End of the road in Colombia for Escobar’s ‘cocaine’ hippos?

AFP

More than 100 African hippos descended from fewer than a handful imported as exotic pets by drug lord Pablo Escobar, face an uncertain future in Colombia.

After the government added Escobar’s so-called “cocaine” hippos Friday to a list of “introduced, invasive species,” experts say killing them may be the only viable option.

From the few individuals once housed at Escobar’s Hacienda Napoles estate, the hippos’ numbers have ballooned, with 130 now roaming free north of Bogota around the Magdalena River.

Officials say the grazing giants, endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, threaten local wildlife and humans living along the river, whom they have already come into conflict with.

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Attempts have been made to sterilize the animals, which can weigh as much as 1.8 tons, but doing so is expensive and difficult.

“Sacrifice (culling) remains on the table,” said David Echeverri, head of the Cornare state environmental agency in charge of the sterilization effort.

“It is a necessary option… it could be the only way to stop the problem from getting worse,” he told AFP.

Escobar, once head of the deadly Medellin Cartel, became one of the richest men on the planet, according to Forbes, thanks to the drug trafficking empire he built.

With his wealth he built a menagerie, acquiring hippos, flamingos, giraffes, zebras and kangaroos for his ranch.

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After he was shot dead by police in 1993, all but the hippopotamuses were sold to zoos.

The semi-aquatic ungulates were left to roam Escobar’s estate and continued breeding.

They are now believed to be the largest so-called “bloat” of hippopotamuses outside of Africa.

– ‘Complex, expensive and dangerous’ –

The creatures have long been a headache for authorities faced with a vocal anti-culling campaign.

Last Friday, the government officially declared the hippos an invasive species and announced it had a plan to “manage” their population, which studies have suggested could quadruple in 10 years.

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Although the details of the plan have not been revealed, former environment minister Manuel Rodriguez has urged the government to use any means, including opening a hunt on the animals.

“Obviously there are animal activists opposed to this, but what is the alternative?” he said.

To date, Cornare has managed to surgically sterilize 11 hippos and dart another 40 with contraceptives.

The effort has cost more than $100,000, but has failed to stop hippo numbers from swelling.

“Everything with hippos is complex, expensive and dangerous,” Echeverri told AFP.

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– Potential ‘tragedy’ –

For Rodriguez, the animals pose a major threat to fishermen and other river-side inhabitants.

Last year, Cornare recorded two hippo attacks on people, neither fatal.

In Africa, hippos kill hundreds of people every year.

“We could face a tragedy,” Rodriguez warned.

Also threatened by the hippos are the manatee — large marine mammals that make the Magdalena River their home — and a variety of native fish.

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Earlier this year, activists with the backing of green parliamentary candidate Luis Domingo Gomez, proposed creating a sanctuary for the hippos with a mix of public and private funds.

But experts reject the proposal as costly and no less harmful to the local ecosystem.

“Are we going to maintain a sanctuary for hippos that attack the manatee?” asked Rodriguez.

Biologist Nataly Castelblanco, an expert on manatees, said local animals should take precedence.

“Native species have conservation priority over invasive species,” she wrote on Twitter.

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Brazil offers to mediate Colombia-Ecuador tensions, calls for restraint

The government of Brazil has offered to mediate in the ongoing tensions between Colombia and Ecuador, while calling on both nations to exercise restraint.

In a statement released Wednesday, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the parties involved to act with moderation and seek a peaceful resolution to the dispute.

“Brazil encourages all sides to act with moderation in order to find a peaceful solution to the controversy. It stands ready to support dialogue efforts aimed at preserving peace and security in the region,” the statement said.

Brazil also expressed “serious concern” over reports of deaths in the border area between Colombia and Ecuador, noting that the circumstances surrounding the incidents have not yet been clarified.

The diplomatic move comes amid rising tensions between the neighboring countries, increasing regional concern over stability and security along their shared border.

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International

U.S. lowers travel advisory for much of Venezuela but keeps high-risk zones under warning

The U.S. Department of State announced on Thursday that it has lowered its travel advisory for much of Venezuela to Level 3 (“Reconsider Travel”), reflecting what it described as improved security conditions in parts of the country.

However, the agency will maintain the highest Level 4 warning (“Do Not Travel”) for several regions, including the states of Táchira, Amazonas, Apure, Aragua and Guárico, as well as rural areas of Bolívar, citing ongoing risks such as crime, kidnapping and terrorism.

The updated advisory marks a shift from December, when the United States raised the alert for Venezuela to Level 4 nationwide, warning of severe security threats.

Despite the partial downgrade, U.S. authorities continue to urge caution, emphasizing that conditions remain volatile in certain areas and that travelers should carefully assess risks before planning any trips to the country.

International

EU lawmakers move to ban AI tools that generate non-consensual nude images

Members of the European Parliament are pushing to ban across the bloc artificial intelligence services that allow users to digitally “undress” people without their consent.

The proposal, adopted on Wednesday at committee level, aims to prohibit applications that generate non-consensual explicit images. Irish lawmaker Michael McNamara, one of the sponsors, said the measure seeks to stop tools that “have caused significant harm for the benefit of a few.”

Dutch MEP Kim van Sparrentak welcomed the move, calling it “a major victory, especially for women and children in Europe.”

The amendment, part of broader EU legislation on artificial intelligence, was approved by the Parliament’s civil liberties and internal market committees. It specifically targets systems that use AI to create or manipulate sexually explicit or intimate images resembling identifiable individuals without their consent.

The proposal will be put to a full vote in the European Parliament on March 26. If adopted, lawmakers and European Union member states will need to agree on a final version before it can take effect.

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Separately, representatives of the 27 EU countries recently backed a Franco-Spanish amendment seeking to ban AI services used to generate non-consensual sexual images or child sexual abuse material.

The initiative follows controversy surrounding a feature introduced in Grok, developed by xAI, which allowed users to create simulated nude images from real photos. The tool sparked widespread criticism and prompted an EU investigation.

In response, xAI restricted image generation features in mid-January to paying subscribers and stated it blocks the creation of sexualized images in jurisdictions where such content is illegal.