Colombia

Authorities say that rescue workers continue to search for the missing and assist residents in town outside of Medellin.

At least 11 people have been killed and 15 remain missing after a landslide in the city of Bello in Colombia’s northwest, according to authorities.

Evacuation orders and rescue efforts continue a day after the landslide, with government officials warning that heavy rains pose an ongoing threat to the area around Medellin, Colombia’s second-largest city.

“We continue to support emergency and rescue work in Bello, where 11 people have sadly been reported killed, at least 15 are missing, and more than 1,500 people are in shelters,” Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez said in a social media post on Wednesday.

Floodwaters overwhelmed local waterways on Tuesday during the early morning hours while residents were asleep.

A wave of mud surged through Bello, a crowded community in the hills above Medellin, burying about a dozen homes, sweeping away cars and leaving behind piles of debris.

Rescue workers have used dogs, drones and other means to search for the missing. Shelters have been set up in local schools and community centres.

Heavy rains pose especially high risks for makeshift homes built into the hillsides, which can become unstable during periods of sustained rainfall. It is often the country’s poorer residents who live in these danger zones, many of them having fled conflict in Colombia’s rural areas for the relative safety of a city.

The Medellin town hall also issued evacuation orders for Villatina, also on the outskirts of Medellin, on Tuesday, stating that 23 buildings would be demolished due to the risk of possible collapse. The town hall says that the order was based on previous landslides during late May, and that the risk posed by the insecure structures has been aggravated by recent heavy rain.

Around 60 homes were also ordered evacuated in Medellin, which suffered damage during recent storms.

President Gustavo Petro says freeing the seized soldiers ‘is imperative’.

The Colombian army says more than 50 soldiers have been seized by civilians in a southwest mountainous area.

A platoon of soldiers was the first to be seized on Saturday during an operation in El Tambo, a municipality that is part of an area known as the Micay Canyon, a key zone for cocaine production and one of the most tense in the country’s ongoing security crisis.

On Sunday, another group of soldiers was surrounded by at least 200 residents as they headed towards the town of El Plateado, in the same region.

“As a result of both events [both kidnappings], a total of four noncommissioned officers and 53 professional soldiers remain deprived of their liberty,” the army said on Sunday.

General Federico Alberto Mejia, who leads military operations in the southwest, added in a video that it was a “kidnapping” by rebels who had “infiltrated” the community.

The Colombian army has maintained that the civilians in the region receive orders from the Central General Staff (EMC), the main dissident group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that refused to be part of a peace deal with the government in 2016.

President Gustavo Petro, who has pledged to bring peace to the country, said on social media that freeing the soldiers “is imperative”.

The left-wing leader has been trying for months to ensure that the country’s armed forces gain access to Micay Canyon.

But his government has struggled to contain violence in urban and rural areas as several rebel groups try to take over territory abandoned by the FARC after the peace deal.

This has made many Colombians fearful of a return to the bloody violence of the 1980s and 90s, when cartel attacks and political assassinations were frequent.

Peace talks between the FARC-EMC faction and the government broke down last year after a series of attacks on Indigenous communities.

June 20 (UPI) — Colombia’s recent entry into the BRICS-backed New Development Bank marks a significant shift in its foreign and economic policy. With the move, President Gustavo Petro’s administration aims to reduce the country’s long-standing reliance on Western financing and attract new investment for strategic infrastructure projects.

“Colombia officially joins the BRICS New Development Bank. This membership opens new financing opportunities for strategic projects and is a key step toward diversifying alliances and strengthening the country’s economy,” the Colombian presidency announced Thursday in a post on X.

Colombia’s membership involves an initial $512 million commitment and makes it the first South American nation to formally join the bank, which is backed by 11 BRICS full members, including China, Russia, India, South Africa and Brazil.

Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia welcomed the announcement, saying the move goes beyond financial strategy and reflects broader national goals. “We continue to pave the way for new opportunities for the country,” she wrote on X.

Beyond access to loans with fewer conditions, the move carries significant symbolic weight. It reflects the Petro administration’s interest in redefining Colombia’s international role, shifting away from the traditional Washington-Bogotá axis to pursue a more independent path aligned with the Global South.

The announcement has sparked both enthusiasm and skepticism among Colombian analysts, who warn of financial risks, geopolitical consequences and the delicate balance Bogotá must maintain with the United States, its primary trading and military partner.

The Petro government has defended the move as a pragmatic step amid global economic volatility and the weakening of the traditional multilateral order.

Officials also see it as an opportunity to advance strategic projects such as the interoceanic railway — an ambitious infrastructure initiative aimed at positioning Colombia as a commercial hub between Asia and the Caribbean.

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry and Finance Ministry officials emphasized that joining the New Development Bank does not signal a break with the Inter-American Development Bank or the International Monetary Fund.

“This is about having more options, not replacing allies,” Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla said.

Still, reactions in Colombia remain divided. While lawmakers from the ruling coalition praised what they called the country’s “financial emancipation,” opposition groups and business associations raised concerns about the fiscal burden and reputational risks of aligning with a bloc that includes China and Russia.

“Do we want to depend on the yuan or the ruble? What guarantees does a bank dominated by authoritarian regimes offer?” conservative senator and former presidential candidate Enrique Gómez asked.

Colombia has long been one of the United States’ closest allies in the fight against drug trafficking and in supporting the liberal economic model promoted by Washington. Against that backdrop, closer ties with China have raised tensions.

