Colombia Brief for November 19, 2024

Welcome to LAWG’s Colombia News Brief, a compilation of top articles and reports on issues of peace, justice, human rights, and more in Colombia.

SPOTLIGHT

Colombia Program, Final Report
Witness For Peace Solidarity Collective, November 6, 2024
“It is our final annual report, after 25 years of presence in Colombia, and we would like to dedicate to the grassroots organizations and Indigenous, Black and Campesinx communities that we have been invited to get to know and accompany in their nonviolent resistance, defense of land and rights and construction of peace. We hope that some of the south-south and south-north connections that were brought to life over the past years survive the closure of our program, which takes place this November. We hope they can continue to flourish and bring further fruits in the future.”

REACTION: What Trump’s Victory Means for Latin America
Americas Quarterly, November 6, 2024
“Trump is likely to pressure Colombia over an increase in cocaine production and Petro’s Total Peace strategy, leading to increased tension in the relationship between Washington and Bogotá, a possible reduction in military aid and even the threat of economic sanctions.”

PEACE PROCESS

A path forward for Colombia’s 2016 peace accord and lasting security
US-Colombia Advisory Group, Isabel Chiriboga and Geoff Ramsey, Atlantic Council, November 12, 2024
“Evidence from the Kroc Institute suggests that at the current rate, the accord’s implementation will not reach full implementation before the established deadline of 2031. The delay further complicates Colombia’s search for peace amid rising security concerns in the country, in addition to posing a threat to US security interests in the hemisphere and contributing to the flow of illicit goods northward.”

El prontuario de los 18 exjefes paramilitares que Petro nombró gestores de paz
Redacción Colombia +20, El Espectador, 12 de noviembre de 2024
“De acuerdo con la resolución que fue firmada el pasado 8 de noviembre, la designación de estos 18 ‘exparas’ se da para que “contribuyan con su conocimiento y experiencia al desarrollo de actividades de construcción de paz y garantías de no repetición, estructuración de procesos de paz y estrategias de acercamientos con actores armados ilegales”.

Colombia makes slow progress on land rights since FARC peace deal
Nelson Bocanegra, Reuters, November 12, 2024
“President Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first leftist leader, promised his government would acquire 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres) of land for victims of the country’s six-decade conflict, to meet the terms of a 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). It has not proved easy.”

La JEP imputa a seis excomandantes de las FARC por el reclutamiento forzado de al menos 18.677 niños
Lucas Reynoso, El País, 13 de noviembre de 2024
“La Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz (JEP), el sistema de justicia transicional creado en los acuerdos de paz de 2016, ha imputado a seis antiguos comandantes de las extintas FARC por el reclutamiento forzado de al menos 18.677 niños entre 1971 y 2016”.

Colombia’s JEP indicts ex-FARC commanders on War Crimes and Child Recruitment
The City Paper, November 13, 2024
“In a historic ruling to address the atrocities committed during Colombia’s internal armed conflict, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) has formally indicted six former commanders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for war crimes, including the forcible recruitment of minors and other serious offenses.”

US-COLOMBIA RELATIONS

What Trump’s Return Means for Latin America
Adam Isacson, Carolina Jiménez Sandoval, and Maureen Meyer, WOLA, November 9, 2024
“Maureen, Carolina, and Adam discuss what Trump’s win means for democratic backsliding and relationships with authoritarian governments region-wide, as well as for migration policy, drug policy, cooperation with Mexico, and U.S. foreign aid and security programs.” [Timestamps: discussion of security assistance starting at 31:58, specific discussion of Colombia-US relations at 36:32]

El efecto ‘Trump again’ en Colombia 
Catalina Oquendo, El País, 7 de noviembre de 2024
“Los primeros mensajes del Gobierno han sido contenidos y sugieren pragmatismo, pero al mismo tiempo señalan que la migración, la visión sobre el cambio climático y la posición sobre la invasión de Israel en Gaza serán temas sensibles”.

What Trump’s Victory Means for US-Colombia Relations
Victor Cohen, Colombia One, November 6, 2024
“Trump’s Republican administration approved the lowest level of U.S. aid to Colombia since 2018, totalling US$251.4 million.”

