International
Allegation of assassination plot against Attorney General stirs peace talks between Colombia and ELN
August 11|
The recent peace talks between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) are facing turbulence following the Attorney General’s Office report of an alleged guerrilla plot to assassinate the head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Francisco Barbosa. This announcement has generated uncertainty in the midst of a recently established bilateral ceasefire.
On Tuesday, the Colombian Attorney General’s Office announced that it had information about guerrillas being trained in Venezuela to carry out an attack against Francisco Barbosa using snipers. The ELN, however, vehemently denied this accusation, calling it an attempt to sabotage the dialogue process that began in November.
In response to the allegation, the ELN negotiators’ delegation published a statement on its Twitter account, now “X”, in which it dismissed the Attorney General’s Office’s information and wrote in red letters the word “FALSO”.
The Attorney General’s Office complaint detailed that five rebel leaders had met in July on the Colombian-Venezuelan border to initiate an operation aimed at attacking Barbosa. The attorney general has been one of the most notable critics of leftist President Gustavo Petro’s policy of negotiations with armed organizations.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing its “deep concern” over the accusations and assuring that it would carry out a thorough and transparent investigation into the alleged use of its territory for “terrorist” purposes.
Local media have identified one of the commanders involved in the alleged assassination plot as Eduardo Galvis, who in 1999 participated in the hijacking of an airplane.
Meanwhile, from Belém, Brazil, where Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva is accompanying President Gustavo Petro at a summit on the Amazon, there have been calls to clarify the truth behind these accusations, reflecting growing concern about the peace negotiations and their possible impact on regional stability.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction