To view this content, you must be a member of Colombia's Patreon at $1 or more - Click "Read more" to unlock this content at the source The post Cepeda revives Colombia’s parapolitics scandal appeared first on Colombia News.

The Superior Court of Bogota gave far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella 24 hours to stop using national symbols in his presidential campaign. The court additionally told De la Espriella to stop using the word “patria” (homeland) in his propaganda, effectively banning the far-right campaign’s name, “Defensores de la patria” (Defenders of the homeland), and […] The post Court orders De la Espriella to stop using national symbols in campaign appeared first on Colombia News.

Colombia’s top electoral authority, the National Electoral Council (CNE), confirmed the outcome of the presidential election’s first round after finding no evidence of the fraud alleged by outgoing President Gustavo Petro. In a ruling that followed the scrutiny of votes, the CNE confirmed that far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda […] The post Colombia’s election court finds no evidence of mass fraud in 1st round vote appeared first on Colombia News.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said Tuesday that he can prove that the electoral census was inflated with more than 885,000 voter ahead of the first round on the presidential election. In a post on social media platform X, Petro said his decision to reject the results of the preliminary count presented by the National Registry’s […] The post Petro says he has evidence of fraud in Colombia’s first round vote appeared first on Colombia News.

Colombia’s leftist presidential candidate, Senator Ivan Cepeda, said Sunday that he does not accept the preliminary results of the first round election that surprisingly saw far-right attorney Abelardo de la Espriella come out on top. In a speech before supporters, Cepeda called on electoral authorities to scrutinize the allegedly last-minute registry of hundreds of thousands […] The post Elections in Colombia: Cepeda and Petro dismiss preliminary 1st round results appeared first on Colombia ...

Colombia President Gustavo Petro and members of his leftist Historic Pact party have repeatedly clashed with the National Registry over concerns that fraud could decide the upcoming presidential election. The National Registry, which organizes the elections, for weeks has been running ads on social media to convince voters that the electoral system is fraud-proof. The […] The post National Registry fails to dispel repeated fraud concerns of Colombia’s left appeared first on Colombia News.

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US Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) called on Colombia’s electoral authority to disqualify votes from “parts of the country that are not secure” ahead of presidential elections. In a conversation with the Atlantic Council think tank, Moreno said that “I want to encourage the government, the CNE specifically, to consider voter intimidation as a disqualifying event […] The post US Senator calls on Colombia’s election authorities to disqualify votes from violent regions appeared first on Colombia News.

The administration of President Gustavo Petro clashed with Colombia’s judicial branch over its attempt to lift the arrest warrants for members of paramilitary organization EGC. The president’s peace commissioner, Otty Patiño, last week asked the prosecution to suspend arrest warrants of EGC commander Jobanis de Jesus Avila, a.k.a. “Chiquito Malo,” and 28 of his subordinates. […] The post Petro administration clashes with judicial branch over EGC demobilization plans appeared first on Colombia...

The polling firms hired by Colombia’s corporate media ahead of the elections are struggling to comply with stricter polling regulations that took force last year. A commission of experts that monitors compliance with the law, reportedly recommended the National Electoral Council (CNE) to suspend the license of the AtlasIntel, which has been conducting polls for […] The post Pollsters struggling to comply with Colombia’s stricter regulations appeared first on Colombia News.

To view this content, you must be a member of Colombia's Patreon at $1 or more - Click "Read more" to unlock this content at the source The post Is Ecuador meddling in Colombia’s elections? appeared first on Colombia News.

Colombia’s National Electoral Council (CNE) opened an investigation into Senator Ivan Cepeda, the leftist frontrunner in Colombia’s presidential election race, according to Caracol Radio. The CNE reportedly agreed to investigate allegations that Cepeda violated regulations regarding campaign contributions ahead of the primary of his political party, Historic Pact, in October last year. The allegations were […] The post Colombia’s election authority investigating leftist frontrunner appeared f...