The U.S. State Department has said it will firmly oppose financing for Latin American projects tied to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global investment strategy backed by Beijing that aims to expand its economic influence through critical infrastructure development around the world.

Founded in 2015, the New Development Bank aims to provide financing for infrastructure and sustainable development in emerging economies, with fewer political conditions than the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.

To date, it has approved more than $40 billion in funding for 122 infrastructure projects in sectors such as transportation, clean energy and sanitation.

President Gustavo Petro has sought to call a referendum, in a move the opposition say violates the constitution.

Colombia’s Council of State has suspended a decree by President Gustavo Petro that sought to call a referendum on a labour reform, citing a lack of Senate authorisation.

The move on Wednesday comes after Petro last week bypassed legislative opposition and signed a decree summoning voters to the polls in August to decide on the labour reform.

The package includes provisions for an eight-hour daytime workday, higher weekend and holiday pay, and mandatory social security contributions from delivery app drivers – key social policies the left-wing leader has pushed for.

A majority of the social and economic reforms promised by Petro – who was elected in 2022 on pledges to right centuries of inequality in the Andean country – have been rejected by lawmakers.

The decree sparked criticism from the opposition, which argued that Petro’s decree violates the Political Constitution of Colombia and destroys the separation of powers of the country’s three branches of government.

Under Colombian law, the Senate must rule on the advisability of referendums. If the referendum were to be held, each measure would need to be approved by the majority of at least 13.5 million voters, a third of Colombia’s electoral roll, to be valid.

Political opponents also said the costly referendum was really aimed at boosting Petro’s party ahead of 2026 elections, when he cannot seek re-election.

Despite the failure to call a referendum, the Senate on Tuesday approved a revised version of the labour reform bill after extensive debate, with 57 votes in favour and 31 against.

The Senate previously rejected the reform bill in April, but it was revived after Petro warned he would declare a referendum to put the measure to a public vote.

The presidency dubbed the bill “a historic step toward decent work” in a post on X shared by Petro.

Protests were recently held in the capital Bogota and other major cities by advocates of Petro, who expressed their support for his proposed labour reform.

Colombia is still reeling from bombing attacks in the southwest of the country that left seven dead and an attempted assassination on conservative opposition senator, and presidential hopeful, Miguel Uribe Turbay, which sparked fears the country could return to its darker days of assassinations and prolonged violence.

One of the two detainees still missing after escaping from a New Jersey federal immigration detention center has been arrested, the FBI said Tuesday.

Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes, from Honduras, has been taken into custody, FBI spokesperson Amy Thoreson said in an email. Andres Felipe Pineda-Mogollon, from Colombia, is still missing from Thursday night’s escape, the bureau said.

Bautista-Reyes and Pineda-Mogollon and two other men busted out of the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark during reports of disorder there by breaking through a wall and escaping from a parking lot, according to U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, and Homeland Security officials.

All four men were in the country illegally and had been charged by local police in New Jersey and New York City, federal officials said.

Bautista-Reyes was charged in May with aggravated assault, attempt to cause bodily injury, terroristic threats and a weapon crime. Pineda-Mogollon, from Colombia, was charged with minor larceny and burglary crimes.

The details surrounding Bautista-Reyes’ capture were not immediately clear. Messages seeking information were sent to the FBI and the Homeland Security Department, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The FBI on Monday had increased the reward for information leading to their arrest to $25,000 from $10,000.

Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez, one of the other fugitives, was taken into custody in Passaic, N.J., on Friday, the day after the escape in nearby Newark. Then, on Sunday, Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada surrendered to federal authorities in Milleville, N.J. Sandoval-Lopez, from Honduras, was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun in October and aggravated assault in February, officials said. Castaneda-Lozada, from Colombia, was charged with burglary, theft and conspiracy, authorities said.

A message seeking comment on behalf of the men was left Tuesday with the New Jersey public defender’s office. It’s unclear who may be representing the men.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat who’s been critical of President Trump’s immigration crackdown, cited reports of a possible uprising and escape after disorder broke out at the facility Thursday night and protesters outside the center locked arms and pushed against barricades as vehicles passed through gates. Much is still unclear about what unfolded there.

But GEO Group, the company that owns and operates the detention facility for the federal government, said in a statement that there was “no widespread unrest” at the facility.

Delaney Hall has been the site of clashes this year between Democratic officials who say the facility needs more oversight and the Trump administration and those who run the facility.

Baraka was arrested May 9, handcuffed and charged with trespassing. The charge was later dropped and U.S. Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver was later charged with assaulting federal officers, stemming from a skirmish that happened outside the facility. She has denied the charges.

Catalini writes for the Associated Press.

The assassination attempt on the presidential hopeful has rattled the country, which fears a return to darker days.

Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay is reported to be in extremely critical condition after undergoing surgery to tend to a brain bleed, just more than a week after being shot in the head during a campaign event.

The attack was part of an eruption of violence that has stoked fears of a return to the darker days of assassinations and bombings.

The Santa Fe Foundation hospital on Monday said that Uribe was stable after undergoing a “complementary” operation to his original surgery, but remained in serious critical condition.

It added that an urgent neurological procedure had been necessary because of clinical evidence and imaging showing an acute inter-cerebral bleed, but that the brain swelling persisted and bleeding remained difficult to control.

The 39-year-old potential presidential candidate from the right-wing opposition was shot in the head twice on June 7 during a rally in Bogota.

