Tag: Juan Manuel Santos

• Monday, June 16th 2014 - 07:04 UTC

  Santos and his promise of peace wins the run off in Colombia

  

  Incumbent President candidate Juan Manuel Santos was reelected by a margin of over 5 percentage points in the second round of Colombia's’s elections, defeating conservative Democratic Center candidate Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, who concede defeat and congratulated the winner.

• Saturday, June 14th 2014 - 09:39 UTC

  Colombian business community openly sides with Santos and the peace talks

  

  President Juan Manuel Santos’ re-election bid received the backing of a large group of Colombia’s most important businessmen and the country’s wealthiest man, billionaire Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo, who spoke up in favor of ongoing peace negotiations with the FARC.

• Friday, June 13th 2014 - 09:02 UTC

  Colombia Sunday's election: a referendum on the peace talks with FARC

  

  Colombians pick a new president on Sunday in a tight runoff election, kind of referendum, fought over whether peace talks with Marxist inspired and drugs financed guerrillas, or a renewed military offensive stand the best chance of ending 50 years of war in the country rich in resources and with one of the more stable economies in the region.

• Monday, June 9th 2014 - 06:01 UTC

  FARC declares a cease fire for the Colombian residential election runoff

  

  Colombia's FARC rebels declared a ceasefire on Sunday from June 9 to 30, a period that will cover a run-off presidential election being contested mainly over how to end five decades of war with the guerrillas.

• Monday, May 26th 2014 - 07:50 UTC

  Colombia: Zuluaga and Santos, plus allies, will decide on the peace dialogue on 15 June

  

  Right-wing opposition candidate Oscar Ivan Zuluaga won most votes in Colombia's presidential election on Sunday but fell short of a first-round victory and will face President Juan Manuel Santos in a close runoff on 15 June.

• Friday, May 23rd 2014 - 11:52 UTC

  Santos-Uribe rivalry has turned the presidential campaign into a mudslinging contest

  

  Accusations of bribes from drug traffickers, spying and email hacking have turned Colombia’s presidential election into an ugly slugfest that has further polarized a country trying to emerge from its violent past.

• Saturday, May 17th 2014 - 08:55 UTC

  Another chapter of Colombia peace talks closed; FARC admits links with the drug trade

  

  Colombia's government and FARC rebels announced on Friday an agreement to jointly combat illicit drug trade in the country as part of a six-point peace plan. The deal comes ahead of May 25 elections in the country and is an implicit admission of the guerrillas' links with the drug trade.

• Thursday, May 8th 2014 - 04:38 UTC

  Colombian May 25 presidential candidates suffer severe credibility blows

  

  Just three weeks before Colombia’s presidential election begins, President Juan Manuel Santos’ re-election campaign has been hit by yet another blow. His chief campaign strategist J.J. Rendón resigned on Monday night amid controversial allegations that he took 12 million dollars from some of Colombia’s top drug lords in exchange for helping to negotiate their surrender with positive terms.

• Tuesday, March 11th 2014 - 06:12 UTC

  Santos coalition retains Congress majority, but Uribe becomes head of the opposition

  

  Colombian voters showed tepid support for peace talks with FARC guerrillas on Sunday by giving the country's president Juan Manuel Santos a majority in Congress, but also electing his conservative rival, ex-president Alvaro Uribe, to the senate.

• Monday, March 10th 2014 - 06:48 UTC

  Colombian congress election seen as a referendum of peace talks

  

  Colombians went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new Congress, in a vote seen as a referendum on peace talks with the FARC guerrillas and an anticipation for May's presidential election.