Categories
Uncategorized

Colombia: At least 23 dead in clashes between armed rebel groups (Steven Grattan, Al Jazeera)

Colombia’s largest remaining armed group has warned of “reprisals” after a government bombing killed one of its top commanders this week, prompting experts to predict a rise in attacks. National Liberation Army (ELN) commander Angel Padilla Romero, better known by the alias Fabian, died in a Cali hospital after being injured in a military bombing on Colombia’s […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Colombia police responsible for 2020 protests ‘massacre’: Report (Al Jazeera)

Police in Colombia are responsible for a “massacre” of protesters during 2020 demonstrations that erupted in Bogota following the killing of a taxi driver in police custody, a report backed by the United Nations has found. The 182-page report published on Monday said Colombian police were responsible for the deaths of 11 people during anti-police brutality […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Former Colombia FARC leader killed in Venezuela: Local media (Al Jazeera)

A former leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who rearmed in the wake of a 2016 peace agreement between the group and the Colombian government, has been killed in Venezuela, according to local media. Hernan Dario Velasquez, known as El Paisa (the Peasant), announced in 2019 that he and several well-known FARC commanders were […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Colombia protesters faced ‘intentional’ police violence: Report (Steven Grattan, Al Jazeera)

More than 100 people sustained eye injuries in a violent crackdown on mass protests this year by the Colombian security forces, notably the country’s anti-riot squad (ESMAD), Amnesty International and other rights groups have found. Colombia saw a wave of nationwide protests that began at the end of April over a tax reform, but public anger later spiralled […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Colombia’s peace process is taking ‘deep roots’, but all sides must work together to overcome lingering challenges (UN News)

The signing of the Final Peace Agreement five years ago generated hope and inspiration in Colombia and throughout the international community, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday that the achievements are undeniable, and the country’s people should be proud. Colombia’s peace process is taking ‘deep roots’, but all sides must work together to […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Rubio: Dropping FARC from terrorist list threatens Colombians, US security (Mychael Schnell, The Hill)

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Wednesday said that removing the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) would threaten Colombians and U.S. security. Rubio: Dropping FARC from terrorist list threatens Colombians, US security | TheHill

Categories
Uncategorized

A Broken Canopy: Deforestation and Conflict in Colombia (Crisis Group)

Colombia’s vast forest is fast receding, partly because guerrillas and criminals are clearing land for farming, ranching and other pursuits. These unregulated activities are causing both dire environmental harm and deadly conflict. Bogotá should take urgent steps to halt the damage. A Broken Canopy: Deforestation and Conflict in Colombia | Crisis Group

Categories
Uncategorized

Joint Statement of the Ministerial Meeting in Bogotá on the Causes and Challenges of Migration (US Department of State)

The text of the following Joint Statement was released by the Governments of Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and the United States on the occasion of the regional Migration Ministerial co-hosted by the United States and Colombia in Bogotá, Colombia on […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Colombia to extradite Otoniel to the US as soon as possible (Al Jazeera)

Colombia plans to extradite the man it calls the world’s most dangerous drug trafficker to the United States where he is wanted on a number of charges. Dairo Antonio Usuga, known as Otoniel, was captured by Colombia’s armed forces during an operation in a rural area of Colombia’s Uraba region on Saturday. The raid involved […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Otoniel: Colombia’s most wanted drug lord captured (Megan Janetsky, Al Jazeera)

Security forces in Colombia have captured Dairo Antonio Usuga, the country’s most wanted drug trafficker. Better known as Otoniel, the leader of the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia or the Gulf Clan, was captured on Saturday in a rural area in the Uraba region. Otoniel: Colombia’s most wanted drug lord captured | Drugs News | Al […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Colombia ‘responsible for kidnap, attack and rape of journalist’ (Al Jazeera)

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has issued a ruling holding Colombia’s government responsible for the kidnap, torture and rape of a journalist by paramilitary groups in 2000. Jineth Bedoya, a reporter at the time for the El Espectador newspaper, was investigating a weapons smuggling ring when she was abducted and assaulted by far-right militia […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Colombians cling tenaciously to peace gains, Security Council hears (UN News)

That was the main message from the Special Representative and head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, delivered to ambassadors at the Security Council on Thursday. For him, the first former conflict zone fully cleared of landmines, and the extension of the Truth Commission, are examples of this success. Mr. Massieu was briefing the Council on the Secretary-General’s Quarterly Report about the situation in the Latin American nation. “As the Secretary-General […]