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The EMC group, which rejected a 2016 peace deal that disarmed the FARC, has suspended direct peace talks with the Colombian government. Image: JOAQUIN SARMIENTO/AFP
FARC dissident group EMC said Sunday that it had suspended peace talks, claiming that Colombia’s government has failed to comply with made agreements.
The guerrillas said that they would uphold a ceasefire that was agreed with the government of President Gustavo Petro three weeks ago.
According to an EMC press release, the peace talks were suspended because of “processes of militarization” in areas that are largely controlled by units of the FARC dissident organization.
Preliminary military assessment has identified the left-wing ELN as responsible for the attack in a northern province.
An attack by the Colombian rebel group known as the National Liberation Army (ELN) has allegedly killed nine government soldiers, in a blow to the government’s efforts to negotiate a truce with armed groups and curb violence in the country.
The attack, one of the deadliest to occur in the last several months, took place on Wednesday in the rural state of Norte de Santander, near the border with Venezuela. It came more than two weeks after the government and the ELN held a second round of ceasefire negotiations in Mexico City.
Otty Patino, head of the negotiation team of the Colombian Government, Danilo Rueda, Colombia's High Commissioner for Peace, Senate Member Ivan Cepeda, Pablo Beltran, head of leftist guerrilla group National Liberation Army (ELN) and Aureliano Carbonell, ELN negotiator, attend a news conference, announcing the second round of peace talks between Colombia's government and ELN for this year, in Caracas, Venezuela January 21, 2023. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
CARACAS (Reuters) - Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group said on Saturday they will resume peace talks in Mexico next month, overcoming a recent impasse after the government recently declared and then called off a bilateral ceasefire.
There was a first cycle of talks last year in Caracas to end the guerrillas' part in nearly six decades of war.
The about-face on the ceasefire came after ELN said it had not agreed to it. The government blamed a misunderstanding of the ELN's position.
Both sides held an emergency meeting in Caracas this week and agreed to hold the second round of negotiations on Feb. 13 in Mexico, one of the guarantor nations for the talks along with Norway, Venezuela, Cuba and Chile.
Antonio Garcia, of the Colombian armed group National Liberation Army (ELN), left, shakes hands with Ivan Danilo Rueda, High Commissioner for Peace on behalf of the Colombian government, after signing an agreement to resume peace talks in Caracas, Venezuela [Ariana Cubillos/AP]
Officials say Norway, Venezuela and Cuba would be “guarantor states” and civil society groups would be “essential”.
Colombia’s government and the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group have announced that they will reestablish peace talks that were suspended in 2018.
Delegations of Colombia’s government and the ELN will restart negotiations after the first week of November, the parties said in a statement on Tuesday signed by ELN commanders Antonio Garcia and Pablo Beltran as well as the country’s high commissioner for peace, Danilo Rueda.
Former fighter in the M-19 militia beat populist business tycoon and fellow political outsider Rodolfo Hernández in runoff on Sunday
Colombia has elected a former guerrilla fighter Gustavo Petro as president, making him the South American country’s first leftist head of state.
Petro beat Rodolfo Hernández, a gaff-prone former mayor of Bucaramanga and business mogul, with 50.47% of the vote in a runoff election on Sunday and will take office in July amid a host of challenges, not least of which is the deepening discontent over inequality and rising costs of living.
Hernández had 47.27%, with almost all ballots counted, according to results released by election authorities.
Bogota (CNN)Colombia's presidential election appears destined for a runoff, after preliminary results on Sunday showed no candidate had garnered over 50% of the votes.
With 98% of the votes counted, early results showed left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro with just over 40% of the votes, the populist former mayor of Bucaramanga Rodolfo Hernandez with 28%, and right-wing candidate Federico "Fico" Gutierrez with 23%.
Petro and Hernandez are now expected to face each other during a second round of voting on June 19th.
WNU editor: My friend who follows Colombian politics very closely tells me that the second round of voting is going to be close, but the odds favour left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro to win with about 51% - 52% of the vote. My gut tells me that it is 50 - 50 right now.
Colombia's Presidential Vote Headed For A Runoff On June 19th
Rodolfo Hernandez, independent presidential candidate, speaks during a presidential debate at the Corferias convention center in Bogota, Colombia, on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Candidate Gustavo Petro maintains a lead ahead of the May 29 vote but would face a technical tie in a likely runoff with the top three contenders. Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Colombians head to the polls on Sunday amid strong indications that the anti-establishment mood sweeping Latin America could lead them to abandon the pro-business Washington-centered model they’ve embraced for decades.