At least 20 people were killed and another 45 were injured in a series of guerrilla attacks in southwest Colombia over the weekend. The offensive began on Friday and targeted military and civil infrastructure targets in the Cauca and Valle del Cauca provinces. The worst of the 31 attacks took place on Saturday in the […] The post At least 20 killed in southwest Colombia guerrilla offensive appeared first on Colombia News.

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Authorities in central Colombia agreed to renew the water license of Coca Cola’s bottler in the Cundinamarca province, but drastically reduced the amount of water the soda manufacturer is allowed to use. Cundinamarca’s environmental authority (CAR) reduced the water sources available to Indega, which produced Coca Cola bottles in central Colombia, from seven to four […] The post Colombia reigns in Coca Cola bottler after environmental abuse claims appeared first on Colombia News.

Guatemala’s Supreme Court revoked international arrest warrants for Colombia’s chief prosecutor and the country’s former defense minister. In a ruling, the top court said that the Guatemalan Prosecutor General’s Office abused its powers when it issued the international warrant for the arrest of Colombian Prosecutor General Luz Adriana Camargo and former Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez. […] The post Guatemala revokes arrest warrants for Colombia’s chief prosecutor and former defense minister a...

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said it would try to mitigate effects of the latest war in the Middle East and a recent Central Bank decision to increase interest rate. In a televised address to the nation, Petro announced multiple measures to prevent increased food prices and an economic slowdown, and warned the government may declare an […] The post How Colombia plants to curb effects of Middle East war, central bank interest rate hikes appeared first on Colombia News.

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President Gustavo Petro said that Colombia will pull out of investor protection treaties that allow foreign corporations to sue the State over perceived losses before international tribunals. In a post on social media platform X, Petro said that “I accept the invitation from 200 global economists to change the global investment regime.” Petro said that […] The post Petro says Colombia will pull out of investor protection treaties appeared first on Colombia News.

A late commander of FARC dissident group Segunda Marquetalia (SM) ordered the assassination of the far-right Senator Miguel Uribe, according to the man who admitted to recruiting the assassins. As part of a plea agreement, Simeon Perez, a.k.a. “El Viejo,” admitted before the court that he coordinated the assassination following the orders of senior SM […] The post FARC dissident ordered assassination of Colombia opposition leader appeared first on Colombia News.

The leftist candidate in Colombia’s election race, Senator Ivan Cepeda, announced a criminal complaint against his far-right opponent for allegedly belonging to the now-defunct paramilitary organization AUC. In a press conference, Cepeda said that his team filed a criminal complaint before the Prosecutor General’s Office and the International Criminal Court to investigate whether De la […] The post Cepeda files criminal complaint against De la Espriella over paramilitary ties appeared first o...

Leftist presidential candidate, Senator Ivan Cepeda, appointed an attorney to lead investigations into alleged vote-buying by his opponent, the far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella. In a press conference, Cepeda said Saturday that his campaign received information about “possible financial irregularities and illegal activities on the part of Mr. De la Espriella’s campaign.” The senator […] The post Cepeda campaign begins vote-buying investigation appeared first on Colombia News.

The leftist candidate Ivan Cepeda called US President Donald Trump’s endorsement of his far-right rival, Abelardo de la Espriella, as “somewhat interventionist” and urged respect for Colombia’s sovereignty. In a press statement, Cepeda accused his opponent of taking “unpatriotic actions aimed at having foreign governments intervene to determine the outcome of our election.” De la Espriella […] The post Cepeda says far-right rival “poses serious risk to democracy” in response to Trump endorsem...

The runner-up in the first round of Colombia’s presidential election, Senator Ivan Cepeda, backtracked on allegations that the surprise success of far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella was due to fraud. At a press conference, Cepeda said that “we have not found any evidence of incidents that would… be of such a nature or severity […] The post Cepeda walks back fraud suspicions due to lack of evidence appeared first on Colombia News.

