International

Petro says he is dealing with Maduro with a plan to “eradicate” armed groups from the border

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, said on Thursday that he has been in contact with Nicolás Maduro to launch an action plan that would allow the “eradication” of armed groups from the border with Venezuela, following the clashes in the Catatumbo area between the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and a dissident of the FARC.

“I have talked to the president in Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, to cover up the illegal passages, especially in the Catatumbo River, and it is acted with flights from side to side, we verify (sic) with the presence of 1,580 compatriots in a refugee camp on the other side,” Petro said in his social network account X.

He also said that “an action plan is being built, a set that seeks to close all space for action of the owners of drug trafficking on the border.”

The president thus responded to criticism the day before for making an official trip to Haiti while the country faces the security and humanitarian crisis caused by the clashes in the Catatumbo, which began a week ago and left between 60 and 80 dead, according to different authorities, as well as some 36,000 displaced people.

“No one disconnects at this time. I inform you that I have been connected with the current Venezuelan Government from Haiti and I have delegated my Minister of Defense to talk to his peer and establish a joint plan to eradicate armed gangs on the border,” Petro added.

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Petro also said that there will be “a meeting of the two defense ministers for this purpose.”

Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo, who resigned this week and will be in office until January 31, said on Wednesday in New York that the Colombian Government has asked that of Venezuela through diplomatic channels to ensure greater control at the border to prevent the passage of ELN fighters from Catatumbo.

Murillo, who spoke before the UN Security Council at its quarterly session on the Verification Mission in Colombia, said that the two Governments “are coordinated to ensure tranquility on both sides of the border.”

To this end, he added, Colombia has “sadd to the Venezuelan State that it is definitive to avoid the passages of the members of the ELN through the border,” because it is a fact that “there were a series of illegal passages,” although all this without going to the extreme of closing the legal bridges that communicate the two countries.

Colombia and Venezuela share a border of 2,219 kilometers, of which about 375 are in the Catatumbo region, the scene of the clashes between the ELN and the 33rd Front of the FARC dissidents, for territorial control and drug trafficking businesses.

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The delegation of the Government of Colombia in the dialogues with the National Liberation Army (ELN) said that the members of the guerrillas participating in the peace process are not in Cuba, after the Prosecutor’s Office reactivated the arrest warrants against 31 negotiators of the armed group.

“Our delegation affirms that to date, and according to official information, in Cuba there are no representatives or people authorized to participate in the peace process belonging to the ELN,” said this Thursday the Government delegation headed by Vera Grabe in a message on her X account.

This statement is made after the Prosecutor’s Office reactivated on Wednesday the arrest warrants against the ELN peace negotiators after Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered the suspension of talks due to the “war crimes” that that guerrilla is committing in the Catatumbo.

International

Florida judge sets 2027 trial in Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against BBC

A federal judge in Florida has scheduled February 2027 for the trial in the lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump against the BBC, in which he is seeking $10 billion in damages for defamation.

Trump accuses the British broadcaster of airing a misleading edit of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, which, he says, made it appear that he explicitly urged his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

The president filed the suit in December in federal court in Florida, alleging defamation and violations of a law governing business practices when the program was broadcast ahead of the 2024 election.

Trump is seeking $5 billion in damages for each of the two claims.

Lawyers for the BBC unsuccessfully asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Trump had not suffered a “legally recognizable harm,” since the investigative program Panorama, which included the edited footage, aired outside the United States.

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International

Head-of-state diplomacy key to guiding China–U.S. ties, Beijing says

Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–United States relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday during a regular press briefing, when asked about high-level exchanges between the two sides.

Lin added that in a recent phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump once again expressed his intention to visit China in April, while Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his invitation.

Both sides remain in communication regarding the matter, the spokesperson said.

Lin noted that the essence of China–U.S. economic and trade ties lies in mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

“Both parties should work together to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, injecting greater certainty and stability into China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as well as into the global economy,” he said.

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International

Trump administration to end special immigration operation in Minnesota

The administration of Donald Trump is bringing to a close its special operation targeting illegal immigration in the northern state of Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday, following weeks of unrest and the fatal shootings of two activists by federal agents.

Thousands of federal officers had been deployed to Minnesota in December to carry out large-scale raids against undocumented immigrants.

The operations triggered strong reactions from residents and advocacy groups, leading to daily confrontations and the deaths of two people who were shot by federal agents.

“I proposed, and President Trump agreed, that this special operation should end in Minnesota,” Homan said during a press conference in the state capital, Minneapolis.

“A significant drawdown began this week and will continue into next week,” he added.

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Homan indicated that similar enforcement efforts could be launched in other cities.

“Next week we will redeploy the agents currently here back to their home stations or to other parts of the country where they are needed. But we will continue to enforce immigration laws,” he said.