Presidential frontrunner Gustavo Petro, 62, a one-time guerrilla and later Bogota mayor, has tapped especially younger voters’ yearning for radical change, pledging to tax wealthy landowners, go green by phasing out oil and coal and restore ties with the socialist government next door in Venezuela.
WNU Editor: A recent Colombia poll says Gustavo Petro is ahead with 37.9% .... Presidential frontrunner Gustavo Petro (Telesur). The second round will be held on June 19.
Washington: US President Joe Biden said in a memorandum that he officially designated Colombia to be considered a major non-NATO ally to the United States.
“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America… I hereby designate Colombia as a Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States for the purposes of the Act and the Arms Export Control Act,” Biden said in the memorandum on Monday.
The designation will provide Colombia the opportunity to benefit from special access to US military and economic programs, but it does not provide security guarantees like those given to NATO members.
* A video recorded by a villager in Norte de Santander, Colombia, captured the moment a helicopter transporting President Iván Duque came under fire
* The incident took place Friday near the border with Venezuela
* The helicopter was able to land without issue at Camilo Daza Airport in Cúcuta
* The military helicopter was struck by several bullets which were fired from weapons belonging to the Venezuelan military
* Duque was accompanied by two senior officials, the governor of Norte de Santander and other government officials; No injuries were reported
* Rebel group National Liberation Army and dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) 33rd Front may have plotted the attack
* The sketches of the two male suspects they believe to have been involved in the shooting were released
* Authorities are offering reward of 3 million Colombian pesos, about $809,000
Harrowing video captured the moment a military helicopter transporting Colombian president Iván Duque was struck by in a failed attempt to take down the aircraft.
The viral video footage shows the helicopter flying over a town in the department of Norte de Santander near the border with Venezuela on Friday.
Dozens of shots were fired at at it before safely landing at Camilo Daza Airport in Cúcuta.
* The Colombian government said 36 people, including two civilians, were injured after a car bomb exploded inside a military base in Cucutá on Tuesday
* Two individuals arrived at the 30th Military Brigade complex at 3:05pm local time before the first bomb went off at 3.10pm
* A second bomb, also place inside the SUV, exploded at 3.12pm, next to a building where U.S. military personnel were being housed
* The U.S. Embassy in Colombia announced that no American military personnel was injured in the attack
* Colombia President Iván Duque said the National Liberation Army, Colombia's largest remaining rebel group, may have been responsible for the blast
* Dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia's 33rd front, could likely be the authors, Duque said
* A reward of $135,000 is being offered reward for information that could lead authorities to the capture of the those who were behind the attack
At least 36 people, including two civilians, were injured after a car bomb exploded near a building where U.S. military personnel were staying at a military base in Colombia on Tuesday.
Colombia officials said that three people were in critical condition.
Cellphone video recorded by an individual at the 30th Military Brigade complex in the border town of Cucutá captured the moment the vehicle exploded a second time while smoke billowed.
Mass protests continued for a seventh day in Colombia as international groups and celebrities have begun to call attention to the violence that has resulted in at least 24 deaths and left hundreds more injured.
Colombia's ombudsman said Wednesday that 24 people – 23 civilians and one police officer – have been killed in the protests that started April 28.
The recent unrest was originally sparked by Colombian President Ivan Duque last month attempting to pass a tax reform bill aimed at mitigating the country's economic crisis that would raise taxes on some essential items and public services.
Anger at tax proposal morphed into wider unrest and was met by heavy-handed police response
The dead include a ninth-grader who went out to protest with his brother; an artist shot in the head as cameras rolled; and a teenager whose mother’s anguished cries of grief – “son, I want to be with you!” – have been shared thousands of times online.
At least 19 people were killed and hundreds more injured during days of protests across Colombia, in which tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to demonstrate against a tax overhaul meant to fill a pandemic-related fiscal hole.
* At least seven demonstrators died and 151 others were injured, including 96 cops, in Colombia after clashes prompted by a man who died in police custody
* Wednesday night's unrest came after Javier Ordóñez, 46, died in police custody in Bogota shortly after midnight
* Protesters clashed with the police and vandalized police precincts and emergency response centers
* Juan David Uribe and other friends filmed as officers pinned Ordóñez to the ground, shot him with a Taser and beat him
* The father-of-two can be heard screaming 'please, no more' as he is shocked
* Ordóñez was taken to a local police station house where he was reportedly beaten and then rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead
* The two police officers seen on the video tasering and assaulting Ordóñez have been suspended
* Footage also shows angry protesters attacking two officers with objects
At least seven demonstrators died and 151 cops and demonstrators suffered injuries during a night of unrest, mainly in Colombia's capital Bogotá, on Wednesday after a 46-year old soon-to-be lawyer and father-of-two died in police custody.
