International
Colombia car bomb kills one, injures 20
AFP
A car bomb detonated in Colombia overnight outside government offices and the seat of a human rights body, killing one person and wounded 20 near the Venezuelan border, authorities said Thursday.
The army in a statement blamed the late-night attack in Saravena, an area with a strong military presence, on dissidents of the FARC guerilla group who rejected a 2016 peace deal.
Defense Minister Diego Molano said the attack was “planned and financed from Venezuela.”
“The explosives used in this terrorist act were brought into Colombia from Venezuela,” said Molano.
The explosion killed a security guard and injured 20 other people. No further information was provided about them.
The blast also damaged private buildings, the army statement said.
Jose Luis Lazo, an official in charge of human rights in Saravana, told W Radio that a dissident going by the name Antonio Medina had ordered the attack in a WhatsApp message.
Colombia President Ivan Duque has often accused neighboring Venezuela of shielding rebels on its territory.
The two countries have not had diplomatic relations since shortly after Duque took office in 2018.
The region in which the attack took place is one of the hardest-hit by a wave of violence plaguing Colombia in the aftermath of a 2016 peace pact that disarmed the FARC and officially ended decades of conflict.
Despite the agreement, fighting continues over territory and resources between dissident FARC guerrillas, the ELN rebel group, paramilitary forces and drug cartels.
Earlier this month, almost 30 people were killed in fighting in the northeastern Arauca department, where Saravena is located, and hundreds fled the region, according to official data.
The government has since deployed an additional 1,300 soldiers to join 5,600 already operational in the area.
An independent study center, Indepaz, says the ELN has around 2,500 fighters while the FARC dissidents are comprised of around 5,200 members.
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.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
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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