The assassination attempt, which was caught on video, recalled a streak of candidate assassinations in the 1980s and 1990s, a time when fighting between armed rebels, paramilitary groups, drug traffickers and state security forces touched the lives of many Colombians.

Three suspects, including a 15-year-old alleged shooter, are in custody. An adult man and woman are also being held.

The 15-year-old boy, who police believe was a “sicario” or hitman working for money, was charged last week with the attempted murder of Uribe, to which he pleaded not guilty. He was also charged with carrying a firearm.

The adult man, Carlos Eduardo Mora, has been charged for alleged involvement in planning the attack, providing the gun and being in the vehicle where the shooter changed his clothes after the attack, according to the attorney general’s office.

Uribe is a senator for the conservative Democratic Centre party and one of several candidates who hope to succeed left-wing President Gustavo Petro in the 2026 presidential vote.

He comes from a prominent political family. His grandfather, Julio Cesar Turbay, was president from 1978 to 1982, and his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in 1991 in a botched rescue attempt after being kidnapped by an armed group led by drug cartel lord Pablo Escobar.

The main dissident faction of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group on Friday denied responsibility for the attack on Uribe, though it did accept responsibility for a series of unrelated bomb attacks.

Southwest Colombia was rocked by a series of explosions and gun attacks last week which has left at least seven people dead. The attacks hit Cali, the country’s third-largest city, and the nearby towns of Corinto, El Bordo and Jamundi, targeting police stations and other municipal buildings with car and motorcycle bombs, rifle fire and a suspected drone.

Colombia’s government has struggled to contain violence in urban and rural areas as several rebel groups try to take over territory abandoned by the FARC after its peace deal with the government.

Peace talks between the FARC-EMC faction and the government broke down last year after a series of attacks on Indigenous communities.

The protests come as the country reels from bombing attacks in the southwest and attempted assassination of a senator.

Protests have been held in Colombia as supporters of left-wing President Gustavo Petro express their support for his proposed labour reform, with the country rattled by an eruption of violence in the last week amid fears of a return to darker days of assassinations and bombings.

Large numbers of people took to the streets of the capital, Bogota, and other cities across the country on Wednesday to express continued support for a referendum on the reform proposed by the president, even as the Senate debates an alternative bill.

The protests come as Colombia is still reeling from bombing attacks in the southwest of the country that left seven dead and an attempted assassination on conservative opposition senator, and presidential hopeful, Miguel Uribe Turbay at a campaign rally in Bogota.

In the city of Cali, Colombia’s third largest and the centre of Tuesday’s bombing attacks, “there were calls to suspend these rallies” due to the recent bout of violence in the country, said Al Jazeera’s Alessandro Rampietti, reporting from Bogota.

“However, people decided to come out in the streets again in support of the government, rejecting the violence of the past days,” said Rampietti.

Petro was in Cali on Wednesday morning to lead a security meeting with local authorities and the military following Tuesday’s attacks. The president also said they would be investigating possible connections between the bombing attacks and the attempt on Uribe’s life.

The 15-year-old boy, who police believe was a “sicario” or hitman working for money, is accused of trying to assassinate Uribe and was also charged with carrying a firearm. He was formally charged on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty, the prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.

The hospital treating the senator said Wednesday that “after four days, they are finally seeing some neurological improvement, that he is now more stable but remains in critical condition,” said Rampietti. “This has been the most optimistic report that we’ve seen since he’s been brought to the hospital.”

President Petro has expressed gratitude about Uribe’s improving condition, Rampietti added.

The bombing attack was likely caused by an armed group that splintered from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, according to the army and police.

Petro also participated in the rallies in Cali, where he is expected to sign a presidential decree ordering the referendum vote.

In the meantime, the country’s Senate was debating a different text of the labour reform that Petro has criticised and labour unions say does not sufficiently advance workers’ rights.

Following the attack on Uribe, the Senate initially decided to suspend this week’s sessions in his honour. However, it reversed that decision 24 hours later.

The Senate is “trying to bring it [the labour reform] to a vote” by Thursday, Rampietti added.

Police believe the 15-year-old arrested for the attempted murder of Senator Miguel Uribe was a hitman working for money.

A 15-year-old boy accused of trying to assassinate Colombian Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe has pleaded “not guilty”, the prosecutor’s office said.

The teen was formally charged on Tuesday with the attempted murder of 39-year-old conservative presidential candidate Uribe, who was shot in the head on Saturday and is fighting for his life in critical condition in hospital.

The teenager – who police believe was a “sicario” or hitman working for money – was also charged with carrying a firearm.

“No family in Colombia should be going through this,” Uribe’s wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, told reporters outside the hospital where her husband is being treated.

“There is no name for this – it’s not pain, it’s not horror, it’s not sadness,” she said.

The senator’s father, Miguel Uribe Londono, thanked the “millions of Colombians and people around the world for their prayers”.

“Miguel, amidst the pain and dismay that overwhelms us, has managed to unite this country in a single voice that rejects violence,” his father added.

It is not known why Senator Uribe, who was vying for the candidacy of his party, was attacked. He was polling well behind other party candidates at the time of the shooting.

Footage from the scene of the shooting showed Uribe addressing supporters in the west of the capital Bogota when a youth rushed towards him firing at least eight shots. Uribe was hit twice in the head and once in the leg.

The alleged attacker was apprehended by security guards and a Glock 9mm pistol was recovered.

In a video of the teen’s capture, independently verified by the Reuters news agency, the suspect can be heard shouting that he had been hired by a local drug dealer.

