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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 19th 2024 - 00:01 UTC

Tag: Gustavo Petro

  • 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.

  • 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 17th 2023 - 09:11 UTC

    Petro lands in NY for busy week leading up to Summit with Biden

    Petro has a busy agenda before Thursday's meeting at the White House

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro Sunday landed in New York for a series of engagements leading to a bilateral summit with his United States colleague Joseph Biden at the White House on April 20.

  • 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.”

  • 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.

  • Friday, February 24th 2023 - 10:19 UTC

    Colombia to endorse Bolivia's bid to remove coca from list of banned substances

    The Uruguay-born Gil insisted authorities should tackle the mafias behind the illegal cocaine business, not peasants chewing coca leaves

    The Colombian government of leftwing President Gustavo Petro announced it will endorse Bolivia's request before the United Nations (UN) for the declassification of the coca leaf as a narcotic drug, it was reported.