Footage of the unrest showed a group of protesters angry over the death of Javier Ordóñez charging at and attacking two cops with objects in Bogotá before several other joined in and kicked the defenseless officers.
Several videos shared on social media also captured the moment police station houses and emergency response centers were vandalized and set on fire.
The defense ministry said 55 demonstrators were hurt and hospitalized. At least 87 of the 96 cops injured were assigned to the Bogotá police department. A total of 56 police precincts were damaged and 53 centers for emergency response were destroyed.
Anti-government demonstrations continue as protesters commemorate the death of a teenager killed by a police projectile
Bogota, Colombia - Thousands of Colombians took to the streets for the seventh-consecutive day on Wednesday amid anger over economic reforms, to push for an end to corruption, better implementation of a crucial peace deal, and with many demanding the resignation of President Ivan Duque.
The protests were also a tribute to Dilan Cruz, an 18-year-old protester who died from brain damage on Sunday two days after a projectile fired by riot police hit his head. Many students and teachers attended Wednesday's march holding posters with Cruz's face.
Colombia's President Iván Duque has said security forces will remain on the streets to maintain order, as protests continued for a third day.
The anti-government demonstrations erupted on Thursday, when more than 250,000 marched in a national strike.
They started peacefully but clashes between protesters and police have since broken out, and there have been reports of vandalism and looting.
Mr Duque said troops would carry out joint patrols with police.
"We express the total and absolute rejection of all Colombians for the vandalism, for the terrorism, for the looting," Mr Duque told reporters on Saturday.
Border closures, curfews and bans on sale of alcohol announced as tens of thousands are expected to march amid wave of turmoil.
Colombia’s government has announced plans to close its borders, part of a string of measures to contain mass strikes and protests planned this week amid sweeping unrest in South America.
Tens of thousands are expected to join protests on Thursday against the right-wing government of Iván Duque, whose popularity has dwindled steadily since he took office in August last year.
The marches, announced weeks ago following proposed austerity measures, come amid a wave of political turmoil across the region: Chile has seen more than a month of anti-government protests, which last week led its political parties to agree to a referendum on replacing the country’s dictatorship-era constitution; Bolivia is still reeling from the military-backed ousting of the president, Evo Morales. Colombia’s neighbours are also mired in political turbulence: Ecuador’s president, Lenín Moreno, was forced to backtrack on austerity measures by a wave of popular protest, while Venezuela is still mired in economic collapse and political violence.
* Tens of thousands of desperate Venezuelans have cross the border into Colombia, seeking relief from economic and political turmoil at home.
* Criminal organizations and rebel groups in Colombia apparently see the influx as a pool of potential recruits help them produce drugs and fight the government.
ARAUCA/CUCUTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Venezuela's crisis is spilling across the border into Colombia as Marxist rebels and right-wing paramilitaries recruit migrants to strengthen their ranks, according to five Colombian military commanders.
Violence still simmers in Colombia despite a 2016 peace deal with leftist FARC rebels, meant to end five decades of conflict. Dissident FARC fighters, the rebel National Liberation Army (ELN), right-wing paramilitaries and drug-trafficking gangs are battling each other and the military.
Keen for recruits, these armed groups are targeting Venezuelans as they traverse the porous 1,380-mile frontier at illegal border crossings, according to the military officials, human rights officials and migrants themselves.
The war on drugs could get ugly in Colombia after the country’s new government said it would ignore crop substitution agreements made with 75,000 coca-growing families and send in the military.
Two days after taking office, Defense Minister Guillermo Botero said that the government would withdraw from the agreements made between the previous administration, the United Nations and the farmers in May last year.
Botero bluntly said that “voluntary substitution is over” and that he would return to forcible eradication and aerial fumigation, breaking yet another state promise made in a peace agreement with the FARC.
The new policy ignores the advice of the UN and local experts who have warned that the government again breaking its word could result in increased violence, without providing long-term solutions to a decades-old problem.
I have been involved in numerous computer science projects since the 1980s, as well as developing numerous web projects since 1996.
These blogs are a summation of all the information that I read and catalog pertaining to the subjects that interest me.
