International
Analyst León Valencia: The ELN subordinated peace to its plan to seize the border
Analyst León Valencia, director of the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation (Pares), states in an interview with EFE that the guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN) “subordinated” the peace negotiations with the Government to a plan to seize the Colombian-Venezuelan border.
“They subordinated peace to their strategy of seizing the border. Really what they have shown at this time is that their main objective is to have control of that border, grow on that border and be the master of the border between Colombia and Venezuela,” says Valencia, who in his youth was a member of the ELN.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on January 17 the suspension of peace talks with the ELN, which he accused of committing “war crimes” in the Catatumbo region, where a confrontation between that guerrilla and the Front 33 of the FARC dissidents has left at least 56 dead and more than 54,000 displaced since January 16.
In that sense, the director of Pares, who analyzes everything that happens with the ELN in the book ‘Is lead what’s coming?’ (Penguin Randon House), considers that the fact that the guerrillas are facing another “armed left” group and not the Military Forces claims that “their main idea is to seize that border, fighting against the other illegals”.
The analyst, one of the greatest experts on the Colombian armed conflict, believes that the guerrilla has offered itself as “a support force” to the Chavista leader Nicolás Maduro “in the event of a foreign aggression” on Venezuela.
Valencia says that the guerrillas allied with the Venezuelan Government in 2019 to “sweep the paramilitaries” that were at the border, a successful operation because at that time, according to Pares figures, there were 27 armed groups there and only a few remain.
However, something that the ELN did not count on, in Valencia’s opinion, is that Petro did not cut off relations with Maduro after his questioned possession on January 10, which has led both countries to work together to face guerrilla violence on the common border of 2,219 kilometers.
“That is a little out of place for them, (they thought that Petro) was going to break relations with Venezuela and that Maduro was going to face (the President of the United States, Donald) Trump very hard and that Trump was also going to act immediately against Venezuela. Now the thing is temporarily very strange,” he says.
The main bet of the Petro Government was the policy of ‘Total Peace’, with which it sought to negotiate an agreement with the ELN and FARC dissidents, as well as the submission to justice of the main criminal gangs in the country.
However, with 18 months to go until the end of his mandate, the most advanced negotiation was that of the ELN and the president’s proposal seems to be shipwrecked.
In Valencia’s opinion, it is difficult to understand why the guerrillas are not signing peace with the first left-wing government in Colombia, although he believes that Petro was wrong to think that “ideology” and having “a similar speech” was going to be enough to disarm the ELN.
“The conflict changed radically, which is what we say in our book ‘Is lead what’s coming?’. We make an X-ray of the change in the conflict of some guerrillas who threatened the State and wanted to take central power and who are no longer in that now,” he explains.
Neither the ELN nor the FARC dissidents seek, as they intended before, to take power, but now “they are on the borders, in the regions, occupying territories, controlling the population, attacking the population, they are in something else”.
“There is a turn of the conflict and the ELN is in it. He gave up the seizure of power and is more in a task that they call resistance, they declare it publicly (…) It is a resistance of the ‘global south’, which is a series of groups and countries that have ideas of revolution, that have autocratic governments and are in something else,” says Valencia.
In this context, the director of Pares warns that the Military Forces and the Police must make a “very big operational change.”
“The intelligence that was made to look for where the ELN comes from, where the FARC come from to attack the State is no longer useful. Where do these groups go to seize a border, a region, how do they attack the population? It is another type of intelligence and it is what the State is not doing,” Valencia concludes.
International
Mexico and Guatemala Agree on Five-Point Binational Plan for 2027
Mexico and Guatemala agreed Tuesday on a 2027 Binational Plan built around five areas of cooperation, along with a schedule of meetings and initiatives aimed at making progress by the end of 2026 on security, border infrastructure, human mobility, development and technical and social cooperation.
The agreement was announced by the foreign ministers of both countries following a meeting in Mexico City.
Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said the plan will establish the “direction and priorities” of bilateral relations for next year. His Guatemalan counterpart, Carlos Ramiro Martínez, said the meeting allowed both governments to make decisions, schedule activities and revitalize bilateral cooperation mechanisms.
Security and border infrastructure
In the area of security, the two governments have nearly completed negotiations on a new memorandum of understanding for the Mexico-Guatemala High-Level Security Group (Ganseg), which was reactivated in 2025.
The countries expect to sign the agreement in the coming months to strengthen coordination and their ability to respond to shared security threats.
Regarding their nearly 1,000-kilometer shared border, Mexico and Guatemala agreed to advance infrastructure improvements at border crossings and continue work on a joint cargo clearance program between Ciudad Hidalgo and Tecún Umán, two border areas separated by the Suchiate River.
The measures are intended to facilitate bilateral trade while making cross-border exchanges safer and more efficient.
The two governments will also continue defining a route toward a railway connection between their countries through Line K of Mexico’s Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT), with the aim of strengthening economic and community ties.
Migration and development
On human mobility, Mexico and Guatemala will maintain coordination to ensure safe, orderly and dignified returns, while strengthening protection for people in transit.