An earlier video showed that as the suspect, who was wounded, attempted to escape the scene, a voice could be heard shouting, “I did it for the money, for my family.”

But in court, the teenager rejected charges of attempted murder and illegal possession of a firearm, the attorney general’s office said. If convicted, he faces up to eight years in a rehabilitation centre, not prison, as he is a minor.

Also on Tuesday, Colombia was rocked by bomb and gun attacks in the country’s southwest where at least seven people were killed in a wave of violence that echoed earlier decades when attacks by armed fighters, paramilitary groups and drug traffickers were common.

The bomb and gun attacks were likely caused by an armed group that splintered from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, according to the army and police.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, meanwhile, has broadly pointed the finger at an international crime ring as being behind the attack on Uribe, without providing details or evidence.

Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti suggested there may be a link with the assassination attempt as rebels have increasingly turned to drug trafficking to finance their activities, though he did not provide evidence.

President Petro has ordered beefed-up security for government officials and opposition leaders in response to the attacks.

Uribe had been a staunch critic of Petro’s security strategy, aimed at ending six decades of armed conflict, arguing that Petro’s approach of pausing offensives on armed groups despite the failure of peace talks only backfired.

The senator had two government-provided bodyguards protecting him at the time of the shooting, the head of the National Protection Unit said.

Uribe’s lawyer, Víctor Mosquera, said his client had repeatedly asked for more bodyguards.

Colombia on edge as attacks come just days after assassination attempt on conservative presidential hopeful.

Southwest Colombia has been rocked by a series of explosions and gun attacks near police stations that have left at least four people dead, according to police, an apparent coordinated attack that authorities have blamed on rebel groups.

The attacks hit Cali – the country’s third-largest city – and the nearby towns of Corinto, El Bordo, and Jamundi, targeting police stations and other municipal buildings with car and motorcycle bombs, rifle fire and a suspected drone, the head of police Carlos Fernando Triana told local radio station La FM on Tuesday.

The bombings came just days after the attempted assassination of presidential hopeful Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay at a campaign rally in the capital Bogota, allegedly by a 15-year-old hitman, an attack that rattled a nation with a dark past of assassinations.

In Corinto, an AFP journalist witnessed the tangled wreckage of a car that had exploded next to a scorched and badly damaged municipal building.

“There are two police officers dead, and a number of members of the public are also dead,” said Triana.

Police later said at least two civilians were among those killed, and 12 others were injured.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks, but military and police spokespeople blamed the strikes on the FARC-EMC, which is known to operate in the area. The group is led by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who broke away from the group after it signed a peace deal with the government in 2016.

Colombia on edge

Triana suggested the attacks may be linked to the third anniversary of the killing of FARC dissident leader Leider Johani Noscue, better known as “Mayimbu”.

The bombings just three days after Uribe’s attempted assassination have set Colombia further on edge.

Uribe, a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Centre party, underwent successful initial surgery on Sunday. The hospital treating him said on Tuesday that he remained stable but in critical condition.

“We continue to take the necessary actions to mitigate the impact of the injuries,” the Santa Fe Foundation hospital added in a statement.

Thousands have taken to the streets in major cities to light candles, pray and voice their anger at the assassination attempt. Authorities say they are investigating who was behind the attack on Uribe. Leftist President Gustavo Petro, who has vowed to bring peace to the country, said on Sunday that he had ordered additional security for opposition leaders in response to more threats.

Many Colombians are fearful of a return to the bloody violence of the 1980s and 1990s, when cartel attacks and political assassinations were frequent, sowing terror across the nation.

Colombia’s government has struggled to contain violence in urban and rural areas as several rebel groups try to take over territory abandoned by the FARC after its peace deal with the government.

Peace talks between the FARC-EMC faction and the government broke down last year after a series of attacks on Indigenous communities.

June 8 (UPI) — A 6.5-magnitude earthquake was recorded in Colombia on Sunday about 56 miles east of Bogota, according to the Servicio Geológico Colombiano.

The SGC’s database for tracking such incidents recorded the earthquake around 8:08 a.m. local time near the city of Paratebueno and described it as having a shallow depth.

The agency said that it had received some 5,000 reports of people who felt the earthquake. Data shows that at least two aftershocks have had magnitudes greater than 4.

Carlos Carrillo, the director of Colombia’s national disaster risk agency, said during a news conference Sunday that damage was recorded to a national highway in the area.

“In the inspection area of Santa Cecilia and the village of La Europa, as well as in Medina, the main church has been affected, including collapsed walls,” he said.

“So far, two people have been reported injured in that municipality. Damage has occurred to walls and facades of churches and homes, and there may also be damage to bridges.”

He later clarified that four people total have so far been reported injured, two in Paratebueno and two in Medina. They are all said to have minor injuries.

Carrillo said authorities were seeking to verify the impacts of the earthquake on a health center in the town of Fómeque and on a Catholic church in the town of Une in the Andes. Damage to homes were also reported in the towns of Tocaima and Caldas.

The U.S. Geological Survey also recorded the earthquake, describing it as a 6.3-magnitude tremor.

Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe is “fighting for his life” after being shot during a campaign rally in the capital, Bogota.

The assault took place on Saturday in a park as the country gears up for next year’s presidential election. Uribe, a 39-year-old senator, was shot twice – in the head and the chest, according to Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office.

The suspect is a 15-year-old who is in custody.

Here is what to know about the incident and Uribe’s current status:

What happened at the rally?

Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, who is seeking to run in the 2026 presidential election, was shot from behind at a campaign rally about 5pm [22:00 GMT] at El Golfito Park in Bogota’s Fontibon district.

A video verified by The New York Times shows Uribe being shot in the middle of his speech. Images from the scene of the shooting showed Uribe slumped against the hood of a white car, smeared with blood, as a group of men tried to hold him and stop the bleeding.

According to local media reports, he was first stabilised at a nearby clinic before being airlifted to the Santa Fe Foundation hospital. The hospital confirmed he arrived about 8:30pm on Saturday [01:00 GMT Sunday].

A security guard managed to detain the suspected attacker, a minor who is believed to be 15 years old. National Police Director Carlos Fernando Triana said the suspect was injured and was receiving treatment.

Two others – a man and a woman – were also wounded. But no details were available regarding their identities.

What is Uribe’s health status now?

Uribe is stable but still in critical condition after emerging on Sunday from a “neurosurgical” and “peripheral vascular procedure”, according to the hospital.

He “overcame the first surgical procedure”, Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galan told the media, adding that he had entered “the critical hours” of recovery.

“He fought the first battle and fought it well. He is fighting for his life,” Uribe’s wife was heard saying in an audio recording shared with the media.

Who is Miguel Uribe?

Uribe was elected as senator in 2022 under the conservative Democratic Centre party, founded by former President Alvaro Uribe, whom he is not related to.

The former president described the shooting as an attack against “a hope for the country”.

His maternal grandfather, Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala, served as president from 1978 to 1982. He is also the son of journalist Diana Turbay, who was kidnapped in 1990 by Pablo Escobar’s Medellin cartel. She died in a botched rescue operation by Colombian forces a few months later.

Uribe has held several public offices, including Bogota City Council member (2012–2015) and government secretary of Bogota (2016–2018). He also ran for the capital’s mayor in 2019 but lost that election.

Who attacked Uribe?

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene with a “9mm Glock-type firearm”. Witnesses had also described seeing a young assailant open fire from behind Uribe before being subdued by bodyguards and civilians.

The suspect remains in custody with investigations under way to determine if there were any accomplices.

What was the motive behind the shooting?

No motive has been established, and authorities said there was no specific threat made against the politician before the incident.

But the country is home to several armed groups, powerful cartels and has a long history of political violence.

In the 1980s and 1990s, at least five presidential candidates were assassinated by drug cartels, paramilitaries or political opponents.

One such case was the assassination of Luis Carlos Galan in 1989. Galan was a leading presidential candidate known for his strong anticorruption stance and opposition to drug trafficking. He was widely expected to win the presidency the following year.

A 2016 agreement aimed to bring long-lasting peace to the country by disarming rebels from the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

When is the next presidential election in Colombia?

Colombia’s next presidential election is scheduled for May, in which current leftist President Gustavo Petro is ineligible to run due to term limits. A run-off will be held if needed.

Uribe, who is a right-wing critic of Petro, announced his intention to run for president in March.

What are the reactions?

The attack drew strong reactions from both local and international leaders.

Petro pledged an investigation.

“What matters most today is that all Colombians focus with the energy of our hearts, with our will to live … on ensuring that Dr Miguel Uribe stays alive.”

In an earlier statement, Petro condemned the violence as “an attack not only against his person, but also against democracy, freedom of thought, and the legitimate exercise of politics in Colombia”.

“Respect life, that’s the red line. … My solidarity [is] with the Uribe family and the Turbay family. I don’t know how to ease their pain,” he posted on X.

Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez mobilised military and intelligence resources and announced a reward of 3 billion Colombian pesos ($730,000) for information about the shooting.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement saying the US condemns the attack “in the strongest possible terms” and considers it a “direct threat to democracy”. He also called on Petro to “dial back the inflammatory rhetoric” and protect officials.

Leaders across Latin America also condemned the attack.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric said, “There is no room or justification for violence in a democracy,” while Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa denounced “all forms of violence and intolerance”. Both expressed solidarity with Uribe’s family.

The senator’s wife says he ‘is fighting for his life’ after being shot at a campaign event in Bogota.

Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a possible candidate in the country’s presidential election next year, has been shot and wounded in the country’s capital, Bogota, according to authorities.

The 39-year-old senator, who was shot on Saturday during a campaign event as part of his run for the presidency in 2026, is now “fighting for his life”, his wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, said on X.

Uribe is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party, founded by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

The two men are not related.

The Democratic Center party released a statement calling the shooting “an unacceptable act of violence”.

It said the senator was hosting a campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighbourhood in the capital when “armed subjects” shot him from behind.

It described the attack as serious, but did not disclose further details on Uribe’s condition.

A medical report from the Santa Fe Foundation hospital said the senator was admitted in critical condition and is undergoing a “neurosurgical and peripheral vascular procedure”.

Videos on social media showed a man, identified as Uribe, being tended to after the shooting. He appeared to be bleeding from his head.

Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office, which is investigating the shooting, said the senator received two gunshot wounds in the attack, which wounded two others. The statement from the office said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene with a firearm.

The government said it is offering some $730,000 as a reward for information in the case.

Colombia’s presidency issued a statement saying the government “categorically and forcefully” rejected the violent attack, and called for a thorough investigation into the events that took place.

Leftist President Gustavo Petro sympathised with the senator’s family in a message on X, and said: “Respect life, that’s the red line… My solidarity with the Uribe family and the Turbay family. I don’t know how to ease their pain.”

