International

Colombian Foreign Ministry calls ambassador to FAO Armando Benedetti for prosecution for sexist aggression

The Colombian Foreign Ministry called the country to the ambassador to the FAO, Armando Benedetti, to open a disciplinary process after his wife, Adelina Guerrero, denounced that she was the victim of an alleged sexist assault during a trip to Madrid.

Benedetti will have to present himself “in the term of the distance,” a figure provided for in the Law of Administrative Procedure taking into account that he resides in Rome, headquarters of the FAO, an official source told EFE on Tuesday.

According to Guerrero’s complaint, confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the aggression occurred on June 30 in the Spanish capital.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it was notified of the situation by the embassy in Spain, which is why it activated “the official mechanisms to know what happened and initiate the corresponding protocol.”

“This case is in the knowledge of our disciplinary internal control office, and when we have results we will act in accordance with the law,” said the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which later decided to call the ambassador.

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According to the Blu Radio station, the Spanish authorities were informed of a possible verbal assault by Benedetti against his wife in a private residence in Madrid that “may have escalated to a physical assault, although witnesses present prevented this from happening.”

The radio pointed out that when the police arrived at the scene, the ambassador invoked his diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested, but the police opened a file for Guerrero’s complaint before a special unit of cases of gender violence.

The Diplomatic and Consular Association of Colombia expressed in a statement its “refeal” of these facts and deeply regretted that an incident of a family and personal nature has become a state problem due to the possible misuse of diplomatic immunity to evade responsibilities” by Benedetti.

“These acts are unacceptable and even more so when it comes to senior State officials who carry the representation of Colombians and must maintain the good name of our country,” said the Diplomatic and Consular Association.

The entity recalled “that feminist politics” and “gender equality” govern the country’s foreign policy and therefore, “the negative impact on Colombia’s international image is regrettable.”

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“We emphasize that the chancellery has opened an investigation and we will be attentive to the delivery of the timely and forceful results that condemn the acts of mistreatment of women, ensuring that those responsible face the consequences of their actions because the State must have zero tolerance for such facts,” adds the statement of the Diplomatic Association.

Benedetti, for his part, said in his X account that “what has been said about an alleged aggression is not true and does not conform to the fact in Spain.”

“The truth will be proven in the Spanish court. At this moment I am in the middle of a divorce process that responds to the private and family sphere and, for the sake of my children, I will be cautious,” he added.

Armando Benedetti was one of the greatest supporters of the Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, during his electoral campaign and that is why he was appointed ambassador in Caracas in September 2022 but resigned in June last year when he was involved in a scandal of illegal eavesdropping in the presidential cabinet.

In a verbal confrontation with Laura Sarabia, then Petro’s chief of staff and current director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency (Dapre), Benedetti threatened to reveal compromising information about the financing of the presidential campaign.

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After the resignation from the embassy in Caracas and the threats to Sarabia, the then Colombian foreign minister, Álvaro Leyva, said that Benedetti lacked credibility for being a “drug addict.”

However, in February of this year, Benedetti was appointed ambassador to FAO, for which the Government reopened that mission that had been closed since 1999, a designation that was denounced by the Diplomatic Association “for alleged irregularities that contravene the principles of our organization.”

Benedetti has four court cases open, one of them an investigation into the possible illegal financing of Petro’s campaign.

International

Iran Reports 201 Dead, 747 Injured After U.S. and Israeli Strikes

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported Sunday night (local time) that at least 201 people were killed and 747 injured following attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.

A spokesperson for the humanitarian organization said more than 220 rescue teams have been deployed across affected areas and that relief operations are continuing without interruption. The official highlighted the difficulty of treating the large number of wounded and the urgent need for additional resources in impacted provinces.

Out of Iran’s 31 provinces, 24 have reported damage, according to a statement carried by the Isna news agency. This marks the first overall casualty toll released by Iranian state-affiliated media since the launch of the offensive.

Among the dead are 85 schoolgirls from a school in the southern city of Minab, according to the country’s judiciary. “The number of martyrs at the Minab girls’ school has risen to 85,” the local prosecutor’s office said, as quoted by the judiciary’s website, Mizan Online.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian described the attack as a “savagery” that “constitutes a new black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors.”

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Meanwhile, the international community continues to monitor the situation closely amid concerns about possible further reprisals and the broader impact on Middle East stability, energy markets, and global security.

AFP noted that it was unable to independently verify the casualty figures or the circumstances surrounding the events.

International

Pope Leo XIV Urges End to ‘Spiral of Violence’ in Middle East

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the “spiral of violence” in the Middle East, following military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran and subsequent retaliatory bombardments in the region.

“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I urge the parties involved to assume their moral responsibility and stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” the pontiff told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

Speaking during the Angelus prayer, the U.S.-born pope said stability and peace cannot be achieved through threats or weapons. “Stability and peace are not built with reciprocal threats or with arms that sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue,” he declared.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics also called for diplomacy to “regain its role” amid escalating tensions.

In addition, the pope urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to urgently resume dialogue after several days of clashes between the two countries.

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International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.