International
Colombian State to apologize for false positives in Soacha
September 28 |
Colombian human rights organizations confirmed Thursday that the Colombian State will publicly ask for forgiveness on October 3 for the false positive cases of the Soacha youths, killed in Catatumbo by members of the Army.
According to the organizers, the act of recognition of responsibility will take place in the Plaza de Bolivar and will be headed by the Colombian Minister of Defense himself, Ivan Velasquez.
Asociación Minga and Colectivo José Alvear Restrepo (Cajar), explained that the request for state pardon is framed within the restoration measures established by the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca in 2015, prior to the signing of the Peace Accords, within the case of victim Jaime Estiven Valencia Sanabria.
The act of recognition comes after several days of concertation and were managed to unlock under the Government of Gustavo Petro, stating that several measures were “insistently denied” by previous ministers.
In this sense, from the Cajar explained that “…it is publicly acknowledged that State agents committed crimes that the high military commanders and the former President of the Republic during the period in which they happened, Alvaro Uribe Velez, have tried to minimize and even justify for years. We consider this one more step to confront the impunity that has surrounded these cases”.
El Cajar recalls that this is an “act of recognition of state responsibility” and “includes families covered by sentences of other courts in which the military forces and the National Army were ordered to make public apologies to the victims and society, as well as other victims of extrajudicial executions in which the justice system proved the responsibility of the State but did not order acts of public apology”.
The organizers explain that “although the pain of the families cannot be compensated with anything, this act of public apology can be reparative for them and, we hope, for Colombian society as well”.
They also recall the responsibility of “who was President of the Republic during the period in which they happened, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, (which) they have tried to minimize and even justify for years”, for which they consider “this is one more step to confront the impunity that has surrounded these cases, to honor the memory of those who today are not physically with us and to exalt the struggle of the families who, despite the difficulties to access justice, continue in their search”.
International
Trump to Meet Qatari Leaders During Asia Stopover to Discuss Gaza Peace
U.S. President Donald Trump will meet on Saturday with the Emir and Prime Minister of Qatar during a stopover on his trip to Asia, officials reported. Qatar plays a key role in maintaining the fragile peace agreement in Gaza.
The Qatari leaders will board Air Force One at the end of the day when it lands for refueling at Al Udeid Air Base, the regional headquarters of U.S. military forces, a White House official said.
This marks Trump’s first trip to Asia since taking office in January. His agenda includes two regional summits, a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and planned encounters with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
In Qatar, the previously unannounced meeting will also include U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who recently returned from Israel after working to maintain the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Qatar has been a key mediator in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas since the conflict began and is one of the guarantors of the peace deal alongside the United States, Turkey, and Egypt.
This week, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss critical next steps in the agreement, including the establishment of a security force in Gaza and the future of Hamas. Meanwhile, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has been a central negotiator since the outbreak of the war following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
International
Maduro Requests Supreme Court to Strip Opposition Leader López of Venezuelan Citizenship
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has requested that the country’s Supreme Court revoke the nationality of opposition leader Leopoldo López, accusing him of promoting a U.S. military invasion of Venezuela, the government reported on Saturday.
There is no precedent of Venezuelans born in the country being stripped of their nationality, and the Venezuelan Constitution explicitly prohibits it. Caracas has previously accused López and other opposition figures of seeking to overthrow Maduro.
Maduro now claims that López and his allies are supporting the deployment of U.S. warships, fighter jets, and troops in the Caribbean, which the White House says are part of anti-narcotics operations. The Venezuelan president insists that the military presence aims to remove him from power.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil stated on his Telegram channel that Maduro “filed a request with the Supreme Court of Justice to revoke Leopoldo López’s nationality.”
Gil added that the request was made “due to his grotesque, criminal, and illegal call for a military invasion of Venezuela, his ongoing promotion of the economic blockade, and his call for mass killings of Venezuelans in collusion with foreign governments and enemies.”
However, the Dean of the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), the country’s main public university, told AFP that the law does not allow the revocation of nationality for Venezuelans by birth.
International
Pentagon deploys USS Gerald R. Ford after narco-boat operation kills six
The U.S. Department of Defense announced on Friday the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest warship in the country, to the Caribbean Sea. The mission is part of efforts to strengthen the fight against drug trafficking and transnational organized crime in Latin America.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated that the deployment will enhance the U.S. operational capacity to detect, monitor, and dismantle illicit actors and activities within the Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility.
He added that the operation will bolster existing capabilities to reduce drug trafficking and counter the activities of transnational criminal organizations operating in the region.
The announcement comes just hours after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the death of six crew members of a narco-boat in the Caribbean during a U.S.-led operation. The vessel was linked to the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua, one of the most violent groups in the region.
The incident has heightened diplomatic tensions between the United States and several Latin American governments, particularly Colombia and Venezuela, following direct statements by President Donald Trump.
Trump to Meet Qatari Leaders During Asia Stopover to Discuss Gaza Peace
Maduro Requests Supreme Court to Strip Opposition Leader López of Venezuelan Citizenship
Pentagon deploys USS Gerald R. Ford after narco-boat operation kills six
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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