In a speech on Saturday night, Petro said that the investigation would focus on finding who had ordered the attack.

“For now, there is nothing more than hypotheses,” Petro said, adding that failures in security protocols would also be looked into.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the US “condemns in the strongest possible terms the attempted assassination” of Uribe, blaming Petro’s “inflammatory rhetoric” for the violence.

Reactions poured in from around Latin America. Chilean President Gabriel Boric said that “there is no room or justification for violence in a democracy”. And Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said, “We condemn all forms of violence and intolerance.”

Both presidents offered solidarity to the senator’s family.

In Colombia, former President Uribe said that “they attacked the hope of the country, a great husband, father, son, brother, a great colleague”.

Uribe, who is not yet an official presidential candidate for his party, is from a prominent family in Colombia.

His father was a businessman and union leader. His mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped in 1990 by an armed group under the command of the late cartel leader Pablo Escobar.

She was killed during a rescue operation in 1991.

Colombia has for decades been embroiled in a conflict between leftist rebels, criminal groups descended from right-wing paramilitaries, and the government.

A Colombian presidential candidate has been shot three times – reportedly twice in the head – at a campaign event in the capital, Bogota.

Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, was attacked while addressing a small crowd in a park on Saturday. Police arrested a 15-year-old suspect at the scene, local media say.

His wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, called on the nation to pray for his survival. “Miguel is currently fighting for his life. Let us ask God to guide the hands of the doctors who are treating him,” she said.

Uribe’s Centro Democratico party condemned the attack, saying that it “endangers the life of a political leader… democracy and freedom in Colombia”.

Phone footage shared online appears to show the moment when he was shot in the head mid-speech, prompting those gathered to flee in panic.

Paramedics said he had been shot in the knee and twice in the head, AFP news agency reported. He was airlifted to Sante Fe clinic where supporters have gathered outside to hold vigil.

The government of left wing President Gustavo Petro said it “categorically and forcefully” condemned the attack as an “act of violence not only against his person, but also against democracy.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned the shooting as a “direct threat to democracy”.

Uribe announced his candidacy for next year’s presidential election in October.

He is from a prominent political family in Colombia, with links to the country’s Liberal Party. His father was a union leader and businessman.

His mother was Diana Turbay, a journalist who was killed in 1991 in a rescue attempt after she had been kidnapped by the Medellin drugs cartel run at the time by Pablo Escobar.

SANTIAGO, Chile, June 5 (UPI) — Colombia is at a democratic crossroads as President Gustavo Petro clashes with Congress and civil society over political disputes, legislative gridlock and stalled reforms.

At the center of the dispute is Petro’s announcement that he intends to call a national referendum by executive decree to revive parts of his agenda — particularly a labor reform bill recently rejected by the Senate.

For weeks, Petro’s proposal to call a national referendum has polarized the political climate.

His administration says the referendum would allow voters to weigh in on key issues, including healthcare and pension reforms, public debt restructuring and the potential formation of a constituent assembly.

The opposition and several legal experts have called the measure unconstitutional and an overreach of presidential powers.

Colombia’s Constitution outlines specific requirements for calling a national referendum, including congressional approval.

Petro’s opponents warn that bypassing this step would set a dangerous precedent, weakening democratic institutions and the separation of powers.

The possibility that Petro could issue a decree to call a national referendum without congressional approval may lead to a legal challenge before Colombia’s Constitutional Court. The court’s final ruling on the legality of such a decree will be critical in determining the future of the initiative and the balance of power among government institutions.

In addition to the referendum controversy, Petro’s labor reform proposal suffered a major defeat in the Senate, where it was rejected and shelved. The bill, one of the administration’s flagship initiatives to “dignify labor and improve working conditions,” failed to secure enough votes to move forward in the legislative process.

The government’s proposed labor reform included cutting the standard daytime work shift to eight hours, doubling pay for work on Sundays and holidays, formalizing employment for digital platform workers, extending paternity leave to 12 weeks and ensuring equal pay for men and women.

Business groups, such as the National Business Association of Colombia and the National Federation of Merchants have been outspoken in opposing the bill. They argue the reform would have negative economic consequences, including job losses, reduced investment and a rise in unregulated employment.

Despite the government’s efforts and intense debate, the bill failed to win over enough senators, many of whom also raised concerns about the reform’s potential impact on job creation and business competitiveness.

Attention now turns to the Constitutional Court, whose decision will be pivotal for the future of the referendum proposal and the broader institutional balance in Colombia.

Colombian authorities have shared a new update on the tragic murder of Italian scientist Alessandro Coatti.

Content warning: This story includes topics that could make some readers feel uncomfortable and/or upset.

In April, tragedy struck the community of Santa Marta, a port city in the Caribbean region of Colombia, after the London-based scientist’s dismembered body was found in two different suitcases across town.

According to The Guardian, Coatti was travelling in South America to conduct research after departing his position at the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) in London. He was last seen leaving his hostel on 4 April and was reported missing the following day.

“This crime will not go unpunished. The criminals must know that crime has no place in Santa Marta. We will pursue them until they are brought to justice,” said Carlos Pinedo Cuelllo, the mayor of Santa Marta, in a statement.

After the discovery of Coatti’s body, local authorities initially speculated that he was mistakenly caught between two crime groups in the area that were attempting to “settle scores,” per The Guardian.

However, after further investigation, police now think a local gang targeted Coatti on Grindr with intentions to drug and rob him.

