International

At least five peace signatories and social leaders are killed in fighting in Colombia

At least five peace signatories were killed this Thursday in the midst of the fighting between the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and a dissident of the former FARC in the turbulent Colombian region of Catatumbo (northeast), the UN denounced.

“I express my strongest condemnation for the murder of 5 peace signatories and leaders in Catatumbo. It is urgent to protect the civilian population and communities. I call on armed groups to cease violent actions. The true will for dialogue involves respecting the lives of those who opted for peace,” said the special representative of the UN Secretary General in Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, in his X account.

The fighting, apparently due to territorial disputes, takes place in several rural areas of the department of Norte de Santander, including the hamlet of El Aserrío, which is part of the municipality of Teorama, and in Filo Gringo, located in Tibú, two of the municipalities that are part of the Catatumbo, according to different authorities.

Rodrigo Londoño, head of the Commons party, which emerged from the demobilization of the FARC in 2016, said that the five murdered are signatories of peace and demanded “guarantees” from Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in the face of what he called “an ongoing genocide.”

“Serious situation in the Catatumbo region. I demand that the armed groups stop the confrontation. History will not forgive the atrocities they commit against the civilian population and the signatories of peace. The Catatumbo and all of Colombia deserve to live in peace,” said Londoño, who was the last commander of the FARC.

20250701_dengue_728x90

20250901_vacunacion_vsr-728x90

20250901_minsal_tetra_-728x90

20250701_vacunacion-influenza-728x90

20250701_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20250715_donacion_sangre_central_728x90

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

According to the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz), two of the fatalities were identified as Albeiro Díaz Franco and Yurgen Martínez, who were murdered in a rural area of Teorama, where they were carrying out their reincorporation process.

Another of the dead ex-combatants is Jhan Carlos Carvajalino, who “was forcibly removed from his place of residence by armed men” and then murdered in Convención, a municipality neighboring Teorama.

Faced with what happened, the Army indicated that “it is in the area, fulfilling its mission of providing security and preserving the life and integrity of the communities that live in the municipalities of the Catatumbo region.”

President Petro, for his part, refueled a statement from the Association of Mothers of Catatumbo for Peace, which denounces what happened today in the region and asked the Government to intervene, and commented: “They have bloodied the Catatumbo. We hear the voice of the mothers.”

El Catatumbo, a poor and jungle region that borders Venezuela, is formed by the municipalities of Ábrego, Convención, El Carmen, El Tarra, Hacarí, La Playa, San Calixto, Sardinata, Teorama and Tibú, in which the ELN, FARC dissidents, a stronghold of the People’s Liberation Army (EPL) and other gangs that dispute control of coca crops and drug trafficking corridors operate.

20250701_dengue_728x90

20250901_vacunacion_vsr-728x90

20250901_minsal_tetra_-728x90

20250701_vacunacion-influenza-728x90

20250701_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20250715_donacion_sangre_central_728x90

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

The Ombudsman’s Office expressed its “deep concern about the beginning of armed confrontations between the Central General Staff and the ELN in the Catatumbo region,” where “this armed conflict has generated a serious violation of human rights in the municipalities of this area of the country”.

International

Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids

Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.

The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.

In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.

He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”

The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.

20250701_dengue_728x90

20250901_vacunacion_vsr-728x90

20250901_minsal_tetra_-728x90

20250701_vacunacion-influenza-728x90

20250701_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20250715_donacion_sangre_central_728x90

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.

International

Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win

Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.

“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.

In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”

International

Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains

Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.

The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.

“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”

Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.