Colombia’s FARC guerrillas agreed in principle Oct. 28 to meet with 150 prominent Colombian intellectual and political figures to discuss a release of hostages. The meeting had been suggested in a Sept. 11 letter by the group, which includes relatives… Read moreColombia: FARC agrees to peace dialogue
Colombian President Ălvaro Uribe announced Oct. 29 the sacking of 25 soldiers and officersâincluding three generals and four colonelsâin connection with the deaths of 11 young men from the town of Soacha, in central Cundinamarca department. The move followed a… Read moreColombia: officers purged over “false positive” executions
Amid growing protests against the controversial Hidroituango dam on Colombia's Río Cauca, three opponents of the project were slain by unknown assailants—weeks before a tunnel in the complex collapsed due to a landslide, backing up water behind the dam to dangerous levels and causing cracks to emerge in its facade. Authorities now fear an imminent disaster, posing a grave threat to downstream communities. Several opponents of the project have been assassinated over the years of its construction, leading to demands for an investigation of possible paramilitary collusion by the dam's builders. (Photo via El Espectador)
The nearly 40,000 indigenous Colombians who marched on Cali in a two-week cross-country trek to meet with President Alvaro Uribe in a dialogue on land reform and human rights issues are preparing to return to their homes in Cauca department… Read moreColombia: Uribe stiffs indigenous leaders
Conservative Colombian congressman Oscar Tulio Lizcano is free Oct. 26 after more than eight years as a hostage of the FARC guerillasâtheir longest-held captive. But news accounts diverge widely on the details of his liberation. CBS says he was “freed”… Read moreColombia: hostage “rescue” âor escape?
Some 30,000 indigenous protesters arrived in the Colombian city of Cali Oct. 25, where President Ălvaro Uribe pledges to meet with their leaders this weekend for a dialogue on land conflicts and investigations into 1,240 indigenous Colombians who have been… Read moreColombia: indigenous protesters march on Cali
Colombian authorities announced Oct. 21 they’ve broken up a drug and money laundering ring in an international operation that included the capture of three suspected of shipping funds to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. More than 100 suspects were arrested in… Read moreColombia: Hezbollah tie to drug gang claimed
Maria del Pilar Hurtado, director of Colombia’s DAS intelligence agency, resigned Oct. 23 following revelations her secret police had been spying on opposition Sen. Gustavo Petro, as part of a probe of his Polo DemocrĂĄtico party’s supposed links to the… Read moreColombia: secret police chief resigns in spy scandal
Colombia’s voters elected conservative Iván Duque as the country's president, handing a decisive defeat to leftist candidate Gustavo Petro in a run-off vote. Duque is political protege of ex-president Alvaro Urbe, a bitter opponent of the peace process with the former FARC guerillas, and campaigned on a pledge to revise the peace deal. A popular referendum on overturning the legislation that was passed to implement the peace deal has been broached.
Since Oct. 12, indigenous and other social organizations in southwestern Colombia have been protesting the militarization of their lands, the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, and the failure of the government of President Alvaro Uribe to comply with agreements relating to… Read moreColombia: police attack indigenous protesters
From Human Rights Watch, Oct. 16: The administration of President Ălvaro Uribe is jeopardizing efforts to secure justice for crimes committed by paramilitaries and their accomplices in Colombia, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 140-page report,… Read moreColombian government hampers justice efforts: HRW