According to a recent report from Colombian news outlet El Tiempo, police believe that the 38-year-old was lured to an abandoned house in the San José del Pando neighbourhood. Upon his arrival, the group allegedly used a chemical substance to immobilise Coatti.

La Alcaldía Distrital de Santa Marta rechaza enfáticamente cualquier acto de violencia, reitera el compromiso con la defensa del espacio público y la seguridad de los funcionarios
que trabajan en favor de una Santa Marta más ordenada y segura para todos. pic.twitter.com/lY9qkxELEE

— Alcaldía de Santa Marta (@SantaMartaDTCH) April 26, 2025

But the robbery escalated to murder, with the local coroner’s office confirming that the late scientist died from blunt force trauma to the head. They also stated that he was dismembered after his death.

Lastly, authorities have identified at least four people who were allegedly involved in the horrific crime, including a woman who’s believed to have Coatti’s cell phone.

A reward of 50 million pesos is being offered for information that will advance the case further.

Since his tragic death, tributes have rolled in for Coatti, with his former colleagues at RSB describing him as “warm” and “funny.”

“He was a passionate and dedicated scientist, leading RSB animal science work, writing numerous submissions, organising events and giving evidence in the House of Commons,” they said in a statement.

“Ale was funny, warm, intelligent, loved by everyone he worked with and will be deeply missed by all who knew and worked with him. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to his friends and family at this truly awful time.”

The Max Planck Institute for Brain Research echoed similar sentiments in a separate statement.

“It goes without saying that no one deserves such a monstrous fate–– but it is particularly impossible to comprehend how this could happen to someone as friendly, open-minded, optimistic, positive, enthusiastic and kind as Ale,” they said.

“We are heartbroken for his parents and family, and we can only offer our deepest condolences and sorrow. We will carry his memory with us– is smile, curiosity, his warmth. This is a profoundly tragic end to a beautiful life.”

As of writing, the investigation is ongoing.

Venezuela’s aviation authority said flights will resume a day after Sunday’s parliamentary elections.

Venezuela has suspended flights from neighbouring Colombia after authorities detained more than 30 people allegedly plotting activities to destabilise the country before Sunday’s parliamentary election.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced on state television on Monday that the flight ban was “immediate” and would last for a week.

The arrests were announced just as an independent panel of experts released a report documenting serious human rights abuses committed in Venezuela in the aftermath of the July 28, 2024 presidential election.

Cabello said the antigovernment plans involved placing explosives at embassies, hospitals and police stations in Venezuela. He said authorities had detained 21 Venezuelans and 17 foreigners, some of whom hold Colombian, Mexican and Ukrainian citizenship. Cabello said those detained arrived from Colombia, some by plane, others over land, but had set out originally from other – unnamed – countries.

Cabello, without offering any evidence, said the group included experts in explosive devices, human smugglers and mercenaries, and was working with members of Venezuela’s political opposition.

“The scenario they want to present is that there are no conditions in Venezuela for holding an election,” Cabello said, referring to the opposition.

Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement it had not received any information from Venezuela’s government regarding the detention of Colombian citizens.

Colombia’s civil aviation authority confirmed that commercial flights between the countries had been suspended, while Venezuela’s aviation authority said the measure will last until Monday, May 26 at 6pm local time.

‘Political repression’

The government of President Nicolas Maduro, whose re-election in July 2024 to a third term was rejected by much of the international community as fraudulent, frequently claims to be the target of US and Colombian-backed coup plots.

In an interview over Zoom with the AFP news agency last week, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who went into hiding after last year’s presidential election, pledged a voter boycott on Sunday that would leave “all the [voting] centres empty”.

The opposition says its tally of results from the July vote showed a clear victory for its candidate, former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who went into exile in Spain after a crackdown on dissent.

The independent panel of experts backed by the Organization of American States on Monday wrote in their report that Venezuela’s post-election period has seen “the most severe and sophisticated phase of political repression in Venezuela’s modern history”. This included the execution of unarmed protesters, enforced disappearances and an increase in arbitrary detentions. They also noted that the state had expanded its repression targets beyond political opponents and human rights defenders to include poll workers, election witnesses, relatives of opposition members, minors and others.

The diplomatic outcry that followed last year’s election saw Venezuela break off ties and flight routes with several countries. Some airlines have also cancelled operations to and from the country due to unpaid debts.

Venezuela and Colombia reopened flight routes in November 2022, after the election of Colombia’s first-ever leftist President Gustavo Petro, who reinstated bilateral ties broken off in 2019 when then-leader Ivan Duque refused to acknowledge Maduro’s re-election to a second term.

May 19 (UPI) — The first immigrants who agreed to self-deport and accept a $1,000 stipend left on a chartered flight out of the United States on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security said.

The flight took 64 nationals — 26 from Colombia and 38 from Honduras — back home in “Project Homecoming.” They boarded a charter bus and then a World Atlantic Airlines charter that left Houston at 9:30 a.m. CDT. Children were given toys and everyone received a lunch bag.

“This was a voluntary charter flight, not an ICE enforcement operation,” DHS said in a news release, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“All participants were offered the same benefits as any illegal alien who self-deports using the CBP Home App. They received travel assistance, a $1,000 stipend, and preserved the possibility they could one day return to the United States legally.”

Earlier this month, HHS announced the program.

They said migrants typically would be given about three weeks to prepare to depart.

