Colombia

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Re: Colombia

Post by blindpig » Mon Mar 14, 2022 1:28 pm

Colombia: Leftist Gustavo Petro Wins Primary

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Presidential candidate Gustavo Petro speaks during his closing campaign on March 4, 2022, in Bogotá | Photo: EFE / Carlos Ortega

Published 13 March 2022

With nearly 64% of the vote counted, the leftist candidate for the Historic Pact for Colombia is the winner of that political coalition's primary. The coalition also is leading in both the Senate and House in a historic win for the left in Colombia.

On Sunday, about 39 million Colombians go to the polls to elect the new members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, among whom are 16 lawmakers who will occupy the "peace seats" in the Lower House that are reserved for victims of the armed conflict. The electoral process will take place in Colombian territory from 08:00 am to 04:00 pm.

On this day, citizens will also take part in primary elections to choose the candidates who will participate in the May 29 presidential elections. Below are the main developments of these electoral processes as they happen.

MARCH 13
Petro: "We are on the verge of winning the Presidency of Colombia in the first round"

Petro, the most voted candidate in the inter-party consultations held this Sunday, celebrated his victory in an event that was also attended by his rivals in the coalition, among them Francia Márquez, the revelation in these elections.

"The Historic Pact has achieved the best result of progressivism in the history of Colombia", said Petro, who also highlighted the good result of this coalition in the votes for the Senate and the House of Representatives.

With more than 95% of the votes counted, Petro managed to obtain 80.48% of the votes of the Historical Pact (more than 4.2 million votes), for which he will go to the polls to try to win the Presidency on May 29, for which he would need to obtain half plus one of the valid votes.

After this "immense victory", the leftist candidate pointed out that "as from tomorrow the first presidential round begins. We will defend a common program to turn Colombia into a power of life and make the economy revolve around life".

"We are presenting to the whole Colombian society the possibility of changing Colombia, we do not want a (Iván) Duque two to appear, we want change and transformation to appear. The time has come for Colombia," he said, after speaking of Gabriel Boric's victory in Chile.

"Loving the people today means building peace, social justice and a society of rights," he said during his speech.

Finally, Petro invited "all the democratic forces of the country" to join the Historic Pact, "because they are not all there yet" and "a step towards the configuration of a great democratic broad front" must be taken. Specifically, the candidate mentioned the Green Party, the Liberal Party and the "conservatism that still believes in ethics".

Social leader Francia Márquez, for her part, congratulated Petro and greeted "with joy this great result" while defending "a project that is capable of putting life at the center".

"I salute the nobodies and nobodies of Colombia, who accompanied us from the mountains, plains, neighborhoods of this country (...). Let's go Colombia from resistance to power until dignity becomes customary", said Marquez.

The leftist Historic Pact for Colombia leads in both the Senate and House of Representatives

According to preliminary results, in the Senate of the Republic with 46.51 percent of the polls counted, the Historical Pact leads with 972,163 votes (14.83 percent), followed by the Conservative Party with 903,567 (13.78 percent) Liberal Party 836. 119 (12.75 percent), Coalición Alianza Verde y Centro Esperanza 814,103 (12.42 percent), Centro Democrático with 737,104 (11.24 percent), Cambio Radical 626,982 (9.56 percent), Partido de la U 570,949 votes (8.71 percent), .

Regarding the House of Representatives, with 52.71 percent of the polls counted, the Historical Pact coalition obtained 1,228,127 votes (15.68 percent), followed by the Liberal Party with 1,112,792 (14.21 percent), the Conservative Party with 973,131 votes (12.42 percent), and the Conservative Party with 973,131 votes (12.42 percent). 131 votes (12.42 percent), Centro Democrático with 761,016 (9.71 percent), Cambio Radical 661,997 (8.45 percent), Partido de la U with 639,321 (8.16 percent), Alianza Verde with 511,658 votes (6.53 percent).

Petro sweeps and will be the presidential candidate of the Historic Pact for Colombia

Senator Gustavo Petro won massively with over 80% of the votes in the presidential primary of the coalition Pacto Histórico, thus becoming the candidate for the Presidency of Colombia for this leftist coalition.

With 74,13% of the votes counted, Petro sweeps the left-wing primary with more than 3.2 million votes (80,26%), while social activist Francia Márquez, another of the most recognized faces of the coalition, is in second place with 14,20% and 570.869 votes.

"Fico" Gutiérrez is emerging as the candidate of the Colombian right-wing sector


The former Mayor of Medellin Federico "Fico" Gutierrez won this Sunday in the primary of the coalition Team for Colombia and is the virtual candidate for that right-wing coalition in the presidential elections of May 29.

With 70,76% % of the votes counted, Gutiérrez, popularly known as "Fico", obtained a little more than one million and a half votes, equivalent to 54.50 %, followed by conservative former mayor of Barranquilla, Alex Char, with close to 450.000 votes (16.40 %).

Petro has reached an insurmountable lead in the Historic Pact for Colombia


Petro, Gutierrez and Amaya currently lead in their respective political coalitions as they define who will represent the three conglomerates in the upcoming presidential elections


Polls have closed in Colombia

Results are expected throughout the evening.

.

International observers warn about electoral irregularities. In its first report, the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) highlighted that election day was marked by some "not very positive factors" such as difficulties in Civil Registry's tech infrastructure, since 181 reports had been received on possible irregularities in its application.

Many citizens were also unable to vote easily due to the relocation of polling stations in El Encanto, Amazonas, El Resguardo, la Voragine, and Arauquita. It was confirmed that authorities did not provide citizens with cards to vote in the primary presidential elections in six municipalities where the “Peace Seats” are located.

Sahagun city electoral authorities attempt to induce vote. In the primary elections of presidential candidates, they refused to give citizens ballots with the candidates of the Historical Pact, alleging that this leftist coalition did not have representatives in the Lower House.

The CNR and public institutions activate a security plan. This initiative seeks to counteract the high flow of attacks towards the Civil National Register's website and the Info Votantes app. The Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) recalled that none of these platforms is linked to the voting counting software, which has not presented flaws.

Citizens reject that CNR arbitrarily changed their voting center. "Citizens cannot denounce this situation because there is no physical or digital information about polling stations," Bogota Mayor Claudia Lopez stressed, recalling that the Info Votante app and the CNR web page continue to be down.

Unknown criminals block roads in the La Guajira department. Journalist Katia Salim pointed out that such action represents an "electoral crime", for it seeks to prevent citizens from attending polling stations.

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The Civil National Register (CNR) web page and Info Voters app are down. This situation prevents citizens from consulting in which polling station they should vote.

"Dear CNR President Alexander Vega, it is your duty to ensure that citizens have easy and timely access to registration information and polling stations. Please fulfill that elementary guarantee," Bogota Mayor Claudia Lopez stated.

The National Police Director Jorge Vargas urged citizens to vote as early as possible. Heavy rainfall has been registered across the national territory.

President Ivan Duque casts his vote at Bolivar Square polling station in Bogota. "I want to congratulate electoral authorities, security officials, and international observers for having worked so hard to have this true celebration of democracy," he said.

Besides welcoming that the victims of the armed conflict participate in this process, he urged all citizens to denounce any attempt of vote coercion or fraud. “Let these elections be an opportunity to reflect on and reject polarization in our society,” the President stated.

Over 240,000 security agents will monitor the elections. The electoral authorities installed 110,758 polling stations in the national territory and 1,251 polling stations abroad. The security of the voting sites will be protected by over 240,000 public agents, who will also protect some 180 electoral observers from 35 countries.

Alcohol ban started on Saturday. Bogota will take extreme security measures to facilitate the vote of almost 6 million citizens. In this city and throughout the Colombian territory, people are prohibited from drinking alcohol from Saturday, March 12 at 6:00 p.m. until Monday, March 14 at 6:00 a.m.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Col ... -0001.html

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Re: Colombia

Post by blindpig » Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:39 pm

Colombia: National Registrar Criticized Over Rigged Elections

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Colombia's National Registrar Alexander Vega. March. 14, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@Cuyabro_30

Published 14 March 2022 (8 hours 57 minutes ago)

Colombia's National Registrar Alexander Vega was subjected to considerable criticism on Sunday after the congressional elections on Sunday, which were rigged due to technical failures.


The congressional elections were plagued with failures. Many people filed complaints because they were not registered to vote in the polls where they wanted to cast their votes. Moreover, a breakdown of the computer system made it impossible to verify the location of polling stations.

The Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) indicated that there were problems in 85% of the voting tables. Citizens had difficulties to vote because in some occasions their voting table was moved without prior notification, others because their identity card was not registered in the table where they were supposed to vote or they changed tables and did not perform the proper biometric verification.

According to reports of the MOE, voters who were properly registered could not vote in the presidential primaries because election officials were not properly trained. The MOE has disclosed that the voter registration difficulties stem from failures that occurred in January and were never fixed.

Esteban Salazar, political scientist of think tank Paz y Reconciliacion remarked that some technical problems were known six months ago already. He affirmed that it is a shame that National Registrar Alexander Vega remains in his post. Salazar also said that Vega's unfounded statement that the computer system had suffered an attack was an excuse.


The MOE declined to confirm the conspiracy theory of the national registrar and appealed to solve the remaining problems before the presidential elections in May.

The entity also reiterated that it is necessary for the National Registrar's Office to review and adjust the processes of consolidation of the electoral census and the operation of the information tools for citizens in view of the presidential elections.

Despite evidence indicating that the congressional elections were rigged, Alexander Vega insisted that all tables and polling stations in the country and the world functioned normally.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Col ... -0022.html

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Report on military violations will be filed in Colombia

Published March 15, 2022 (5 hours 43 minutes ago)

The document will denounce a series of human rights violations and crimes committed by military forces between 1964 and 2016.

Human rights organizations and several signatories of the peace agreements in Colombia will file a report this Tuesday before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), which addresses a series of violations committed by the military forces of that country between 1964 and 2016.

Under the title of "War crimes and violations of Human Rights committed by the Military Forces and State security agencies in the period of 1964-2016" the document will be presented, whose character will be to denounce this series of irregularities.

The member of the negotiating team for the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) and former member of the Secretariat of that guerrilla, Joaquín Gómez, will present the text, accompanied by senators Victoria Sandino and Israel Zuñiga.


They will be joined by Deputy Benedicto de Jesús Gonzalez, as signatory of the Peace Agreement; Eduardo Carreño, member of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective Corporation; and Gustavo Enrique Gallardo Morales, from the human rights defense organization Lazos de Dignidad.

Precisely this Monday, the Ombudsman Carlos Camargo presented to the JEP a report on the security of ex-combatants requested by that entity in April 2021 and which aims to put an end to the murder of social leaders and ex-combatants of the FARC-EP.

In this sense, Camargo remarked that "one of the most important goals is to guarantee the security of the ex-combatants of the former FARC, who accepted the process and are rejoining civilian life with their families, rebuilding their lives."


“From the Ombudsman's Office we believe that this is an essential condition to build peace. For this reason we compiled a report on the security situation of ex-combatants. The document compiled information from various entities, such as the Prosecutor's Office, which established that, despite State efforts in protection guarantees, 285 people in the reincorporation process have been murdered since 2017," Camargo explained.

The JEP, a justice component of the Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition, has been in force in that South American nation since March 2017; and its main objective lies in satisfying the rights of the victims of the armed conflict, as well as clarifying the most serious and representative crimes, in order to put an end to decades of war and insecurity.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/radicara ... -0005.html

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Re: Colombia

Post by blindpig » Wed Mar 16, 2022 3:03 pm

RIDICULE AND INDIGNITY IN THE BRIEF MEETING BETWEEN BIDEN AND DUQUE
Maria Fernanda Barrett

15 Mar 2022 , 9:54 am .

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Less than five months after handing over the presidency of Colombia, Iván Duque managed to meet Joe Biden for the first time on March 10, in the midst of the war in Ukraine and after the approach of the Joe Biden administration to the government of Venezuela.

Duque's determination to obtain that interview is a desperate attempt to avoid two imminent failures of Uribismo: the electoral defeat that is coming in the next presidential elections on May 29 and the historic defeat that leaving the Palacio de Nariño will mean leaving to the Bolivarian Revolution, after twenty years of unsuccessful conspiracies.

The meeting lasted just minutes, some media speak of twenty, others up to forty, but, minutes more minutes less, it was a very brief meeting in which the most important news turned out to be that Biden informed Duque of his intention to name Colombia as " main ally outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)" .

COLOMBIA, IMPORTANT NON-NATO ALLY

Although Colombia has been a NATO global partner since 2018, this subordinate position within the organization does not make it a member, so it does not contradict this new designation of " main non-NATO ally ".

The Colombian president, visibly moved by this new imperialist interference, lied or showed his ignorance by saying in the aforementioned interview that this "distinction" is only held by "four or five countries in the world" when in fact it is now eighteen, among which were already two Latin Americans: Argentina and Brazil.

The bill that would accompany that appointment was presented only on Wednesday, March 9, by Democratic senators Robert Menéndez and Tim Kaine, and although it has not yet been approved by the US Senate, it is expected that it will be so. Once the appointment and its law are approved by the US Congress, Colombia would further deepen its military interaction with the United States.

In addition to the very tone of the bill, which shows the subordination that the US Congress expects from the Colombian State, the formation of a Consultative Committee to jointly strengthen the country's security with the Colombian government draws attention to this document.

Although it would be expected that the first objective of this Committee would be the fight against drug trafficking, it ranks second, after the counterinsurgency fight. The third objective refers to cybersecurity, the fourth to border and maritime security, as well as air defense, while the last objective uses the mysterious term "stabilization". As stated, this Committee will start by evaluating Colombia's weapons systems and technological equipment.

Of course, mentions of Venezuela could not be missing. This document includes that said committee must prepare a classified report specifying the relations of the groups considered terrorists with other countries, including the "Nicolas Maduro regime", and orders that annually for the next five years, the Office of Intelligence and Investigation of the Department of State, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence (INR), the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). its acronym in English), they must jointly prepare a classified report detailing "malicious" activities of state actors in the Andean Region.

This must include the purchase and donation of weapons and military equipment that these States receive, and specifically orders investigation, that is, spying, to obtain information on "provision of technologies, equipment and weapons systems to the regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and his implications for the security of the countries in the Andean Region".

Boldly, he defines that for the requirements of these intelligence reports, the US Secretary of State must establish a surveillance position in the Andean Region.

THE NEW COLOMBIA PLAN

In the comments on the meeting, Biden began by proudly evoking his participation in Plan Colombia more than two decades ago, insisted on his version of the situation in Ukraine, praised Duque's repeated condemnation of Russia when "not everyone in the hemisphere or in any other place it has," he announced the new status he aspires to grant to Colombia, spoke about the issue of migration and refugees from Venezuela, offered more vaccines against covid 19 and closed by highlighting the relations between both countries in terms of security, while reiterating his supposed commitment to peace.


Despite the fact that the joint declaration document subsequently spoke of " the crisis in Venezuela" and support for the "restoration of democracy as a necessary step to put an end to the political, economic and humanitarian crisis", neither in that declaration Neither Biden himself ever named Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, nor Juan Guaidó in his statement . Traditionally used words such as "dictatorship", "usurpation", etc., were not used, nor was anything to indicate that his administration's rapprochement with the Bolivarian Government had even been mentioned in the brief meeting, despite pressure from the Colombian media corporations.

Then, Duque gave an interview in which, among other things, he announced the launch of the "United States-Colombia Bicentennial Plan", which he defined as an update of Plan Colombia, whose failure resulted in thousands of deaths, crimes, serious violations of human rights of the Colombian people and a sustained growth of drug trafficking.

Previously, Duque held meetings with far-right Republican congressmen such as Marco Rubio and Democrats such as Robert Menéndez, in which, hopefully, he has tried to counteract the apparent decision of the Biden government to support "progressive" governments in the region such as that of Gabriel Boric and, eventually, that of Gustavo Petro (if he has to win). But in the end, his visit focused on two points: further deepen US interference in Colombia and insist on attacking Venezuela, for which, obviously, he has the express support of both senators.

More military advice, more financing for the war, more transnationals, more exploitation via nearshoring , and one or another project to satisfy sectoral claims and justify USAID operations, were the balance that only augured more war for Colombia.

DUKE, AGAIN BETWEEN RIDICULE AND INDIGNITY
As if to continue demonstrating that his sense of the ridiculous has no limits, Duque said that "Colombia today is a country that has more capacity to supply hydrocarbons than Venezuela has", for which, as he himself commented, he offered the US president the possibility that Colombia meets the current oil requirements of the United States to prevent the country from the North from resorting to Venezuela.

However, he himself clarified that Colombia currently produces only 890,000 barrels per day and hopes that in a few years it will barely exceed one million, while Venezuela's goal is to gradually recover its production of 3 million barrels per day, reaching this same year, the production of 2 million.

The ridiculous offer that has already renewed the existence of memes, cartoons and videos of ridicule on the networks about the Colombian president also explains the desperation to pacify Arauca and why in the midst of the conflict that arose in 2022, the oil companies have brought in machinery with military accompaniment to areas where communities have rejected oil exploitation.

Finally, we cannot fail to mention Duque's stubborn determination to erase the history of Our America and rewrite it in favor of imperialism. This is evident in the recent celebration of the Bicentennial of the Constitution of Cucuta and now with the alleged celebration of the "Bicentennial of United States-Colombia relations."

The anniversary that the Santander government intends to celebrate is due to the fact that, in March 1822, the United States of America, then presided over by James Monroe, finally recognized the independence of "Great" Colombia -of which New Granada was a part-, a year before launching his well-known doctrine.

