October 31, 2023

Message Received

Colombian opposition candidates secured a series of victories in the country’s gubernatorial and local elections this week, dealing a blow to the leftist coalition government of President Gustavo Petro as it struggles with low approval ratings, Reuters reported. Sunday’s polls for mayors, governors and other regional...

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September 29, 2023

Those Left Behind

Thousands of Indigenous people protested in the Colombian capital Bogota this week to voice their concerns over the ongoing wave of violence that has disproportionately affected their communities across the country, Al Jazeera reported. Members of the so-called “Minga” – a collective movement of Indigenous people...

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August 01, 2023

Sins of the Son

The son of embattled Colombian President Gustavo Petro was arrested for money laundering and illicit enrichment this week, for allegedly taking funds from drug traffickers in exchange for including them in his father’s peace efforts to end a decades-old guerilla war, Reuters reported. Nicolas Petro, a...

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June 22, 2023

Downward Bound

Thousands of Colombians took to the country’s streets this week to protest against the policies of President Gustavo Petro, as Colombia’s first leftist leader struggles to keep his parliamentary coalition together amid internal disputes and a corruption scandal, the Associated Press reported. Tuesday’s demonstrations targeted some...

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May 24, 2023

Slow March to Peace

Colombia’s government this week suspended a ceasefire agreement with a rebel group accused of killing Indigenous people in a recent attack, another setback for leftist President Gustavo Petro’s efforts to achieve peace with the country’s armed groups, Al Jazeera reported. Officials announced they will resume attacks...

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March 06, 2023

Burdens of Power

The Colombian government negotiated the successful release of 88 hostages over the weekend who were taken during deadly protests against an oil company in the country’s south, Al Jazeera reported. Last week, thousands of protesters from farming and Indigenous communities in the Caquetá province shut down...

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January 02, 2023

Half Peace

The Colombian government agreed to a six-month ceasefire with the five largest armed groups in the country, a truce that is part of leftist President Gustavo Petro’s efforts to end decades of conflict in Colombia, Agence France-Presse reported. Petro announced the ceasefire on New Year’s Eve,...

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October 06, 2022

Rehabilitation Redux

The Colombian government and the country’s largest remaining guerrilla group are planning to restart peace talks, four years after the initial negotiations were suspended amid disagreements between the two parties, the Associated Press reported. After meeting in Venezuela’s capital this week, delegates of the Colombian government...

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August 30, 2022

Open Arms

Colombia and Venezuela formally restored relations Monday, ending a three-year-long diplomatic impasse between the two neighboring countries, Bloomberg reported. The restart of relations comes less than a month after leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro took office. Petro – the country’s first leftist leader – vowed to...

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July 06, 2022

Petro-fied

The president-elect of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, was in jail when his leftist guerilla movement, M-19, stormed the Palace of Justice in the South American country’s capital, Bogotá, in 1985. They launched the attack with the financial backing of drug lord Pablo Escobar in hopes of...

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