Some of Colombia’s largest cities have been forced to reinstate lockdowns as a new surge in COVID-19 infections is knocking down hospitals and slowing down vaccination efforts. Health Minister Fernando Ruiz and Bogota Mayor Claudia Lopez declared an orange alert in the capital on Thursday, restricting its 7 million inhabitants’ access to shopping centers, banks […]
The government of Colombia’s far-right President Ivan Duque asked the Constitutional Court to revoke a Supreme Court order that restricted the use of police violence against protests. The National Agency for the Defense of the State asked the court to revoke the Supreme Court’s order to reform the police citing “the constant disrespect for guarantees […]
While the governments of Colombia and Venezuela blame each other for a recent outburst of violence in the border region, ELN guerrillas who effectively control the region are calling for a ceasefire. The guerrillas apparently refuse to get involved in violence between alleged FARC dissidents and the Venezuelan military that has killed at least eight […]
A massacre of four people in southwest Colombia on Wednesday painfully highlighted the ongoing increase of violence in the country. According to Senator Valencia Feliciano, an native Colombian leader from Cauca, reported the murder of four people in Santander de Quilichao, a municipality in the north of the province. The massacre is the 26th so […]
The coronavirus pandemic made Colombia’s poverty rate one of the highest in South America, according to the United Nations. The UN’s Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) estimated that by the end of last year 37.5% of Colombia’s population lived below the poverty line, making it the country with the highest poverty […]
Venezuela’s government accused its counterpart in Colombia of trying to ignite a war between the two neighbors after violence forced more than 5,000 people to cross the border. In a televised speech, Venezuela’s authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro urged military commanders to avoid responding to provocations, “because they want to escalate [violence] to an armed conflict” […]
Colombia’s health authorities have ramped up vaccination the elderly as a surge in COVID-19 infections is threatening to collapse the country’s healthcare system. The Health Ministry reported Saturday that the day before almost 120,000 people received a vaccine shot, which is more than twice as many as the same day last week. President Ivan Duque […]
The coronavirus aggravated the impact of armed conflict on civilians in Colombia last year, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). During the presentation of the humanitarian organization’s annual report, representative Lorenzo Caraffi said Wednesday that fighting between the military and illegal armed groups further deteriorated the situation of civilians. The armed […]
Colombia’s defense ministry allegedly ordered increased military presence along the border with Venezuela after clashes between guerrillas and the neighboring country’s armed forces. General Maricio Jose Zabala, the commander of the National Army’s 8th Division, said Thursday that Defense Minister Diego Molano had ordered to send troops to the eastern border. The alleged militarization of […]
Colombia’s government seeks an increase in tax revenue of at least $ 10B to finance its budget and help the poor to overcome the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The “Sustainable Solidarity” tax reform Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla will present to Congress on Wednesday seeks to increase revenue by increasing sales tax on […]