and launched his physical and verbal attack on agents inside Rafael Núñez International Airport on July 16, Colombia's ministry of external relations alleged.
Hernandez, a New York native living in Tampa, Florida, had traveled to the Columbia for his father's 84th birthday when he became disruptive inside the airport.
5 Emmanuel Hernandez speaks out after his viral meltdown at a Colombian airport on July 16, 2025.
Impacto News
The shirtless traveler directed expletives at officials, tearing apart one of the security booths, knocking off several panels and punching the plexiglass dividers, according to video posted to social media.
'F–k you. You think you can f–k around with the wrong motherf–ker,' Hernandez can be heard shouting.
Hernandez claims he became ill after traveling for two days, staying overnight in hotels, traveling to Peru for two hours and then landing at the Cartagena airport.
'I had just returned from a long trip from Orlando. The trip was postponed for two days and from one day to the next I had to stay in the hotel,' he told Colombia-based outlet Impacto News.
'Upon arriving in Cartagena there was a very long line, I felt bad and it was very hot. I took off my shirt,' he explained.
5 A shirtless Hernandez causing damage to an immigration booth at the Rafael Núñez International Airport in Cartagena, Colombia on July 16, 2025.
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Hernandez claims airport officials began recording him instead of offering assistance, aggravating him.
'When I took off my shirt, there was an immigration officer or people at the airport who started to record me and I told them to please stop, that 'this was part of my privacy and that they shouldn't record me,'' he told the outlet.
Hernandez said he began laughing at one official because he wasn't providing assistance despite the agent working for the Colombian government.
'Instead of helping me and asking me how I was, they started recording me and that was my reaction because it was my privacy and it broke my heart,' he said.
5 Hernandez shouts at an airport law enforcement officer before his arrest.
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5 Hernandez slams an item down during his outburst.
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Several law enforcement officers took down Hernandez and detained him.
Hernandez allegedly assaulted officers and damaged an immigration control module during his public eruption, Colombia's ministry of external relations stated.
He was charged with property damage and eventually expelled from the country for his outburst.
Hernandez, who identifies as Colombian having lived in the country between the ages of 9 and 14, says it will hurt not being allowed to return to the country for a decade.
5 Hernandez was charged with property damage and eventually expelled from the country for his outburst.
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'Not being able to return to Colombia to hug your parents or perhaps receive forgiveness for your aggressive behavior. What hurts me the most is not seeing my parents in Colombia for 10 years. That really hurts me,' Hernandez said.
The realtor revealed he won't be able to travel back to Colombia for 10 years because of his July 16 arrest.
Hernandez maintained his actions inside the airport was a natural human response and shouldn't be penalized for it.
'These things happpen and they were out of my control as a human being,' he said. 'We make mistakes, I am very ashamed.
'I made a mistake and I paid for it with all my soul. Colombia is here,' he added.
Hernandez apologized to the authorities and vowed to pay for the damages he caused.
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