Latest from Colombia

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is facing backlash after making a callous remark about the death of Senator Alirio Barrera’s horse,Pasaporte. The comment, widely condemned as cruel and unnecessary, is the latest example of Petro’s habit of deflecting political debate with personal attacks on social media.

The weather in Bogotá is dismal. A deep depression hangs over the Colombian capital, causing unrelenting thunderstorms and a constant downpour of rain. February, typically a drier month, saw unusual rainfall, and March has given this city no respite from incessant drizzle and grey clouds. Roads are submerged,treeshave fallen across major thoroughfares, creating chaos for drivers. The worst-hit areas include the wetlands north of Bogotá, separated by the six-lane Autopista del Norte. This key highway connects the capital to the departments of Boyacá andSantander,and servesas a vital route for commuters from Chía, Tabio, and Cajicá in the Sabana de Bogotá.

The deadline for Bogotá to have the First Line of the new Metro is moving ahead as scheduled, confirmed Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán on Saturday, March 7, 2025, with construction reaching 50% completion. The halfway point marks a significant milestone for the capital’s long-awaited transportation overhaul.

It has always existed in the imaginations of those who know the legends of Cartagena, a slave-trading port on the Caribbean Sea, seat of the Inquisition in the New World, and fortress colony coveted by pirates for its Spanish gold. Constructed on a sand bank at the entrance to the Bay of Cartagena, the Fort of San Matías was connected to the mainland by a submerged barricade that would lacerate enemy ships before being attacked from the nearby batteries.

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) tribunal has given the Attorney General’s Office 45 days to supply critical information that will assist in the search, identification, and dignified return of 546 members of Colombia’ armed forces who were victims of forced disappearance during the height of the country’s internal conflict.

As Bogotá hosts the annual Vitrina Turística, a major tourism showcase organized by ANATO, the perception of insecurity in Colombia’s capital has cast a shadow over the event. Just blocks from the exhibition grounds, an attack on the city’s iconicTren de la Sabanahas underscored growing concerns over crime and public safety. Masked assailants ambushed the historic train on Thursday, smashing its windows with stones and covering the carriages in graffiti. Passengers, caught in the chaos, watched in fear as the attack unfolded—an alarming reminder that Bogotá’s security crisis is ever-present.

Justice Minister Ángela María Buitrago, a close political ally of leftist President Gustavo Petro, has raised the alarm over a devastating increase in child recruitment by armed groups in Colombia. Buitrago revealed that some children, particularly in rural regions like the department of Chocó, are resorting to suicide as a desperate attempt to escape the violent pressures of illegal armed groups. The stark revelation underscores the growing crisis facing Colombia’s youth, with recruitment cases by illegal armed groups, among them FARC dissidents, Gulf Clan, and National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla, rising more than 1,000% in just four years.

Authorities in Bogotá temporarily closed a major motorway early Friday after a large flag of the National Liberation Army (ELN) was discovered near the city’s northern entrance. The flag, seen as an act of intimidation before the morning rush hour, was spotted by a road concession worker on AutoNorte at approximately 1:30 AM.

The political landscape in Colombia hasbeen rockedby a wave of high-profile resignations following President GustavoPetro’sdecision to broadcast a cabinet meeting in which he appeared alongside incoming Chief of Staff Armando Benedetti.The fallout hasnot onlydeepened internal fractures withinPetro’sgovernmentbut has alsoignited fierce backlash from some of his closest allies, many of whom viewBenedetti’sappointment as a destabilizing move that threatens theadministration’scredibility.

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