Far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella won the first round of Colombia’s presidential election and will face leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda in a run-off vote on June 21, according to the preliminary count. With 89% of the votes counted, De la Espriella received the support of 44% of Colombia’s voters. Cepeda received 41% of the […] The post De la Espriella wins 1st round of Colombia’s presidential election appeared first on Colombia News.

Local authorities accused guerrilla group ELN of carrying out an attack on a military base in northern Colombia that injured 12 soldiers. The attack on the compound of the local infantry battalion in Riohacha, the capital of La Guajira, was initially reported by the National Army. In a brief press statement, the army condemned the […] The post ELN accused of attacking military barracks in northern Colombia appeared first on Colombia News.

The final poll before the first round of Colombia’s presidential election suggests that the leftist frontrunner, Senator Ivan Cepeda, will have to confront far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella in a run-off vote. According to the poll conducted by Invamer, Cepeda can count of the support of 44.6% of voters, which is only 0.3 points […] The post Final poll before Colombia’s first round vote – Cepeda: 44.6%, De la Espriella: 31.6% appeared first on Colombia News.

The government of Bolivia expelled Colombia’s ambassador to la Paz, Elizabeth Garcia, in response to comments made by President Gustavo Petro about ongoing unrest in the Andean country. In a press statement, Bolivia’s Foreign Ministry said it ordered the ambassador to leave “to uphold the principles of sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, and mutual respect […] The post Bolivia expels Colombia’s ambassador to La Paz appeared first on Colombia News.

Colombia’s finance intelligence unit UIAF informed the House of Representatives that it found “unjustified wealth accumulation” in the tax records of Supreme Court magistrate Cristina Lombana. In a report made public by Caracol Radio, the UIAF said that it found that Lombana and her husband, attorney Leonardo Andres Carvajal, reported a wealth accumulation that allegedly […] The post Colombia’s financial intelligence unit finds “unjustified wealth accumulation” in Supreme Court justice’s reco...

German Vargas, one of Colombia’s most powerful and controversial politicians of the 21st century, has died at 64 after a long battle against cancer. Vargas was born in 1962 into the Lleras dynasty as the grandson of former President Carlos Lleras, who ruled Colombia between 1966 and 1970. The dynasty politician began his political career […] The post German Vargas, Colombia’s former VP, dies at 64 appeared first on Colombia News.

Colombia’s oldest guerrilla organization, the ELN, said Tuesday that it had sentenced two captured prosecution investigators to “revolutionary prison” sentences of up to six years. In a video, a spokesperson of the ELN’s Eastern War Front said that Jesus Antonio Pacheco and Rodrigo Antonio Lopez were spared capital punishment after being found guilty of spying […] The post Colombia’s ELN guerrillas sentence captured prosecutors to 5 years in “revolutionary prison” appeared first on Colombia N...

To view this content, you must be a member of Colombia's Patreon at $1 or more - Click "Read more" to unlock this content at the source The post Abelardo de la Espriella, prophets and gangsters appeared first on Colombia News.

Senator Ivan Cepeda, the frontrunner in Colombia’s presidential race, expanded his lead over the far-right runner-up, lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, according to pollster Invamer. Cepeda received the support of 44.3% of the polled voters, a significant improvement compared to February, when 37.1% of the voters said they would support the leftist senator and long-time […] The post Poll: Cepeda expands lead over immediate rival ahead of Colombia’s elections appeared first on Colombia News.

Political news website La Silla Vacia has been linked to a far-right propaganda campaign that has been paid for by some of Colombia’s most reactionary corporations. The campaign, “Project Jupiter,” has been organizing “democracy workshops” for tens of thousands of workers and has been publishing content online to generate “fear / indignation / uncertainty” among […] The post Colombia’s main fact checker linked to far-right propaganda campaign appeared first on Colombia News.

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Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office said that at least 14 people, including two minors, were killed in two incidents that involved illegal armed groups in the north of the country. The Ombudsman’s Office said in a press statement that nine alleged members of the ACSN paramilitary group were killed in clashes with the security forces in Uribia, […] The post At least 14 killed in northern Colombia clashes and massacre appeared first on Colombia News.