The bilateral agenda also includes a second phase of the Sembrando Vida program in Guatemala, which is expected to benefit 10,000 people across 15 departments.
Both countries will also advance initiatives under Juntos para el Bienestar, as well as six technical, scientific and energy cooperation projects approved by the Joint Commission.
The agreements seek to strengthen bilateral ties and establish concrete priorities for cooperation between Mexico and Guatemala during 2027.
International
France to Expel Two Iranian Diplomats Over Alleged Attack on French Officials
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced Tuesday, August 18, 2026, that France will expel two Iranian diplomats in response to what Paris described as an attack on two French representatives in Iran last month.
“Two French diplomats were scandalously and deliberately assaulted on July 19. I had announced that this intolerable act would have consequences. It has now happened. Two Iranian diplomats in France will be expelled in the coming days,” Barrot said in a message posted on X.
The two Iranian diplomats have been declared persona non grata and will be required to leave France within the coming days, according to the French foreign minister.
About a month ago, Barrot said that two members of the French diplomatic staff had been detained by Iranian security forces for several hours. One of them was also subjected to harassment, he said.
The French government described the incident as an “extremely serious act of intimidation” that violated diplomatic immunity.
The two French embassy staff members were working on programs supporting Iranian civil society, particularly initiatives involving artists and researchers.
Iran has denied France’s allegations regarding the incident. The diplomatic dispute comes amid already strained relations between Paris and Tehran.
International
Heat wave puts more than 70 million Americans under alerts as temperatures near 46°C
More than 70 million people remained under heat alerts Monday as an intense heat wave continued across the southern United States, particularly Florida and states along the Mexican border, where temperatures and heat indexes could reach as high as 46 degrees Celsius, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Several cities recorded or tied temperature records over the weekend and into Monday, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale in Florida; Laredo, Borger and Austin’s airport in Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina; and Memphis, Tennessee.
The NWS warned that the heat wave will continue affecting the southern and southeastern United States, with maximum temperatures expected to remain near 38°C to 40°C for several days. The heat index, which combines temperature and humidity to estimate how hot conditions feel, could reach 46°C.
The extreme heat is also spreading into the Southwest, where temperatures began rising again between Monday and Tuesday. Forecast highs in the region range from about 38°C to 43°C.
Heat alerts remain in effect across Nevada, Arizona and California, including areas in southern Arizona and California near the Mexican border, as authorities warn of the risks posed by prolonged extreme temperatures.
The NWS urged residents to limit outdoor activity, stay hydrated, ensure access to air conditioning or cooling centers, and check on vulnerable friends, neighbors and family members.
The United States is experiencing a summer marked by above-average temperatures and repeated heat waves. One of the most intense episodes occurred during the July 4 weekend, when extreme heat was blamed for roughly 30 deaths.
July was the hottest month ever recorded in the United States since measurements began, with the average temperature across the contiguous country approaching 25°C, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The combination of extreme heat and drought conditions has also fueled wildfires. Nearly 3 million hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, making it the largest area affected by wildfires in a decade.
Mexico and Guatemala Agree on Five-Point Binational Plan for 2027
France to Expel Two Iranian Diplomats Over Alleged Attack on French Officials
Heat wave puts more than 70 million Americans under alerts as temperatures near 46°C
Trump warns Iran over nuclear ambitions as U.S.-Iran ceasefire deadline passes
Brazil’s Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro kick off election campaigns amid focus on crime
Actress Hayden Panettiere Dies at 36, Representative Confirms
Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty to Killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
ICE Plan to Equip Agents With Electric Shock Gloves Raises Abuse Concerns
France to Expel Two Iranian Diplomats Over Alleged Attack on French Officials
Actress Hayden Panettiere Dies at 36, Representative Confirms
Trump warns Iran over nuclear ambitions as U.S.-Iran ceasefire deadline passes
Heat wave puts more than 70 million Americans under alerts as temperatures near 46°C
Brazil’s Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro kick off election campaigns amid focus on crime
Mexico and Guatemala Agree on Five-Point Binational Plan for 2027
Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty to Killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
ICE Plan to Equip Agents With Electric Shock Gloves Raises Abuse Concerns
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International12 hours agoFrance to Expel Two Iranian Diplomats Over Alleged Attack on French Officials
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International2 days agoActress Hayden Panettiere Dies at 36, Representative Confirms
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International2 days agoTrump warns Iran over nuclear ambitions as U.S.-Iran ceasefire deadline passes
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International2 days agoHeat wave puts more than 70 million Americans under alerts as temperatures near 46°C
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International2 days agoBrazil’s Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro kick off election campaigns amid focus on crime
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International12 hours agoMexico and Guatemala Agree on Five-Point Binational Plan for 2027
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International5 days agoLuigi Mangione Pleads Guilty to Killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
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International5 days agoICE Plan to Equip Agents With Electric Shock Gloves Raises Abuse Concerns