International
Colombia’s ELN rebels end ‘armed strike’ after holiday ceasefire
| By AFP |
Colombian rebel group ELN has ended the forced confinement of around 10,000 people in the northwest of the country, President Gustavo Petro said Tuesday.
The lifting of the so-called armed strike in the Choco region followed ELN’s announcement on Monday of a “unilateral ceasefire” for the Christmas and New Year’s holiday period, starting December 24 and ending on January 2.
ELN — the National Liberation Army — is in peace negotiations with Colombia’s new leftist government, and Petro — a former urban guerrilla himself — has vowed to negotiate with armed groups in search of “total peace”.
“The armed strike was lifted,” he tweeted, adding that humanitarian assistance would be provided to the affected areas.
Interior Minister Alfonso Prada on Twitter called it “another gesture of peace from the ELN”.
Colombia has suffered more than half a century of armed conflict between the state and various groups of left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers.
The ELN is the last recognized rebel group operating in the country, although dissidents who refused to sign a 2016 peace deal between the FARC guerrilla group and the government also remain active.
Talks resumed with the ELN in Venezuela last month for the first time since 2019 — when Petro’s conservative predecessor Ivan Duque broke off negotiations following a car bomb attack on a police academy that left 22 people dead.
The initial talks have not resulted in a formal ceasefire agreement.
Armed since 1964, the ELN has a force of some 2,500 fighters and a wide network of collaborators, according to independent estimates.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America4 days agoDaniel Ortega’s last historic sandinista ally detained in Managua
-
Central America4 days agoHonduras sees ongoing killings of land defenders and attacks on press, warns NGO
-
Central America4 days agoGuatemala transfers top gang leaders to maximum security prison after funeral home massacre
-
International4 days agoTrump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
-
International2 days agoTrump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
-
International2 days agoStudy finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
-
Central America2 days agoCosta Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves
-
International22 hours agoIsrael says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
-
International22 hours agoSeven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
-
International60 mins agoU.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
-
International52 mins ago
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction