Colombians Elections

US imposes sanctions on Colombian Prez, his family over drug trade claims

The Trump administration imposed sanctions Friday on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family and a member of his government over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade, sharply escalating tensions with the leftist leader of one of the closest US allies in South America. The Treasury Department levelled the penalties against Petro; his wife, Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia; his son, Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos; and Colombian Interior Minister Armando Alberto Benedetti. Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation. The move ramps up a growing clash between the Republican US president and Colombia's first leftist leader, notably over deadly American strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats off South America. This week, the Trump ...

Colombia prez bypasses lawmakers, issues decree for vote on labour reform

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday bypassed legislative opposition and signed a decree summoning voters to the polls in August to decide changes to the country's labour laws, including whether work days should be limited to eight hours. The decree fulfilled Petro's threat to Congress to put his labour system overhaul before voters should senators not approve the 12-question referendum themselves. He issued the measure in a tense political climate following the Saturday shooting of opposition senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay during a public event. The referendum has become the crux of long-running tensions between the executive and legislative branches. After Congress rejected Petro's labour reform twice, most recently in March, he sent lawmakers a 12-question referendum proposal on May 1 as Colombian law requires that the Senate rule on the advisability of referendums. The legislative body two weeks later voted 49-47 against the measure, prompting .

Colombian prez candidate Uribe remains critical following assassination bid

Miguel Uribe, a conservative Colombian presidential hopeful, was in critical condition on Monday after being shot in the head from close range during a rally over the weekend. In a statement, doctors said the 39-year-old senator had "barely" responded to medical interventions that included brain surgery following the assassination attempt that has had a chilling effect on the South American nation. Uribe was shot on Saturday as he addressed a small crowd of people who had gathered in a park in Bogota's Modelia neighbourhood. On Sunday hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital where Uribe is being treated to pray for his recovery. Some carried rosaries in their hands, while others chanted slogans against President Gustavo Petro. "This is terrible," said Walter Jimenez, a lawyer who showed up outside the hospital with a sign calling for Petro's removal. "It feels like we are going back to the 1990s," he said, referring to a decade during which drug cartels and rebel groups ...

Colombia to end cease-fire with largest faction of FARC rebel holdout group

Colombia's government on Tuesday said it will end a cease-fire with the largest faction of the FARC-EMC, a holdout rebel group that refused to sign a 2016 peace deal but which had been involved in peace talks with President Gustavo Petro's administration until March. In a press conference, Defence Minister Ivn Velsquez said the FARC-EMC has split into two factions. He said a cease-fire with the group's smallest faction will be extended for three months while peace talks with the government continue. The FARC-EMC was founded by fighters who refused to join a peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that led to the disarmament of more than 13,000 rebels and their integration into civilian life. Colombia's military estimates the hold out group has more than 4,400 fighters who operate in southwestern Colombia, in the Amazon piedmont, and in the Catatumbo region along Colombia's border with Venezuela. The group's two factions are led by commanders

We will break diplomatic ties with Israel over war in Gaza: Colombia Prez

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday announced his government will break diplomatic relations with Israel effective Thursday in the latest escalation of tensions between the countries over the Israel-Hamas war. Petro again described Israel's siege of Gaza as genocide. He previously suspended purchases of weapons from Israel and compared that country's actions in Gaza to those of Nazi Germany. Tomorrow, diplomatic relations with the State of Israel will be broken for having a genocidal president, Petro said during an International Workers' Day march in Colombia's capital. If Palestine dies, humanity dies, and we are not going to let it die. Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz quickly rebuked Petro's comments on the platform X. History will remember that Gustavo Petro decided to side with the most despicable monsters known to mankind who burned babies, murdered children, raped women and kidnapped innocent civilians, he said. Weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southe

Colombian Prez-elect confirms economist Jose Ocampo as Finance Minister

"Jose Antonio Ocampo will be our Finance Minister. Let's build a productive economy and an economy for life," President-elect Gustavo Petro posted on Twitter on Thursday

Colombians vote in elections seen as test for peace deal with FARC

The peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guarantees their new political party 10 of the 280 seats in the new Congress