Colombia, a top source of coca, the base ingredient in cocaine, eradicated more than 100,000 hectares of the crop last year, President Ivan Duque said on Thursday. The Andean country has come under repeated pressure from the United States, an important destination for cocaine shipments, to reduce coca cultivation, especially as crop figures shot up in recent years.
Bogota's first woman mayor Claudia Lopez took office on Wednesday, promising leadership in the troubled Colombian capital and pledging to fight racism, class distinctions and xenophobia.
Two strong earthquakes, of magnitude 6.2 and magnitude 5.7, struck central Colombia on Tuesday, the Colombian Geological Service said, but there were no immediate reports of any injuries or major damage.
Widespread street protests in Colombia are likely to force embattled President Ivan Duque to make major changes to his tax reform proposal if he wants to pass the bill before a year-end deadline.
A teenager who became a symbol of ongoing protests in Colombia when he was injured by a teargas canister died of his wounds late on Monday, after President Ivan Duque met with unions and business leaders on the fifth straight day of demonstrations.
Colombia said on Monday it was expelling 59 Venezuelans for taking part in street protests, as conservative President Ivan Duque gathered with business and labor leaders in a bid to quell violent anti-government protests.
President Ivan Duque, the target of unprecedented anti-government protests in Colombia, on Sunday opened a national dialogue aimed at assuaging popular anger. Duque, a conservative who is deeply unpopular 18 months after his election, initiated the social dialogue with mayors and other officials at 3:00 pm, the presidency said in a statement.
Three police officers were killed in a bomb blast late Friday at a police station in Colombia after thousands gathered for renewed protests and sporadic looting erupted in the capital of Bogota.
Colombia's defense minister has resigned after coming under fire for failing to disclose the deaths of several minors in a military operation. Guillermo Botero submitted his resignation to President Iván Duque on Tuesday evening, citing the current political circumstances.
Claudia Lopez, a symbol of the fight against corruption in Colombia, on Sunday became the first woman to be elected mayor of the capital Bogota.