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Colombia president appeals to football body over Copa America axing
AFP/Editor
Colombia’s President Ivan Duque on Friday appealed to South America’s football federation over its decision to bar the country from hosting the Copa America tournament after social unrest swept the nation.
CONMEBOL earlier in the week rejected a plea by the Colombian government to postpone the June 13-July 10 tournament that it was to share with Argentina, which said it would be ready to host all of the matches.
The continent’s football body said it would now decide where the games which were due to be held in Colombia will be played, with barely three weeks to go until the tournament is due to kick off.
Duque told the Red Mas television he would “would like CONMEBOL to take one final reflection,” on its decision, urging the federation to “provide alternatives” on when the tournament is held.
The Colombian government has already pleaded with CONMEBOL to postpone the tournament until November but the body refused.
Copa America was due to take place last year but was postponed by 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Colombia is in the midst of a wave of protests and social unrest that has resulted in 42 deaths. Covid-19 cases have also shot up in the last few weeks.
Demonstrators initially took to the streets to protest a proposed tax reform. The plan was quickly shelved, but protests have since morphed into a broader manifestation of anti-government sentiment.
Large and sometimes violent demonstrations have been taking place in Bogota, Medellin and Cali — cities where Copa America games were to be played.
Colombia is seeing new peaks of deaths from the coronavirus with nearly 500 a day since last week, but Argentina too is grappling with its worst phase yet of the Covid-19 pandemic, recording its highest one-day total of 744 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday.
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Eight Killed in Series of Armed Attacks in Ecuador’s Manabí Province
At least eight people were killed in four separate armed attacks reported Sunday night in the cities of Manta and Montecristi, in Ecuador’s coastal province of Manabí, one of the areas hardest hit by the country’s escalating wave of criminal violence, local media reported on Monday.
The shootings occurred between 7:50 p.m. and 10:50 p.m. local time and affected several neighborhoods, as well as a family gathering, according to press reports. Police are investigating the incidents.
The first attack took place in the Los Artesanos sector of Montecristi, where a couple was shot dead in a public street.
Minutes later, in Manta’s 12 de Octubre neighborhood, a man was killed while sitting down. Police arrested a suspect at the scene and seized a 9mm magazine, authorities said.
A third incident occurred in the Bellavista area of Manta, when an armed assailant entered a home and shot a man during a family celebration. The attacker was captured by neighbors and sustained injuries.
The deadliest attack was reported at 10:50 p.m. in the Leonidas Proaño parish of Montecristi, where gunmen opened fire from two vehicles on a group of people, leaving four dead and five wounded.
According to Jaime Salgado, acting chief of the Manta Police District, officers recovered seven 7.62mm shell casings, consistent with rifle ammunition, and 14 .40-caliber casings at the scene.
With these killings, the Manta police district, a port and tourist area on Ecuador’s Pacific coast, has recorded 51 violent deaths so far in January 2026, according to official figures.
The attacks occurred amid a state of emergency declared by the government in December due to serious internal unrest in Manabí, where military operations have been intensified this month, particularly in high-conflict zones.
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El Salvador Launches Fourth Year of Ocean Mission to Protect Marine Ecosystems
El Salvador’s Ministry of Environment has launched the fourth consecutive year of “Ocean Mission,” a permanent strategy focused on the protection, restoration, and responsible management of marine ecosystems, linking conservation efforts from inland mountain ranges to the coastline.
During an event held at the Los Cóbanos Protected Natural Area, Environment Minister Fernando López highlighted the ecological, social, and economic value of the site, which is recognized as the country’s eighth wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
“We are in one of the most valuable natural treasures of our country, not only because of its beauty, but also due to the enormous ecological, social, and economic importance that Los Cóbanos holds for El Salvador,” López said.
The minister emphasized that this volcanic-origin ecosystem is home to coral reefs and key coastal-marine systems that serve as refuge, breeding, and feeding grounds for emblematic species such as sea turtles, cetaceans, and a wide diversity of fish.
“Protecting Los Cóbanos means protecting biodiversity, community livelihoods, the local economy, and our natural heritage,” López stated.
He also stressed that Ocean Mission goes beyond rhetoric, focusing instead on direct action framed within the National Environmental Education Policy. “We are not here to talk about environmental education; we are here to practice it,” he said, underscoring the guiding principle of moving from paper to action.
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Convicted gang member challenges Guatemala’s anti-gang law, citing Human Rights Violations
A member of a criminal gang currently facing sentencing for the crime of extortion has filed a constitutional appeal before Guatemala’s Constitutional Court against the recently approved and enacted Anti-Gang Law.
The appeal, submitted by Dylan Smaily Archila García, argues that the new legislation violates his fundamental human rights and claims there were procedural irregularities during its approval process, according to local Guatemalan media.
Archila García filed the motion just hours after the law took effect. The new legislation, passed by Guatemala’s Congress, increases penalties for crimes linked to gang activity and authorizes the construction of a mega-prison, modeled after El Salvador’s Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT).
Local outlets reported that in his petition, Archila García contends that the approval of the law did not comply with constitutional requirements and requests that the Court issue a ruling to annul the legislation, effectively halting its enforcement.
The appeal further claims that the Anti-Gang Law infringes on due process rights, as it allegedly fails to guarantee a fair criminal trial in which defendants can prove their innocence, undermining legal certainty and judicial security.
Through this legal action, the petitioner seeks to have the law suspended and ultimately struck down by the Constitutional Court, preventing it from being debated again in Congress.
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