Colombians elected one-time guerrilla Gustavo Petro as Bogotá mayor, the country’s second most powerful post after the presidency, in a poll on Sunday devoid of the bloodshed that marked campaigning.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on Saturday that the death of ousted Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi is a moral blow for the FARC that allegedly had ties to the north African leader.
President Barack Obama signed into law the free trade agreement with Colombia Friday, marking the end of seven years of legislative effort. Obama also signed similar trade agreements with Panama and South Korea. The US Congress sent the trade bills to Obama after ratifying the agreements October 12.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas is scheduled to visit Colombia, a country which holds a non permanent seat at the UN Security Council and could cast a decisive vote for the recognition of a State of Palestine.
The Colombian army has found 1,961 landmines this year that were planted by FARC guerrillas in Putumayo, a jungle province on Colombia’s southern border with Ecuador and Peru, military spokesmen said.
The difficult international situation has not affected the equity markets integration process of Colombia, Chile and Peru, said the president of Colombia’s Stock Exchange, Juan Pablo Córdoba.
Colombia’s new defence minister vowed on Monday a forceful response to illegal armed groups and more innovation in confronting guerrillas and drug barons in the country.
Argentina has rapidly displaced the US as the main supplier to Colombia of corn and in near future wheat, with volumes soaring from 99.000 tons in 2007 to over 2.2 million tons currently, points out Agrimoney.
Colombia's Defence Minister Rodrigo Rivera resigned Wednesday amid growing criticism of the security forces and increasing attacks by the narco-terrorist rebel groups in the country. Last week it was also revealed that the number of ‘disappeared’ in Colombia is almost 62.000.
Business climate remained stable in Latin America during the second quarter of the year in spite of signs of the incipient global financial crisis, according to the Brazilian Foundation and think-tank Getulio Vargas. Uruguay and Colombia led the pack of the most pro-business countries in the region.