International

Retired Colombian soldiers admit to murder of 120 civilians

AFP

Ten retired members of Colombia’s military began admitting to victims’ families on Tuesday their roles in the assassination of 120 civilians that were later presented as rebels killed in combat.

It was the first public admission by the former soldiers that they had made people disappear before killing them in cold blood.

One general, four colonels and five officers, as well as a civilian, were due to make their confessions to the special tribunal set up as part of the 2016 peace deal that ended a half century of conflict between the government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels.

The “false positives” scandal in which murdered civilians were passed off as enemy combattants is the largest ever to have rocked Colombia’s armed forces.

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“I ask you to clear our family names … they were rural workers, not subversives, guerrillas and thugs as they were branded,” said Eduvina Becerra, the partner of Jose Ortega, a murdered farmer.

Around 50 of the victims’ family members showed up to the university theater in Ocana, close to Colombia’s northern border with Venezuela, where the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) hearing took place.

“I acknowledge and accept my responsibility as co-perpetrator” of the murders that took place between 2007 and 2008, said Nestor Gutierrez, a former non-commissioned officer in the army.

“We murdered innocent people, peasants,” said Gutierrez, promising to “clarify it here before the judgment, before the world, before the country.”

In front of an audience of sobbing family members, the soldiers gave details about how they murdered the victims, most of whom were men aged 25 to 35.

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The JEP, which was set up in 2017 to try the worst atrocities committed during the conflict, said that Ocana was the site of a sinister plan thought up by a battalion stationed in the town of 100,000 and motivated by “the army’s institutional policy of counting bodies” to inflate the reporting of their successes in combating guerrillas and other armed groups.

The tribunal says more than 6,400 civilians were murdered between 2002 and 2008 after being lured to areas far from their homes.

The JEP has the authority to offer alternatives to jail time to people who confess their crimes and make reparations.

The Catatumbo region where Ocana is located is home to the largest area of illegal coca leaf crops used to make cocaine in the world, making it a hub for organized crime.

The hearing is due to last two days with former general Paulino Coronado the highest ranking officer on trial.

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International

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.