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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 3rd 2024 - 13:15 UTC

Tag: Gustavo Petro

  • Friday, June 30th 2023 - 10:47 UTC

    Petro says false positives were “the worst contemporary crime”

    Petro made these statements while his approval ratings are rapidly decreasing

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro stressed Thursday that the so-called “false positives” were “the worst contemporary crime.” He was referring to the more than 6,400 extrajudicial executions committed by federal troops supposedly fighting rebel guerrillas. Petro made those statements after eight military personnel admitted their participation in some of those executions.

  • Saturday, June 10th 2023 - 09:50 UTC

    Miracle in the Colombian rainforest

    President Petro wrote on Twitter and posted a photo of military personnel and indigenous people, purportedly involved in the rescue operation.

    Four Indigenous children who went missing in the Colombian Amazon after surviving a plane crash 40 days ago have been found alive, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Friday. The small crash triggered a massive rescue operation for the four siblings.

  • Thursday, June 8th 2023 - 10:26 UTC

    Petro warns “soft coup” against him will not prevail

    Castillo was alone. Petro is not alone, the Colombian President stressed.

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro Wednesday said he could face the same fate as Peru's Pedro Castillo Terrones as Congress might try to impeach him out of office. “Once the reforms are overthrown, they intend to destroy me in the Commission of Accusations,” Petro argued while urging lawmakers not to betray “the will of the people”.

  • Wednesday, May 31st 2023 - 11:03 UTC

    Colombia returns to Unasur, Petro announces

    Former Colombian President Iván Duque had withdrawn from Unasur citing it only served the purposes of “Venezuela's dictatorship”

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro Tuesday announced in Brasilia the return of his country to the Union of South American Nations (Unasur). “I have requested that it be called Association of South American Nations to guarantee pluralism and permanence in time,” said Petro five years after then-President Ivan Duque left the organization claiming that it served the interests of the “dictatorship” of Venezuela.

  • Wednesday, May 31st 2023 - 10:50 UTC

    South American Presidents sign Brasilia Consensus

    Argentina's Alberto Fernández insisted that if “disagreements are strengthened, everything breaks down.”

    After the Summit of South American leaders in Brasilia, the 11 attending presidents reached a consensus on cooperation and integration in the region.

  • Monday, May 22nd 2023 - 09:28 UTC

    UK pledges further financial aid to Colombia

    Petro and Cleverly also discussed key regional and international issues

    British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly Sunday announced in Bogota that his country would commit £ 3.6 million to help the Colombian Government. “From the protection of the Amazon and the fight against climate change to the promotion of peace and security, the United Kingdom wants to be a key partner and friend of Colombia,”

  • Monday, May 15th 2023 - 10:45 UTC

    Petro downplays risk of coup d'état

    “What happened in Peru will not happen here,” Petro said.

    After a group of retired military officers made dubious statements, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said this weekend that a situation like the one Peru went through is unlikely to happen in his country and that he feared no coup d'état.

  • Thursday, May 11th 2023 - 10:41 UTC

    Colombian president wants compulsory military service to end

    Petro also wants to increase the wages of the military personnel

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro wants his country to have more professional armed forces and thus bring the compulsory military service to an end, it was reported Wednesday in Bogota. The head of state also insisted on further funding the activity. In September last year, then Interior Minister Alfonso Prada had spoken about the government's plan to replace mandatory military service with a voluntary one. In the last five years, 460,113 young people between 18 and 24 years of age served compulsorily in the Armed Forces.

  • Thursday, May 4th 2023 - 10:39 UTC

    Petro critical of Western powers and NATO during speech in Madrid

    In his speech, Petro denounced the Western powers' “invasion” of the Falkland Islands, Grenada, and Panama

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro was welcomed with honors in Madrid by King Felipe VI and jeered at by Vox opposition lawmakers who left the Spanish Congress when the South American leader was to deliver his message. The South American head of state also denounced the United Kingdom's “invasion” of the Falkland Islands, and those of the United States in Santo Domingo, Grenada, and Panama.

  • Saturday, April 29th 2023 - 10:41 UTC

    Borrell and Petro discuss peace process

    Latin America has to promote peace in Ukraine, but not the peace of the defeated, Borrell tells Petro

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, gathered in Bogota's Casa de Nariño Friday to discuss the ongoing peace process in the South American country and other bilateral issues. Borrell also announced donations of € 26 million.