Misión Verdad Following her tour in Africa, the vice president of Colombia, Francia Márquez, publicly thanked tycoon George Soros’ Open Society Foundations for the funding and logistical support of her high-level diplomatic visit to South Africa, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Over the last few days, controversy has grown around Márquez’s remarks, which, in the Colombian political…
Category: COLOMBIA
Colombian Government Partially Suspends Ceasefire with FARC-EP
Peoples Dispatch Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the partial suspension of bilateral ceasefire between the government and the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) on May 22. Photo: Colombian Presidency/Twitter The Petro government suspended the bilateral ceasefire with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), a dissident group of the FARC-EP guerilla group, in four departments after the murder…
Rising Tensions in Colombian Government Peace Talks with the ELN
Peoples Dispatch On May 13, Colombian President Gustavo Petro called on the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group to agree to a ceasefire in one of the regions of the country and then gradually expand it to the national territory with the advance of the peace negotiations. (Photo: Colombian Presidency/Twitter) The proposal was made during…
Petro Meets Biden and Asks for an End to Sanctions against Venezuela
Lucas Estanislau Petro and Biden met at the White House. Photo: Colombian Presidential Press Colombian president proposed an electoral timeline linked to the elimination of sanctions: ‘for the people to decide freely’ Colombian President Gustavo Petro made his first official visit to the United States and met with US President Joe Biden on Thursday April…
Colombian Government and ELN Conclude Second Round of Peace Talks
Peoples Dispatch The Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) concluded the second round of peace talks on March 10, in Mexico. Photo: Francia Márquez/Twitter During the second round of peace talks, the Colombian government and the ELN agreed on a six-point definitive agenda that will guide the following stages of the negotiation process…
Colombian President Announces Peace Talks with FARC Dissident Group
Peoples Dispatch The High Commissioner for Peace of the Colombian government met with the representatives of the Estado Mayor Central group in September 2022 to assess the possibility of initiating dialogues. The Estado Mayor Central is the second irregular armed group with which the Colombian government will seek peace. The Gustavo Petro government is already…
Undefeated Revolutions
On Latin America Review, Kawsachun News spoke to Francisco Dominguez, a researcher at the Middlesex University and the secretary of the Venezuelan Solidarity Campaign, who has long been a pillar of the movements in solidarity of Latin America, in the UK. Francisco, who is Chilean, spoke to Ollie about how Venezuela has managed to survive…
Belly of the Beast: Exclusive Interview with Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez
Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández sat down for an exclusive interview with Colombia’s vice president, Francia Márquez, during Havana’s annual international book fair. During her visit, Márquez made headlines by calling on the U.S. to remove Cuba from its State Sponsors of Terrorism list, citing the fundamental role Cuba has played in…
Colombian Peace Caravan: Bringing the Hope of “Total Peace” to Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Territories
Ajamu Baraka Ajamu Baraka representing BAP’s Haiti/Americas Team was invited to serve as part of an international delegation of human rights defenders that would accompany the activists, community leaders, government officials and representatives of the National Liberation Army (ELN) on an historic “humanitarian Caravan” between January 17 and the 21st to the Indigenous and…
Colombians Hit the Streets in Support of Petro’s Progressive Reforms
Peoples Dispatch On February 14, hundreds of thousands of Colombians took to the streets across the country to express their support for the economic and social reforms promoted by President Gustavo Petro. Photo: Gustavo Petro/Twitter President Gustavo Petro recalled that millions of people voted for “change” in the 2022 elections, and vowed to implement measures…
Colombian President Petro’s Davos Proposal and What it Reveals
Eder Peña The Colombian president went to present his concern about the global environmental crisis to those who are generating it On January 17, Colombian President Gustavo Petro participated in the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, which brought together heads of state and world leaders, and presented Colombia’s proposals to address the climate…
Attacks and Failures of the Right in Latin America
Claudio Katz Bolsonarism was affected by its failed coup. Its foundations in the army, gangs, agribusiness and evangelists are shaken. What are the current perspectives of the extreme right in the continent? Recently, the right-wingers in the region have faced three important setbacks. The failed coup in Brazil was preceded by a failed coup in…
No to a U.S. Military Base on Gorgona: Pressure Mounts on Petro in Colombia
Ariel Noyola Rodríguez Military personnel supervising one of the beaches of Gorgona Island. December 2022 . Courtesy of David Quintero / @davidquintero42 Environmentalists, scientific community and legislators demand the President of Colombia withdraw from the controversial project on ‘Science Island’. Less than three weeks before starting the construction of the dock that will be part…
Colombian Guerrilla Group ELN Declares Temporary Unilateral Ceasefire
Peoples Dispatch The ceasefire is set to last from December 24 until January 2, 2023 “to create an atmosphere of peace” over Christmas and New Year. The announcement comes just days after the conclusion of the first round of peace talks between the ELN and the Colombian government The National Liberation Army (ELN), a left-wing…
NATO in the Amazon: Petro Plays with Fire
Roger D. Harris So Com commander Laura Richardson meeting with Colombia President Gustavo Petro NATO recently expanded to Sweden and Finland, has been de facto incorporated in Ukraine, and may extend to Georgia. Now, NATO’s entry into the Amazon is in the works under the aegis of newly elected President Gustavo Petro of Colombia. NATO is a primary…
President Gustavo Petro at the UN: A Damning Indictment of the US Empire and the United Nations
What follows is a transcription of the speech given by President of Colombia Gustavo Petro in General Debate of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly on September 20, 2022. I come from one of the three most beautiful countries on earth. There is an explosion of life there. Thousands of multicolored species from…
Colombian U.S.-Backed Intelligence Operations Are Bad for Peace
W. T. WHITNEY JR. A Venezuelan couple use the Francisco De Paula Santander Bridge to cross between Urena, Venezuela, and Cucuta, Colombia, Aug. 6, 2022. | Matias Delacroix / AP Colombia’s new president Gustavo Petro wants peace. Colombia’s military, the largest in Latin America, except for that of Brazil, stands in the way. The military…
Colombian President’s Security Delegation Attacked
Peoples Dispatch The government of President Gustavo Petro is willing to negotiate peace agreements with all paramilitary groups to achieve total peace in Colombia. (Photo: Colombian Presidency/Twitter) President Gustavo Petro stated that the violence must end in the country and reiterated his government’s commitment to achieve total peace On Wednesday, August 24, a security delegation…