International

Gustavo Petro announces renegotiation of the U.S.-Colombia FTA

Photo: Presidency of Colombia

August 17|

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Wednesday that his government began renegotiating the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, which has been in force for 11 years between the two countries.

During a meeting with coffee growers held in the town of Pitalito, in the department of Huila (south), Petro confirmed: “I want to publicly announce that its renegotiation (of the FTA) begins”.

The president justified the decision by the disadvantages that, as he explained, Colombia has with the United States as a result of the signing of the FTA in which sectors of national production cannot compete with those of that country.

In this sense, he argued that “If I wanted to replace that corn (in reference to the corn that Bogota imports from the U.S. and Canada) with Colombian corn, I would have 1,200,000 more jobs, that is, wealth. Why can’t I do it? Because the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, which was signed a few years ago, forbids it,” he said.

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In his argument, the President explained that wealth is not in extraction, but in production, and that what is being experienced at the moment is the crisis of the extraction model.

For this reason, he considered that the renegotiation of NAFTA will be one of the pillars to return to that productive model, in which one of the bases will be the industrialization of agriculture, always with greater investment in human capital:

“If we are going to industrialize, we need knowledge, that means strengthening the public university, one of the priority axes of this Government”, he explained.

The President himself recalled that renegotiating the FTA with the United States was a banner during his campaign for the Presidency a year ago.

In his speech, Petro made a description of how the country’s economy has been for decades and how, as a result, “half of the Colombian economy has jobs that do not even earn the minimum wage and from this derives our social inequality, our poverty and from social inequality derives our main problems we have today, such as violence”.

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International

Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.

During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.

“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.

“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”

Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.

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On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.

International

Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition

he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.

Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.

The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”

International

Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may

The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.

The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”

The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”

Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.

The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.