International

Colombian State offers public apology for false positives in Bogota and Soacha

Photo: @infopresidencia

October 4 |

The act of public apology for the extrajudicial executions of which young residents of Bogota, capital of Colombia, and the municipality of Soacha, in Cundinamarca, were victims, took place this Tuesday in Bogota’s Plaza de Bolivar.

The Minister of National Defense Iván Velásquez indicated that after a meeting held in the afternoon with the mothers of the victims, each one of them referred to what happened to their children.

On behalf of the State, Velásquez appeared before the international community to apologize for the crimes that have been called false positives, true extrajudicial executions, and stressed the need for truth.

“Today, committed to truth and justice, we present ourselves before the victims, before the Colombian society, we present ourselves before the community to say sorry, this should never have happened and it cannot happen again”, he assured.

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The Minister of National Defense also emphasized that despite tonight’s public act, “we still need to know the truth of what has been happening in the country for so many decades, in order to achieve guarantees of non-repetition. Only the truth can restore to achieve the forgiveness we need”.

For his part, Colombian President Gustavo Petro acknowledged that it is not an easy journey, because it is paradoxical that after making accusations for years, in the name of the State, he has to ask for forgiveness.

In this sense, he stressed that the flow of history makes that societies are built from their own mistakes to learn to be human.

“In what is specifically human and not animal, we have learned to kill the other, for power, for greed. We have developed a history of power, profoundly more barbaric than that developed by certain animal species”, he said.

The head of state alluded to the history of genocides in the world, and acknowledged that Colombian history began with the genocides of the Spaniards, then those that were evident in the republican life of the nineteenth century and later, those that were carried out in the name of the homeland or ideas that ended up defending greed.

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In this sense, he stressed the need to retake the historical memory, to avoid that extrajudicial executions such as those of the young people whose mothers the State asked for forgiveness from happening again.

“You are the mothers of the homeland. The mothers they wanted to silence. The mothers whom greed wanted to see silenced, who were a joke, who were mocked. That is why they transformed the words, so that people would think they were crazy,” he stressed.

In this regard, the dignitary pointed out that this greed and desire for power killed those 6,402 young people, it was not the bullets, but it is an act that remains in the history of the Army.

“Here they killed to concentrate wealth, to keep the land. Here they killed to keep the oil. Here they killed to keep the cocaine profits, for greed, and they are willing to kill more,” he denounced.

The president urged to take a space for reflection, which passes first of all because the truth is known and to take up the initiatives of other peoples of the world to prevent the continuation of the killings within societies.

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“Colombians are us, a collective. We have to rebuild ourselves on the basis of the truth, that is why I thank the Special Justice for Peace that they wanted to conclude their work in such a way. We have to tell those magistrates to work more, because more and more truth is needed, without fear”, he emphasized.

In this sense, the president asked them to discover the truth, because they have the support of both the soldiers and the current government, so that life may flow after so much death in the South American country, for the sake of reconciliation.

He explained that the concept of social forgiveness, which he issued during his campaign, can help to rebuild the country, as has happened in Spain, Germany, France and even the United States.

Likewise, he indicated that the truth also needs the Prosecutor’s Office to carry out investigations in the context of the current corruption regime, as a legacy of five decades of drug trafficking that propitiated the arrival to power of criminals in Colombia who, out of greed, have become genocidal.

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International

U.S. Senate Rejects Budget, Bringing Government Closer to Shutdown Amid DHS Dispute

The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday against a budget proposal in a move aimed at pressuring changes at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), following the killing of two civilians during a deployment of immigration agents in Minneapolis.

All Senate Democrats and seven Republican lawmakers voted against the bill, which requires 60 votes to advance, pushing the country closer to a partial government shutdown that would cut funding for several agencies, including the Pentagon and the Department of Health.

The rejection came as Senate leaders and the White House continue negotiations on a separate funding package for DHS that would allow reforms to the agency. Proposed measures include banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from wearing face coverings and requiring them to use body-worn cameras during operations.

The vote took place just hours after President Donald Trump said he was “close” to reaching an agreement with Democrats and did not believe the federal government would face another shutdown, following last year’s record stoppage.

“I don’t think the Democrats want a shutdown either, so we’ll work in a bipartisan way to avoid it. Hopefully, there will be no government shutdown. We’re working on that right now,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

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International

Trump Says Putin Agreed to One-Week Halt in Attacks on Ukraine Amid Extreme Cold

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he secured a commitment from Russian President Vladimir Putinto halt attacks against Ukraine for one week, citing extreme weather conditions affecting the region.

“Because of the extreme cold (…) I personally asked Putin not to attack Kyiv or other cities and towns for a week. And he agreed. He was very pleasant,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting broadcast by the White House.

Trump acknowledged that several advisers had questioned the decision to make the call.
“A lot of people told me not to waste the call because they wouldn’t agree. And he accepted. And we’re very happy they did, because they don’t need missiles hitting their towns and cities,” the president said.

According to Trump, Ukrainian authorities reacted with surprise to the announcement but welcomed the possibility of a temporary ceasefire.
“It’s extraordinarily cold, record cold (…) They say they’ve never experienced cold like this,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later commented on the announcement, expressing hope that the agreement would be honored.

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International

Storm Kristin Kills Five in Portugal, Leaves Nearly 500,000 Without Power

Storm Kristin, which battered Portugal with heavy rain and strong winds early Wednesday, has left at least five people dead, while nearly half a million residents remained without electricity as of Thursday, according to updated figures from authorities.

The revised death toll was confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson for the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANPEC). On Wednesday, the agency had reported four fatalities.

Meanwhile, E-Redes, the country’s electricity distribution network operator, said that around 450,000 customers were still without power, particularly in central Portugal.

Emergency services responded to approximately 1,500 incidents between midnight and 8:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, as the storm caused widespread disruptions.

The Portuguese government described Kristin as an “extreme weather event” that inflicted significant damage across several regions of the country. At the height of the storm, as many as 850,000 households and institutions lost electricity during the early hours of Wednesday.

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Several municipalities ordered the closure of schools, many of which remained shut on Thursday due to ongoing adverse conditions.

Ricardo Costa, regional deputy commander of the Leiria Fire Brigade, said residents continue to seek assistance as rainfall persists.
“Even though the rain is not extremely intense, it is causing extensive damage to homes,” he noted.

In Figueira da Foz, a coastal city in central Portugal, strong winds toppled a giant Ferris wheel, underscoring the severity of the storm.