“Today, DHS conducted its first Project Homecoming charter flight of 64 individuals who voluntarily chose to self-deport to their home counties of Honduras and Colombia,” Secretary Kristi Noem said. “If you are here illegally, use the CBP Home App to take control of your departure and receive financial support to return home. If you don’t, you will be subjected to fines, arrest, deportation and will never be allowed to return. If you are in this country illegally, self-deport NOW and preserve your opportunity to potentially return the legal, right way.”

The app was redesigned from the Biden administration’s CBP One, which allowed migrants to schedule an appointment at a port of entry to make an initial claim of asylum.

In February, DHS launched a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign warning undocumented migrants that they will be deported if they are in the United States.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association cautioned people against self-reporting and taking the stipend.

“AILA cautions individuals when reviewing the announcement to understand it is deceptive and gives people the impression there are no consequences, such as being barred from returning in the future,” AILA said. No one should accept this without first obtaining good legal advice from an immigration attorney or other qualified representative.”

The group said the offer may be a “trap.”

“It is unethical for the government to tell people ‘Self-Deportation Is Safe’ but not explain the hardship and legal risks to them, especially for people who do not have an attorney and will not know their rights under the law,” the group said.

HHS posted photos of migrants headed to their Central American countries.

HHS noted returnees to Honduras were also eligible for $100 in government assistance and food vouchers.

The Colombian government provided social services from the Family Welfare Institute and the Department of Social Prosperity.

The self-deportation plan comes amid other ways the Trump administration is trying to deport migrants.

The State Department is using AI to monitor social media of foreign students for alleged “pro-Hamas” sympathies. The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1958 are being used to deport people with supposed criminal records.

The Trump administration through the end of March arrested more than 158,000 unregistered immigrants, including more than 600 suspected members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Of the arrests, 75% had convictions or pending charges, DHS said.

During November when Joe Biden was president, U.S. agents arrested more than 21,000 unauthorized immigrants — about one-third of Trump’s numbers.

Illegal border crossings have plunged to the lowest level in decades.

In March, there were 7,181 encounters at the border, which is a 95% reduction from 136,473 in the same month a year ago and 97% from 2022 of 211,181.

In April, it was roughly 8,400.

‘Cuchillo’ (Knife) accused of organised crime, aggravated kidnapping and homicide over murder of 13 miners.

Police have arrested the main suspect in the kidnapping and murder in early May of 13 gold miners in Peru.

Miguel Antonio Rodriguez Diaz, also known by the alias “Cuchillo” (Knife), was detained in the Colombian city of Medellin on Thursday, the Ministry of the Interior in Lima said.

The murders in early May put the spotlight on increasing violence provoked by a gold rush in Peru’s northern Pataz district. The burned bodies of 13 missing gold miners were recovered after being reported as kidnapped by illegal miners allied with criminal armed groups.

Diaz was detained in a joint operation by the Peruvian National Police, Interpol and the Colombian National Police, the Peruvian ministry stated. He is accused of “organised crime, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated homicide” and due to be extradited back to Peru.

Colombia’s police chief, Carlos Triana, wrote on X that the capture of Diaz was with the support of the United States Homeland Security Investigations agency, which is responsible for investigating transnational criminal gangs.

The suspect’s lawyer, Kevin Diaz, told local radio station RPP that his client had been in Venezuela for “a few days” before returning to Colombia, where he was arrested.

Wave of violence

The wave of violence sparked by the gold rush in Pataz has led the government to establish a military facility in the area.

Mining company La Poderosa, which owns the mine where the murders took place, claimed earlier this month that nearly 40 people, including contractors and miners, have been recently killed in the district by criminal gangs.

The threat is of national importance. As one of Latin America’s biggest gold producers, mining is a key economic avenue in Peru.

However, with the financial success of the market, illegal mining has taken off. The practice involves more money than drug trafficking, amounting to $3bn-4bn per year, according to the government.

That has helped bring an unprecedented wave of gang violence, with several areas of the country under a state of emergency.

Latin music reigns supreme in los Estados Unidos.

Bad Bunny and Fuerza Regida just made history for Spanish-language music. As of this week, the Puerto Rican artist’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” and the San Bernardino group’s “111XPANTIA” became the first-ever Spanish-language albums to simultaneously sit at Nos. 1 and 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Fuerza Regida’s album, which dropped May 2, debuted in the No. 2 spot on the chart. According to Billboard, it became the highest-charting música regional album and Spanish-language album by a group or duo.

Bad Bunny’s wide-spanning love letter to his beloved Puerto Rico — “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” — regained the top spot in the charts after he released a vinyl edition of the album. It was previously sitting in the seventh position on the Billboard 200 and has lingered in the top 10 since it debuted on Jan. 5.

Bad Bunny announced a 23-date stadium tour in support of the album that will kick off Nov. 21 in the Dominican Republic, followed by shows in Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina. There are currently no U.S. dates scheduled for the tour.

“111XPANTIA,” Fuerza Regida’s ninth studio album, released under Rancho Humilde and Street Mob Records, marks the group’s return to its original corrido style, in contrast to its last album, 2024’s “Pero No Te Enamores,” which explored more electronically-geared genres like Jersey club, drill and house music.

The album title itself, “111XPANTIA,” is made up of two parts: the first is a palindrome, “111,” which some call an “angel number,” or a sign of luck; the second part stems from the Nahuatl word for manifestation, “ixpantia.”

“The meaning of this album is to manifest an idea, to think your dreams into reality and to prove something through the power of the mind and the concept of the law of attraction,” said Fuerza Regida frontman Jesús Ortiz Paz, a.k.a. JOP, in a press release.