The US government and Ecuadorean authorities are conspiring to “take down” Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro after leaving office, according to a recording leaked to Spanish newspaper El Pais. In the recording, an Ecuadorean official discusses a “special task force backed by the US Embassy” in Quito that seeks to revoke outstanding extradition requests for drug […] The post US and Ecuador fabricating drug trafficking charges against Colombia’s president: audio appeared first on Colombia News.

Colombia’s Finance Minister German Avila walked out of a meeting with the Central Bank’s board of directors after they decided to increase the bank’s interest rate. At a press conference, Avila said that the bank’s decision to increase the interest rate with one percentage point to 11.25% “will have a sustained and significant impact on […] The post Colombia’s finance minister abandons central bank meeting over latest interest rate hike appeared first on Colombia News.

Colombia’s Prosecutor General’s Office announced criminal investigations into sexual harassment in corporate news outlets after multiple journalists said on social media they were the victim of abuse. The deluge of sexual harassment complaints followed an announcement by one of the country’s top television networks, Caracol, which said on Friday that it had “immediately activated internal […] The post Colombia’s prosecution to investigate mass complaints about sexual harassment in journalism ...

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A member of the Accusations Committee of Colombia’s Congress ordered the suspension of President Gustavo Petro, bypassing all steps that would give such a decision legal validity. In a ruling, House Representative Gloria Arizabaleta ordered “the provisional suspension of Mr. Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego from his position as president” until June 21 at 4PM. The […] The post House representative illegally suspends Petro as president of Colombia appeared first on Colombia News.

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US President Donald Trump endorsed far-right presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella ahead of the second round of Colombia’s election. In a post on his Truth Social website, Trump congratulated De la Espriella for his victory in the first round, which surprisingly made the lawyer the frontrunner in the race. According to the US president, […] The post Trump endorses De la Espriella ahead of Colombia’s 2nd round vote appeared first on Colombia News.

To view this content, you must be a member of Colombia's Patreon at $2 or more - Click "Read more" to unlock this content at the source The post On the success of Colombia’s far-right in the elections appeared first on Colombia News.

At least 48 people were killed in a major battle between two rival FARC dissident groups in southern Colombia, the Ombudsman’s Office said Friday. In a press statement, the Ombudsman’s Office said that government employees and international observers retrieved 48 bodies from a rural part of San Jose del Guaviare, the capital of the Guaviare […] The post 48 killed in clashes between FARC dissidents: Colombia’s ombudsman appeared first on Colombia News.

To view this content, you must be a member of Colombia's Patreon at $1 or more - Click "Read more" to unlock this content at the source The post Colombia suspends campaigns until after elections’ first round appeared first on Colombia News.

Colombia’s top electoral authority, the National Electoral Council (CNE), revoked the suspension of a pollster accused of publishing biased polling results. Following a meeting, the CNE said that the decision to suspend the activities of pollster AtlasIntel and its publications in weekly Semana was taken solely by magistrate Fabiola Marquez, the representative of the ruling […] The post Colombia’s election authority walks back suspension of controversial pollster appeared first on Colombia News.

Colombia’s top election authority, the National Electoral Council (CNE), suspended the publication of a major poll in response to concerns over its alleged lack of accuracy. In a ruling, decreed the “immediate suspension and temporary ban on the publication, broadcast, and dissemination of election polls by the polling firm AtlasIntel and the media outlet Semana […] The post Colombia suspends election poll amid inaccuracy concerns appeared first on Colombia News.

To view this content, you must be a member of Colombia's Patreon at $1 or more - Click "Read more" to unlock this content at the source The post Colombia’s election race at -14 appeared first on Colombia News.

Colombia’s peace commissioner asked the prosecution to suspend the arrest warrants of the commander and 28 members of paramilitary organization EGC to facilitate the demobilization and disarmament of the group. The lifting of the arrest warrants would allow EGC commander Jobanis Avila, a.k.a. “Chiquito Malo,” and his subordinates to travel to two demobilization sites in […] The post Colombia seeks suspension of EGC commander’s arrest warrant ahead of demobilization appeared first on Colombia ...

