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Samuel Adrián’s arrest in Colombia has intensified a growing debate over freedom of expression, gender ideology, and the protection of children.

Mexican YouTuber Samuel Adrián landed at Bogotá’s El Dorado Airport on Sunday, 13 September, and was detained minutes later by the Colombian National Police. He had committed no murder, robbery, or abuse against anyone. His “crime” was expressing a politically incorrect truth through his documentary, “Colombia: Fábrica de Niños Trans” (Colombia: Factory of Trans Children).

On 5 December 2025, a court in Cali, Colombia, issued an order demanding that the content creator remove certain clips from his social media. These were images in which a doctor revealed the dangers associated with gender transitions in children and adolescents.

After he refused and published the documentary, a Cali court ordered his arrest for 10 days and imposed a fine. “Ten days and a fine” — Samuel Adrián repeated this phrase in a video recorded during a layover last weekend while travelling to Colombia. He knew what awaited him.

Liliana Castañeda, an advisor to the Colombian Congress, revealed for this article that the filmmaker had been invited to the South American country to give a lecture on Tuesday afternoon and to accompany several politicians that same morning during the “formal presentation of a bill seeking to ban gender ideology in Colombian schools.”

Now, although Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella sympathises with the cause, Samuel Adrián remains in custody. Castañeda is confident he will be released soon.

Millions Watch As Debate Intensifies

Regarding the attacks on the documentary — which culminated in his arrest this Sunday — Samuel Adrián confided in me that, contrary to his detractors’ intentions, the backlash sparked massive public outrage, generated millions of views, and garnered support from journalists, lawyers, and public figures across various countries. I can attest that even from Cuba — where internet access is difficult due to high costs — colleagues were sending me the link to the film.

After premiering on YouTube on 17 May 2026, the documentary went viral and made such an impact on Hispanic audiences that some compared it to the counter-cultural work “What Is a Woman?” by American political commentator Matt Walsh.

With over 3.2 million views, the documentary has fueled a debate in the South American nation regarding human nature, new totalitarian-style ideologies, the advancement of the trans agenda targeting minors in Colombia, and the “cultural, medical, and social consequences” for future generations.

According to Samuel Adrián, the film allowed many people to learn for the first time about something that had been happening away from public scrutiny for years.

A Gender Clinic Under Scrutiny

When I asked him a few months ago about the repercussions, he replied with a single word: “enormous.” One consequence was bringing to light the promotion of gender transition for minors within one of Colombia’s most important medical institutions: the Valle del Lili Foundation in Cali.

“Millions of people heard Dr Angulo mention the consequences of subjecting children to these procedures,” Samuel Adrián recounted. “From infertility, loss of bone density, and other physical development issues, to the pressure placed on many parents to initiate their children’s transition — often suggesting that if they didn’t, the children risked falling into depression and taking their own lives.”

In the wake of the documentary, “the gender clinic was removed from the Valle del Lili Foundation’s service offerings, and the doctor who ran it, Mario Angulo, can no longer perform procedures on minors within that program.”

The victory represented by the clinic’s closure, he stated, “demonstrates that when people get informed, speak up, and refuse to remain silent, things can change.”

“Many people understand that this is no longer just about a documentary,” he told me. “It is about the right to share information of public interest, to defend freedom of expression, and to protect children.”

At the start of the documentary, a scene sets the project’s personal tone. Samuel Adrián is packing for a trip to South America, but first — silhouetted against the light — he kisses his wife, Dania, and the two young children born of their young marriage. The filmmaker thus reveals just how personal and sensitive the subject he is about to explore is to him, given that he views it also through the eyes of a father.

And a father — a man of faith and integrity — is capable of anything for the love of Truth. Let us hope the Colombian authorities understand this and prioritise it over the strident cries of an ideology of death.

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Republished thanks to The Washington Stand. Image courtesy of Adobe.