International
Gustavo Petro announces renegotiation of the U.S.-Colombia FTA
August 17|
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Wednesday that his government began renegotiating the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, which has been in force for 11 years between the two countries.
During a meeting with coffee growers held in the town of Pitalito, in the department of Huila (south), Petro confirmed: “I want to publicly announce that its renegotiation (of the FTA) begins”.
The president justified the decision by the disadvantages that, as he explained, Colombia has with the United States as a result of the signing of the FTA in which sectors of national production cannot compete with those of that country.
In this sense, he argued that “If I wanted to replace that corn (in reference to the corn that Bogota imports from the U.S. and Canada) with Colombian corn, I would have 1,200,000 more jobs, that is, wealth. Why can’t I do it? Because the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, which was signed a few years ago, forbids it,” he said.
In his argument, the President explained that wealth is not in extraction, but in production, and that what is being experienced at the moment is the crisis of the extraction model.
For this reason, he considered that the renegotiation of NAFTA will be one of the pillars to return to that productive model, in which one of the bases will be the industrialization of agriculture, always with greater investment in human capital:
“If we are going to industrialize, we need knowledge, that means strengthening the public university, one of the priority axes of this Government”, he explained.
The President himself recalled that renegotiating the FTA with the United States was a banner during his campaign for the Presidency a year ago.
In his speech, Petro made a description of how the country’s economy has been for decades and how, as a result, “half of the Colombian economy has jobs that do not even earn the minimum wage and from this derives our social inequality, our poverty and from social inequality derives our main problems we have today, such as violence”.
International
Claudia Sheinbaum: Operation Against ‘El Mencho’ Was Based on Pending Arrest Warrants
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday rejected claims that the military operation that resulted in the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was carried out under pressure from the United States government.
Sheinbaum explained that the deployment of federal forces was aimed at executing outstanding arrest warrants against Oseguera Cervantes, who was considered one of the most wanted criminals in both Mexico and the United States.
“That was not the objective (to ease pressure from the United States). It is very important, and I want to repeat it. This individual had an arrest warrant, or several,” Sheinbaum said, referring to the operation conducted on February 22.
According to the president, the initial goal was to capture Oseguera Cervantes, but military forces responded after coming under attack during the intervention.
“The operation was to detain him. The problem is that they were attacked — the Secretariat of National Defense — and they responded at that moment,” she said.
The president insisted that the action was not carried out in response to external demands, although she acknowledged intelligence cooperation with the United States.
“It was not done in any way because of pressure from the United States, not at all. Of course, there was intelligence information from the United States that was used specifically,” she concluded.
International
Spain Denies Any Agreement to Cooperate with U.S. Military in Iran Operations
Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares on Wednesday firmly denied that Madrid has agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military in operations against Iran, contradicting statements made minutes earlier by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“I categorically deny it,” Albares said in a radio interview cited by EFE. “The position of the Spanish government regarding the war in the Middle East, the bombings in Iran, and the use of our bases has not changed by a single comma.”
Earlier in the day, Leavitt told reporters that Spain had “agreed to cooperate with the United States military in recent hours,” following President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a trade embargo on Madrid. Trump had warned of economic measures after Spain reportedly refused to allow the Pentagon to use facilities at Spanish bases for operations related to Iran.
“I have no idea what that could be referring to or where it could be coming from,” Albares said, insisting that Spain’s position “has not changed at all” and therefore “remains absolutely unchanged.” He added that he had “no desire” and “almost no time” to speculate about the White House spokesperson’s remarks.
Albares reiterated Spain’s “No to war” stance, which he said had been clearly and forcefully expressed by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in an institutional address. According to the foreign minister, that position has been supported by “many European colleagues.”
International
White House Says Spain Agrees to Cooperate with U.S. Military After Trump Threatens Trade Embargo
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Spain has agreed “in recent hours” to cooperate with the U.S. military, following President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a trade embargo on Madrid.
Trump had warned of potential commercial measures after Spain reportedly refused to allow the Pentagon to use facilities at Spanish military bases for operations related to Iran.
“With respect to Spain, I think you heard the president’s message yesterday loud and clear, and I understand that in recent hours they have agreed to cooperate with the United States military,” Leavitt said during a press briefing.
She added that the U.S. military is currently coordinating with its counterparts in Spain. However, the president expects broader support.
“The president expects that all of Europe, all of our European allies, of course, will cooperate in this important mission — not only for the United States, but also for Europe,” Leavitt said.
Her remarks came in response to questions about Spain’s position and its role as a U.S. ally amid rising tensions surrounding operations involving Iran.
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