The government of Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa said that it would lower tariffs on imports from Colombia from 100% to 75% after a phone conversation with far-right presidential candidate Paloma Valencia. In a brief statement, Noboa’s press office said that Quito will lower the “security fee” on June 1. The decision “reaffirms the national government’s […] The post Ecuador lowers Colombia tariffs after call from far-right presidential candidate appeared first on Colombia News.

FARC dissident organization EMC said that a guerrilla attack that killed 20 civilians in southwest Colombia on Saturday was a “tactical error that lacks any justification.” In a statement, the guerrilla organization led by “Ivan Mordisco” said that the “regrettable incident” was the result of “errors in military maneuvering during combat,” and stressed that the […] The post FARC dissidents say southwest Colombia attack that killed 20 civilians was “tactical error” appeared first on Colombia N...

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro and his Venezuelan counterpart Delcy Rodriguez said Friday that their security forces will “consolidate” a joint strategy to combat organized crime on the border between the two countries. Petro and Rodriguez made this announcement after a three-hour meeting at the presidential palace in the Venezuelan capital Caracas. The high-level meeting was […] The post Colombia and Venezuela vow to restart joint border security offensive appeared first on Colombia News.

Authorities allegedly discovered a plot to assassinate the frontrunner in Colombia’s presidential election race, the leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda. The alleged plot was revealed by President Gustavo Petro and confirmed by Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez nine months after the assassination of Senator Miguel Uribe, who sought to become Cepeda’s opponent on the far-right. In a […] The post Colombia discovered plot to assassinate frontrunner in election race: Govt appeared first on Colombia News.

Colombia’s multidimensional poverty rate dropped 1.6 point to 9.9% last year, according to statistics agency DANE. Last year’s decline in poverty continued a seven-year downward trend that was briefly interrupted in 2020 as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The multidimensional poverty rate, which also measures access to education and available infrastructure, had been reduced […] The post Multidimensional poverty in Colombia dropped 1.6 points to 9.9% appeared first on Colombia News.

The presidents of Colombia and Ecuador recalled their ambassadors amid insults about their politically opposed government’s roles in the international drug trade. Bilateral relations all but broke down earlier this week after Colombian President Gustavo Petro referred to Ecuador’s jailed former Vice-President Jorge Glas as a political prisoner. In a response, Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa accused […] The post Colombia and Ecuador recall ambassadors as tensions over drug trafficking escala...

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said that the firm in charge of the logistics of Colombia’s upcoming presidential elections of negotiating fraud with far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella. In a post on social media platform X, Petro said Saturday that “intelligence reports” detailed “conversations between the Bautista brothers and de La Espriella, in which they […] The post Petro claims logistics firm seeks to alter Colombia’s election results to secure far-right victory appeared fi...

Colombia’s Supreme Court sentenced Senator Ciro Ramirez of the far-right Democratic Center party to 23 years in prison for embezzling more than $24 million in public funds. According to the court, Ramirez led a criminal organization made up of government officials and State contractors that embezzled infrastructure funds and guaranteed no-show contracts for the Senator’s […] The post Colombia Supreme Court sentences far-right senator to 23 years in prison on corruption charges appeared first ...

Rescue workers were able to rescue 48 people from the wreck of a Hercules aircraft that crashed in southern Colombia with 125 member of the security forces on board, the commander of the Air Force said. According to General Carlos Fernando Silva, the airplane crashed shortly after taking off from an air strip in Puerto […] The post 48 rescued after Air Force plane with 125 on board crashed: Colombia’s armed forces appeared first on Colombia News.

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has designated Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro as a “priority target,” reported the Associated Press (AP) news agency on Friday. AP was given access to records that would prove that the DEA considers the president a “suspected criminal,” based on information provided by the agency’s network of “confidential informants” […] The post DEA designated Colombia’s president as a “priority target:” AP appeared first on Colombia News.