Latest from Colombia

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.

None

None

None

None

None