What Marco Rubio Has Said About Latin America
Americas Quarterly, November 12, 2024
“On Colombian President Gustavo Petro […] ‘It is very dangerous that the president of a country, which for years has been a great ally of the United States, now chooses to be the spokesperson for a criminal drug dictatorship like the one in Venezuela. In order to obtain the support of intermediaries like Maduro and Castro for ‘negotiations’ with the ELN terrorists, Petro is willing to lobby for a vile dictatorship.’”

Colombia’s Petro faces isolation with Trump’s return to the White House
Richard Emblin, The City Paper, November 6, 2024
“One of Trump’s biggest challenges will be navigating the complexities of President Gustavo Petro’s administration in Colombia, which, more often than not, is openly critical of the United States’ role in global affairs.”

HUMAN RIGHTS

Exigimos Acciones Frente al Caso de Acoso Legal, la Censura y Amenazas de Muerte Contra los Miembros de La Nueva Prensa
Colombia Acuerdo de Paz y WOLA, La Nueva Prensa, 13 de noviembre de 2024
“Por esta razón, exigimos que cese la persecución judicial, la censura y otros acosos frente este medio y quienes laboran en él o lo representan, y que las autoridades, mecanismos y organizaciones le pongan un alto al injusto acoso judicial que enfrentan, garanticen la seguridad del equipo y sus familiares e investiguen y sancionen a los responsables de esta campaña de desprestigio contra La Nueva Prensa”. 

Colombia outlaws child marriage after 17-year campaign
Luke Taylor, The Guardian, November 14, 2024
“Colombian lawmakers have approved a bill to eradicate child marriage in the South American country after 17 years of campaigning by advocacy groups and eight failed attempts to push legislation through the house and senate.”

Xenofobia en Colombia
El Barómetro, 1 de noviembre de 2024
“Entre el 1 y el 31 de octubre de 2024 se registraron tres momentos de activación de la conversación xenófoba en redes sociales en Colombia, producto de situaciones violentas de las que fueron señalados como presuntos responsables migrantes de origen venezolano”. 

Que el TRÁNSito no les cueste la vida
Dayana Herrera Valbuena, El Espectador, 12 de noviembre de 2024
“En la necesidad por reafirmar su identidad de género, mujeres trans de todo el mundo han modificado sus cuerpos con inyecciones de silicona, cemento óseo, parafina líquida y todo tipo de aceites, incluyendo el utilizado en los motores de aviones. En Colombia, las víctimas de esta práctica llevan a cuestas las secuelas físicas y emocionales de un procedimiento que ha desfigurado su organismo, y ante eso han buscado ayuda en un sistema de Salud que las ha excluido sistemáticamente al no saber cómo tratar los daños colaterales de un problema que todos los días acumula decenas de muertos.”

CONTINUED ARMED CONFLICT

Nuevo atentado en Jamundi en horas de la madrugada: varias viviendas resultaron afectadas
Michell Figueroa, infobae, 15 de noviembre de 2024
“Un nuevo atentado con explosivos se registró en el municipio de Jamundí, Valle del Cauca, en la madrugada del viernes 15 de noviembre de 2024.”

A priest’s fight against violence in Colombia: “Our neighborhood has two or three murders every week”
Aid to the Church in Need, November 14, 2024
“Father Gersaín Paz, the parish priest of one of Colombia’s most dangerous neighborhoods, tells Aid to the Church in Need how faith and music have changed the lives of many children in Cali, the capital of the drug trade, keeping them away from drugs and the temptation of suicide.”  

THE ENVIRONMENT

Colombia declares a state of disaster after heavy flooding
Al Jazeera, November 12, 2024
“Columbia has declared a state of disaster after being hit with days of torrential flooding. The floods are impacting tens of thousands of families.”

Restoring the Colombian Amazon Biome as a global climate solution
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, November 13, 2024
“Mapiripán has long been trapped in a cycle of conflict and environmental degradation exacerbated by climate change. Many years ago, it was known for its illegal wildlife fur trade; later, it became a coca-growing region, attracting armed groups that turned the lush rainforest into a battleground.”

Por emergencia climática, Clan del Golfo enviará ayudas al Chocó
La Silla Vacía, 15 de noviembre de 2024
“A raíz de la temporada de lluvias e inundaciones que ha dejado más de 188 mil personas damnificadas, el grupo armado ‘está procediendo a enviar a la zona ayuda humanitaria consistente en alimentos básicos y kits de higiene personal para mitigar las inmensas necesidades que estas agrupaciones humanas tienen’”.

In Colombia, a river’s ‘rights’ swept away by mining and conflict
Lina Vanegas, Yahoo News, November 13, 2024
“But eight years later, the Atrato is still dotted with illegal dredging barges that churn up the riverbed in search of gold. New armed groups have filled the void left by FARC fighters. Locals still fear health risks from the river’s turbid waters.”

Colombia allocated $382M to climate disaster relief
Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports, November 13, 2024
Colombia’s government has allocated $382 million (COP1.7 trillion) to respond to multiple disasters caused by what the government calls a “climate collapse.”President Gustavo Petro declared a national disaster after extreme weather caused floods in the Pacific and Caribbean regions, and in the capital Bogota.

COLOMBIAN POLITICS

Colombia battles to diversify economy away from oil and gas
Joe Daniels, Financial Times, November 11, 2024
“Colombia has been pushing to wean its economy off fossil fuels since it installed its first leftist president more than two years ago. But it has struggles to move more into agriculture, tourism, and renewable energy industries

Pizarro y Racero salen del Mais para presionar el partido único de izquierda
Jerson Ortiz, La Silla Vacía, 15 de noviembre de 2024
“El Movimiento Alternativo Indígena Social, Mais, que se había convertido en la casa de líderes petristas, se va a separar entre quienes quieren estar en el partido único que recoja a la izquierda y quienes quieren mantener la autonomía para dar avales y tener financiación. Así se empezó a discutir anoche en la convención nacional del partido”.

Former presidents of Colombia’s congress formally accused of corruption
Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports, November 6, 2024
“Colombia’s Supreme Court formally accused the former presidents of Congress of allegedly receiving bribes to secure their support for government reforms”.

MIGRATION ISSUES

Venezuela’s migration crisis and a Colombian ‘Smart Clinic’
Alex Blair, Medical Device Network, November 12, 2024
“As many have ‘limited access to health services’, Vélez adds, ‘the Smart Clinic was designed to help provide primary health care services to the population in conditions of high social vulnerability in communities of Atlántico and La Guajira, in northern Colombia’”.

Indicadores fronterizos 17 | septiembre 2024
Funda Redes, 6 de noviembre de 2024
“En el periodo de septiembre a octubre de 2024, las tensiones en la frontera colombo-venezolana continuaron siendo un punto neurálgico para ambas naciones. Este informe recoge los principales desafíos en torno a la economía, migración, seguridad y derechos humanos que impactan a las comunidades fronterizas y sus actores clave”.

Guardia Nacional mata a dos migrantes colombianos en choque en frontera México-EEUU
Associated Press, 4 de noviembre de 2024
“Dos migrantes colombianos murieron y al menos otros cuatro resultaron heridos cuando la Guardia Nacional mexicana disparó a dos vehículos que supuestamente les habían atacado previamente, en un punto de la frontera entre México y California, informaron autoridades”.

DRUG POLICY

Illegal Gold Finances Latin America’s Dictators & Cartels. The United States Must Lead the Fight Against It. 
Will Freeman and Steven Holmes, Council on Foreign Relations, November 15, 2024
“Latin America’s criminal organizations used to make most of their billions trafficking drugs. But now, in Colombia, Peru, the Brazilian Amazon, and elsewhere across the region, they earn even more from illegal gold.”

El caso de Santiago Uribe Vélez, una alerta a la manipulación de la justicia en Colombia
Liliana Pardo Montenegro, La Nueva Prensa, 13 de noviembre de 2024
“A Santiago Uribe también lo han acusado de tener relaciones cercanas con la ‘casa Castaño’, fundadora del grupo paramilitar Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia-Auc1, y de estar implicado en negocios de drogas con los hermanos Santiago y Pedro Gallón Henao, financiadores de grupos paramilitares”.

* The Colombia News Brief is a selection of relevant news articles, all of which do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the Latin America Working Group.

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