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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, December 23rd 2024 - 09:34 UTC

Tag: Colombia

  • Saturday, May 20th 2023 - 11:31 UTC

    Drug lord Pablo Escobar legacy to Colombia, the invasive ecosystem engineers, African hippos

    The infamous Pablo Escobar, smuggled four hippos from a wildlife park in Dallas, Texas, into his new exotic zoo east of Medellín, his city.

    The legacy of Colombian drugs lord Pablo Escobar has not only been the ongoing gangs war and the overall violence in the country, but also consequences of some of his hobbies, for example growing exotic fauna, such as hippos.

  • Thursday, May 18th 2023 - 11:00 UTC

    Children survive aircraft crash after 17 days in Colombia

    All three adults on the aircraft were found dead

    Four children who had been missing for 17 days since the single-engined Cessna 206 aircraft they were riding plunged into the ground were found alive Tuesday by Colombian authorities, it was reported Wednesday in Bogota. The survivors are 13, 9, and 4 years old, and 11 months. The three adults also aboard the aircraft perished in the accident.

  • 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.

  • Wednesday, May 3rd 2023 - 11:03 UTC

    ELN, Colombian gov't resume talks in Havana

    “We reaffirm our country's willingness to contribute to the success of this century of dialogues,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez explained

    The Government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group Tuesday resumed peace talks in Havana, Cuba, while President Gustavo Petro is on a tour of Spain.

  • 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.

  • Friday, April 21st 2023 - 10:35 UTC

    Petro meets Biden at the White House and asks for help fighting drug trafficking

    Colombia will not provide any military support to either Russia or Ukraine, Petro also said

    During a meeting Thursday at the White House, Colombian President Gustavo Petro asked his US colleague Joseph Biden for more boats, drones, and ships to stop drug traffickers in the South American country because so far such a war has “failed.”

  • Monday, April 10th 2023 - 10:16 UTC

    Petro OK with meeting former paramilitary leaders

    Petro still wants millions of Colombians to organize themselves to achieve total peace

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro Sunday said he was willing to meet with former paramilitary leaders to discuss the peace process. The head of state, a former guerrilla fighter himself, insisted that those who have served their sentences and who have publicly expressed their willingness to meet should explain “to what extent” the “peace process ... can be finished and finalized.”

  • Wednesday, March 22nd 2023 - 10:16 UTC

    Puebla Group supports CFK at Buenos Aires gathering

    “If we have to fight against drug trafficking, first we have to fight against the financial system that launders drug money,” CFK noted

    The Puebla Group Tuesday expressed its support to Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK) during a convention at Buenos Aires' Centro Cultural Kirchner (CCK).

  • Monday, March 20th 2023 - 14:18 UTC

    Petro declares end of ceasefire for AGC Clan

    The Gulf Clan has other priorities over peace, Petro explained

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro Sunday announced he was suspending the bilateral ceasefire with the so-called Clan del Golfo outlaw group following a mining strike that the criminal organization was promoting in the northwest region.