Former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos sent a letter to the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, in which he assures that the peace agreement signed in 2016 with the then FARC guerrillas does not contemplate a Constituent Assembly, as the current Government defends.
“No one apart from the Final Agreement proposes or insinuates that the rules established in the current Constitution may be unknown in the future,” Santos (2010-2018) said in the letter dated May 31.
Ten days ago, in a public event in Popayán, capital of the department of Cauca (southwest), the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, said that the peace agreement with the FARC has the strength to convene a Constituent Assembly that would allow him to make the social reforms that Congress has not approved.
Petro also said on May 14 that he will denounce to the UN that the Colombian State, which he represents, does not comply with the peace agreement with the FARC and predicted that this may lead to “bloodsheds.”
In his letter to Guterres, Santos reminds him that on March 29, 2017, he sent the full text of the peace agreement to the UN in which he referred “expressly to the principle of good faith, of enormous importance in the interpretation and application” of the agreement.
Advertisement
20250801_pv_central_minsal_728x90
20250701_dengue_728x90
20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL
“I emphasize this because Colombian officials and former officials have attributed to some paragraphs of the agreement a meaning that is contrary to its object, scope and purpose, which is possibly incompatible with the principle of good faith,” adds the former president.
According to Santos, the peace agreement, “far from providing for extra-institutional mechanisms or seeking to circumvent the procedures established in the Constitution of Colombia,” was ratified by the Senate and the House of Representatives on November 29 and 30, 2016, respectively.
“The Constitutional Court reviewed the compatibility with the Constitution not only of the laws that developed the agreement, but also of the constitutional reforms, in accordance with the constitutional rules and doctrines commonly accepted in that matter in Colombia, a country that prides itself on a more than a century-old tradition of respect for the principle of constitutional supremacy,” Santos adds in the letter.
After pointing out that “the letter and spirit of the agreement have been attempted to be unknown,” Santos recalls that the former president of the Spanish Government Felipe González and the former Uruguayan president Pepe Mujica, who exercised the function of “notable verifiers” of the peace agreement, “are totally in agreement with the spirit and content of this communication.”
Therefore, it concludes with the request to Guterres to communicate the content of the letter to the UN Security Council and to insist, “once again and hopefully more forcefully, on the need to implement the peace agreement.”
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.
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump criticized a federal judge’s ruling on Friday that reinstated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, stressing that the immigration program was never intended to serve as a “de facto asylum system.”
On Thursday, Judge Trina Thompson extended protections for about 7,000 Nepalese immigrants, whose TPS was set to expire on August 5. The ruling also impacts roughly 51,000 Hondurans and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans, whose TPS protections were scheduled to end on September 8.
Immigrants covered by TPS had sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging that the program’s termination was driven by “racial animus” and stripped them of protection from deportation.
DHS Deputy Undersecretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement saying the decision to end TPS was part of a mandate to “restore the integrity” of the immigration system and return the program to its original purpose.
“TPS was never conceived as a de facto asylum system; however, that is how previous administrations have used it for decades,” McLaughlin emphasized.
Advertisement
20250801_pv_central_minsal_728x90
20250701_dengue_728x90
20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL
She also criticized Judge Thompson, calling the ruling “another example” of judges “stirring up claims of racism to distract from the facts.”
McLaughlin added that DHS would appeal the decision and take the legal battle to higher courts.
The Trump administration has also terminated TPS protections for approximately 160,000 Ukrainians, 350,000 Venezuelans, and at least half a million Haitians, among other immigrant groups.
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
Advertisement
20250801_pv_central_minsal_728x90
20250701_dengue_728x90
20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
