International

Colombia will ask the UN to extend the implementation of the peace agreement to more than 15 years

The Government of Colombia will ask the UN Security Council to consider the possibility of expanding the implementation of the peace agreement signed in 2016 with the former FARC guerrilla beyond the 15 years agreed when it was signed, Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said on Tuesday.

“We are proposing that an adjustment be made to the implementation framework plan that was designed to be implemented in 15 years and with the delays we must seriously consider the possibility of extending the implementation period of that framework plan,” Murillo said about the proposal that President Gustavo Petro will present to the Security Council on Thursday.

For the time being, the possibility of extending the 15-year period for the implementation that was signed and working on tables to work “extraordinary and emergency measures” will be considered to expedite the implementation because, as Murillo pointed out in a press conference: “It is very clear that we will not be able to comply with the agreement in the 15 years that were proposed in the framework implementation plan and will probably require an extension.”

That extension “has been said that it has to be (…) from five to eight years,” although at the moment it is under discussion.

“Althog much progress has been made in the implementation of the peace agreement, it is supremely important that the structural obstacles that are to the timely implementation and full implementation of the agreement can be removed,” said the chancellor, who stressed that the current Government is the one that has implemented the most.

20260101_dengue_cubeta_728x90

These obstacles are “institutional” but there are also “budgets” for peace in Colombia and others “that have to do with the legal and legal that have really prevented the accelerated advance of the implementation of the agreement,” Murillo said.

Therefore, the Government wants to propose “a shock plan for the next two years” that will require “extraordinary measures, some emergency, to be able to put the implementation in tune,” and thus “overcome the structural barriers that the complete implementation of the agreement has.”

The president of Colombia will go to New York on Thursday for the quarterly session of the Security Council where the state of implementation of the peace agreement will be discussed and where the UN verification mission will present its report for this quarter.

“Petro will be very clear that he remains firmly committed to the implementation of the agreement, but obviously connected to the policy of total peace and in that sense he will request that it continue with the unanimous support and accompaniment of the international community through the United Nations Security Council, but also an accompaniment to the new measures and the guarantees that will obviously be proposed to accelerate the implementation,” Murillo anticipated.

In New York, the president will also participate in the inauguration of a monument at the UN headquarters made with the smelting of weapons left by the FARC and will also meet with the Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, to talk about Colombia and other countries such as the situation in Gaza or the war in Ukraine.

20260101_dengue_cubeta_728x90

International

Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty to Killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

Luigi Mangione admitted Friday to fatally shooting Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurance group in the United States, during an appearance before a federal judge.

The case shocked the U.S. business community and dates back to December 2024, when Mangione opened fire on Thompson, 50, on a Manhattan street. Prosecutors have described the attack as being motivated by Mangione’s opposition to the U.S. health insurance system.

“On the morning of December 4, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” Mangione said as he pleaded guilty to a federal stalking charge related to his pursuit of the executive.

Mangione, 28, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, and prosecutors have indicated that they will seek a life sentence.

In addition to the federal charges related to stalking Thompson, Mangione also faces a murder case brought by the state of New York.

20260101_dengue_cubeta_728x90

Following his guilty plea in federal court, Mangione’s defense asked a state court to dismiss the state charges, arguing that prosecuting him again for the same conduct would violate protections against double jeopardy.

“We have just filed our motion in state court to explain why the charges should be dismissed under New York’s protections against double jeopardy,” Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said Friday.

Both the federal and state cases could result in a life sentence. Two other federal charges that initially carried the possibility of the death penalty were dismissed by a judge earlier this year.

International

ICE Plan to Equip Agents With Electric Shock Gloves Raises Abuse Concerns

Plans to equip U.S. immigration agents with gloves capable of delivering electric shocks are raising concerns over potential abuses by a law enforcement agency that critics accuse of using excessive force and providing inadequate training to its personnel.

The plan involves the potential purchase of electric-shock gloves for agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency primarily responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s campaign to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

Democratic Representative Maxwell Frost criticized the proposal on X, arguing that the agency has already faced accusations of excessive force during immigration enforcement operations.

“As if assaulting and shooting people in the streets wasn’t enough,” Frost wrote. He also criticized the reported $20 million potential expenditure on the devices and called for greater restrictions on ICE.

The agency has faced growing scrutiny following a series of deadly shootings during immigration enforcement operations. Among the incidents were the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota in January who were participating in protests against the agency.

20260101_dengue_cubeta_728x90

Critics have focused on the tactics used by ICE agents when detaining immigrants, as well as allegations that training standards for newly recruited personnel have been lowered.

According to a procurement plan first reported by the Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, could spend between $10 million and $20 million on the devices.

The gloves are described by the agency as tools intended for “distraction and de-escalation,” rather than lethal weapons. The system, known as GLOVE, stands for “Generated Low-Output Voltage Emitter.”

The device is manufactured by Compliant Technologies, a Kentucky-based company that describes its products as advanced non-lethal tools designed to protect and assist law enforcement and other personnel.

The proposal comes amid an intensifying national debate over ICE’s enforcement methods and the use of force during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

20260101_dengue_cubeta_728x90

International

Three U.S. Executions Set for Same Day as Trump Pushes to Expand Death Penalty

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 U.S. states, while three others —California, Oregon and Pennsylvania— currently have moratoriums in place.

The United States is set to carry out three executions on the same day, a rare occurrence that has not happened since 2010, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.

President Donald Trump has sought to expand the use of capital punishment for what he describes as “the most heinous crimes.” In April, the Department of Justice proposed expanding execution methods to include firing squads, lethal gas and electrocution.

Tennessee is scheduled to execute Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines, 66, on Thursday. He was sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of a woman, according to local media.

In Oklahoma, Carlos Cuesta-Rodríguez, 70, is scheduled to be executed for a 2003 murder.

20260101_dengue_cubeta_728x90

Meanwhile, Alabama plans to execute Jeremy Williams, 42, who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl.

The United States carried out 47 executions in 2025, the highest number since 2009, when 52 executions were recorded.

Florida conducted the largest number of executions last year, with 19, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, with five each.

Of the executions carried out in 2025, 39 were conducted by lethal injection. Three were carried out by firing squad and five through nitrogen hypoxia, a method that involves forcing nitrogen gas into a face mask, depriving the prisoner of oxygen.

The United Nations has condemned nitrogen gas as a cruel and inhumane method of capital punishment.