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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June 21, 2022

Turning Left

Leftist Senator Gustavo Petro won Colombia’s presidential elections Sunday, making him the first leftwing candidate and first former insurgent to be elected as president of the US’ key ally in Latin America, the Wall Street Journal reported. Petro secured slightly more than 50 percent of the...

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May 31, 2022

The Outsiders

Two anti-establishment candidates are heading for a runoff following this weekend’s presidential election, one that dealt a major blow to Colombia’s political class, Axios reported. Leftist Senator Gustavo Petro secured more than 40 percent of the vote, while his right-wing populist rival Rodolfo Hernandez came in...

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March 15, 2022

The Left Wave

Left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro won Colombia’s primary election this week, a victory that puts the former Marxist guerilla fighter as a top contender in May's presidential vote, the Financial Times reported Monday. Petro, who is also a senator and former congressman, will now go to the...

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