Search Results for: Colombia

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced Sunday that he suspended a ceasefire with the Clan del Golfo, Colombia’s largest drug trafficking cartel. Petro’s decision was triggered by allegations of rifle attacks by the organization against police forces. The Colombian government unveiled a bilateral ceasefire with the organization on December 31, 2022. However, the government already had [...]

Freedom and democracy are slumping worldwide, trends spurred on by rising authoritarianism, media suppression, and myriad governments’ failures to adhere to the rule of law, advocacy group Freedom House warned in its 2023 Freedom in the World report, released Thursday. The annual report, which ranks the world’s countries and territories from most to least free, [...]

The unconstitutional state of affairs doctrine, having its roots in a 1998 judgement of the Colombian Constitutional Court (CCC), has gained immense popularity due to the systemic, policy-based, manifestly illegal acts of executive branches of governments worldwide. Calls for recognizing the existence of an unconstitutional state of affairs have persistently been made in the Latin [...]

The leader of one of the largest cocaine distributors in the world Wednesday pleaded guilty to running a criminal enterprise and drug trafficking charges. Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, also known as “Otoniel,” pleaded guilty to running a continuing criminal enterprise under 21 USC §848. While the charge carries a maximum term of life imprisonment, as [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported Tuesday that killings of journalists “rose sharply” last year, with 68 journalists being killed in 2022. This is a 50 percent increase from 2021. Of those deaths, CPJ confirmed that 41 were related to their journalistic work. CPJ continues to investigate the other 26 killings to determine if [...]

Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group Saturday released a joint statement saying that they will resume peace talks in Mexico next month, in response to the government recently declaring, and then subsequently calling off, a bilateral ceasefire. These talks have been in process since last year, with the goal of bringing an end [...]

A court in British Columbia, Canada, Tuesday fined Teck Metals, Ltd. $2.2 million CAD for a toxic spill in the Columbia River, Environment and Climate Change Canada reports. The vast majority of the fine, $2 million CAD, will go towards Canada’s federal Environmental Damages Fund to strengthen conservation efforts. Teck Metals, a subsidiary of Teck [...]

The spokesperson for the Colombian government Wednesday announced the suspension of a recent ceasefire with the National Liberation Army (ELN). Alfonso Prada, official spokesperson and minister of the interior, said the “legal effects” of the negotiated deal would be immediately nullified. The announcement came after the ELN denied that it had reached a deal with [...]

Colombia’s government program known as the Victim Reparation Fund (VPF), Tuesday announced that $5.7 million will be distributed to victims of paramilitary groups. The compensation is for 8,287 victims of the paramilitary groups of Central Bolivar, Mineros and Libertadores del Sur. The victims include individuals who have been forcibly displaced and victims of sexual violence. [...]

US officials Thursday announced a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any individuals responsible for the death of Paraguayan prosecutor Marcello Pecci. In May, Pecci was shot while on his honeymoon in Isla Barú, Cartagena, Colombia. Pecci served as a Paraguayan prosecutor on high-profile organized crime and drug cartel [...]