International
Colombia will ask the UN to extend the implementation of the peace agreement to more than 15 years
The Government of Colombia will ask the UN Security Council to consider the possibility of expanding the implementation of the peace agreement signed in 2016 with the former FARC guerrilla beyond the 15 years agreed when it was signed, Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said on Tuesday.
“We are proposing that an adjustment be made to the implementation framework plan that was designed to be implemented in 15 years and with the delays we must seriously consider the possibility of extending the implementation period of that framework plan,” Murillo said about the proposal that President Gustavo Petro will present to the Security Council on Thursday.
For the time being, the possibility of extending the 15-year period for the implementation that was signed and working on tables to work “extraordinary and emergency measures” will be considered to expedite the implementation because, as Murillo pointed out in a press conference: “It is very clear that we will not be able to comply with the agreement in the 15 years that were proposed in the framework implementation plan and will probably require an extension.”
That extension “has been said that it has to be (…) from five to eight years,” although at the moment it is under discussion.
“Althog much progress has been made in the implementation of the peace agreement, it is supremely important that the structural obstacles that are to the timely implementation and full implementation of the agreement can be removed,” said the chancellor, who stressed that the current Government is the one that has implemented the most.
These obstacles are “institutional” but there are also “budgets” for peace in Colombia and others “that have to do with the legal and legal that have really prevented the accelerated advance of the implementation of the agreement,” Murillo said.
Therefore, the Government wants to propose “a shock plan for the next two years” that will require “extraordinary measures, some emergency, to be able to put the implementation in tune,” and thus “overcome the structural barriers that the complete implementation of the agreement has.”
The president of Colombia will go to New York on Thursday for the quarterly session of the Security Council where the state of implementation of the peace agreement will be discussed and where the UN verification mission will present its report for this quarter.
“Petro will be very clear that he remains firmly committed to the implementation of the agreement, but obviously connected to the policy of total peace and in that sense he will request that it continue with the unanimous support and accompaniment of the international community through the United Nations Security Council, but also an accompaniment to the new measures and the guarantees that will obviously be proposed to accelerate the implementation,” Murillo anticipated.
In New York, the president will also participate in the inauguration of a monument at the UN headquarters made with the smelting of weapons left by the FARC and will also meet with the Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, to talk about Colombia and other countries such as the situation in Gaza or the war in Ukraine.
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
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
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