International
Suspension of arrest warrant for ELN leader could give Colombia’s peace process some breathing space
June 7 |
The peace process between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army guerrilla received a boost on Tuesday after the Attorney General’s Office agreed to suspend the arrest warrants against the top leader of that organization.
The decision was made at the request of President Gustavo Petro and was made – according to the Attorney General’s Office – “based on the principle of harmonious collaboration between the public authorities” and “the collective duty to contribute to the search for peace”.
The suspension of the arrest warrants for alias Antonio García was communicated to national and international authorities through Interpol, the Attorney General’s Office added in a statement.
With the integration of the ELN’s top leader to the negotiating table with Petro’s government, which is expected to take place in the coming days, it is hoped that progress will be made in the peace process.
Talks between the Colombian government and the ELN resumed in August last year after talks between the High Commissioner for Peace, Danilo Rueda, and several leaders of the insurgent group in Cuba, where they have been in recent years.
Negotiations had been suspended since January 2019 when the ELN was accused by authorities of detonating an explosive at a police school that killed 21 people.
At that time, the government of then-President Iván Duque (2018-2022) imposed two conditions on the guerrillas: immediately cease terrorist acts and release all hostages held by them. The demands were not met and the peace process remained in limbo.
With the arrival of the leftist Petro to the government, contacts between the two sides resumed.
However, the negotiations have suffered some setbacks, such as, for example, the ELN’s refusal to accept a ceasefire announced by Petro in December, which is still on the negotiating table.
Garcia, whose real name is Eliécer Herlinto Chamorro Acosta, assumed the top leadership of the guerrilla group in 2021.
Some analysts have warned that several of García’s positions were not helping the progress of the peace process taking place in Cuba. Last May 8, in an interview granted to the digital media Infobae, García affirmed that “the State is still thinking about subduing the guerrilla, annihilating it or defeating it” and that “this way of thinking prevents the construction of peace”.
On the possibility of agreeing a cease-fire, the head of the Colombian government negotiating team, Otty Patiño, said the day before that the issue is still under study and that, if agreed, it would last six months.
Between the end of 2022 and the beginning of this year, the delegations held two cycles of dialogues in Venezuela and Mexico -both guarantor countries of the negotiations-.
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.
International
Seven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
Seven inmates were killed and eleven others injured in a violent riot and clash inside a penitentiary in the Mexican state of Veracruz, local authorities reported on Sunday.
The disturbance began on Saturday afternoon at the Social Reintegration Center in the port city of Tuxpan, in northern Veracruz, when inmates staged a protest over extortion and assaults allegedly carried out by members of the criminal group known as Grupo Sombra.
The protesting prisoners clashed with another group of inmates and set fires inside and outside the facility, seizing control of the prison for more than 12 hours.
During the takeover, the rioters released several videos, including one showing four prisoners —believed to be members of Grupo Sombra— accusing them of being behind the violence and extortion inside the prison.
It wasn’t until Sunday morning that elements of the Mexican Army, the National Guard, and local police forces managed to enter the prison and regain control. The state’s Public Security Secretariat confirmed that around 9:00 a.m. local time a coordinated operation restored full order and reestablished control of the facility.
Authorities also reported that the fires set by inmates were fully extinguished.
Official figures confirmed the “tragic” deaths of seven inmates and injuries to eleven people, who are now receiving medical treatment in various regional hospitals.
This is the second deadliest riot in Veracruz in the past eight years. In 2018, a violent uprising at the La Toma medium-security prison left seven people dead (six police officers and one unidentified man) and at least 22 injured (15 officers and seven inmates).
The riot follows the kidnapping and killing of retired teacher and taxi driver Irma Hernández, a case that shocked the entire country and was attributed to Grupo Sombra. Images of Hernández kneeling, surrounded by armed men in the municipality of Álamo, sparked nationwide outrage. She was murdered after refusing to pay extortion demands from the criminal organization.
Despite these incidents, Veracruz has not seen a spike in the daily homicide average. In fact, there has been a 1.6% decrease in homicides in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.
In 2023, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reported 3,094 incidents in Mexican prisons —an 18.5% increase from the previous year— resulting in 100 deaths and 892 injuries.
International
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 2,533,000 deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2024, according to an international study led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and Stanford University in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers calculated that one death was prevented for every 5,400 doses administered.
The analysis also found that the vaccines saved 14.8 million years of life, equivalent to one year of life gained for every 900 doses given.
The study, coordinated by Professor Stefania Boccia, revealed that 82% of the lives saved were people vaccinated before becoming infected with the virus, and 57% of deaths avoided occurred during the Omicron wave. In addition, 90% of the beneficiaries were adults over 60 years old.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date, based on global data and fewer assumptions about the evolution of the pandemic,” explained Boccia and researcher Angelo Maria Pezzullo.
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
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