Far from the celebration, the Venezuelan writer Rufino Blanco Fombona wrote about it:

It is necessary to insistently remember, above all, that the United States did not recognize us until 1822, when we were exercising our own Government and sovereignty as emancipated nations -with various military fortunes- for twelve years, that is, since 1810; that the United States neither helped us in our hour of trial nor recognized us until, in the words of President Monroe, we were "in full possession of independence."

Long lines have been written and continue to be written about the history of that relationship between Bolívar and Monroe that cannot be erased by force of lies and distortions. History, the past, the present and the future, the one that is built every day, rises up from the peoples, above the false stories of the oligarchies and despite the fact that the Colombian government now proposes us to celebrate its unworthy subordination.

https://misionverdad.com/globalistan/ri ... en-y-duque

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Re: Colombia

Post by blindpig » Fri Mar 18, 2022 1:36 pm

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Complaints of Electoral Fraud Grow in Colombia (+Congress)
March 17, 2022

Merely 48 hours after the legislative elections in the Republic of Colombia, complaints of fraud by various political sectors of the country are growing. More and more facts and figures that show various kinds of irregularities in the parliamentary elections held last Sunday, March 13, are coming to light.

Gustavo Petro, who was a pre-candidate in the presidential primaries of the coalition Pacto Histórico por Colombia (Historical Pact for Colombia), and is already confirmed as one of the candidates for the presidential elections to be held in May, published in his Twitter account reports of irregularities from various voting centers.

He denounced that the electoral registry did not report a total of 1,079 polling stations, even after 2 a.m. on Monday. He also mentioned that in 29,425 polling stations the votes for Pacto Histórico were not counted. Moreover, 801 polling stations were not included in the databases, and in 23,072 centers there was double counting of the votes cast.

Petro said in a tweet, “In one out of every four polling stations, votes for the Pacto Histórico for Congress do not appear, and in one out of every four polling stations for the open lists the votes were doubled by adding the logo and candidate number. Each of these polling stations has to be scrutinized.“


Duplication of votes

Colombian voters reported through social media that the duplication of votes was evident, because the option of voting by logo and by number was allowed to be selected at the same time. In other words, the process allowed one vote for a particular candidate and a second vote for the corresponding political organization.

“What Pacto Histórico detected in 23,072 polling stations is that on the ballots where the logo and the number were marked, the vote was given twice: once for the candidate and once for the party,” explained a supporter of the coalition. “This cannot be allowed. When someone marks logo and number, the vote is only for the candidate.”

With this argument the complainant explained how the conservatives could get so many votes for the Congress.


Featured image: Gustavo Petro at a polling station in the Puente Aranda sector, Bogotá, to cast his vote on March 13. Photo: Cesar Melgarejo/ CEET

(RedRadioVE) by José Manuel Blanco Díaz

Translation: Orinoco Tribune


https://orinocotribune.com/complaints-o ... -congress/

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Arrest in Colombia of Drug Lord Linked to Guaidó & Right-Wing Politicians
March 18, 2022

On Sunday, March 13, Migration Colombia announced the capture of the Italian-Venezuelan drug trafficker Garafolo Forte Biaggio Benito in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. An Interpol Red Notice issued in 2015 made Biaggio Benito a wanted man in 193 countries. Biaggio Benito maintains close ties with Venezuelan opposition politicians such as Henrique Capriles, Juan Guaidó, and the fugitive Ismael García.

Material released by the investigative blog La Tabla demonstrates the links between the drug trafficker and former deputy Guaidó, particularly through members of his Popular Will party, including former parliamentarian Marco Aurelio Quiñones.

In addition, photographs reveal the active participation of Biaggio Benito in right-wing political activities. In one of the photos, Biaggo Benito is seen with Roland Carreño, arrested in 2020 on charges of financing terrorism, conspiracy, and illicit arms trafficking.

The drug lord’s relationship with the right appears to be quite close. Former deputy Quiñones is one of Guaidó’s main collaborators, and was part of several delegations that requested actions against Venezuela before international organizations.

Despite this, through Twitter, Quiñones stated that he wanted “the full weight of the law” to be exercised against Biaggio Benito. Regardless, the political alignment and close relationship between the two was confirmed on social media platforms. Most of Quiñones’ posts are retweets from politicians from Anaco, in Anzoátegui state, the city where they allegedly met.

Another figure in this case is the former prosecutor general, now a fugitive from justice, Luisa Ortega Díaz, who in 2015 prevented Biaggio Benito from being extradited to Spain. At that time, Biaggio Benito had been detained for allegedly transporting 350 kg of cocaine to Spain using the company Top Fruit Group SL.

Biaggio Benito’s organization introduced drugs to Spain using the façade of a fruit export company, revealed after a shipment was detected arriving in Barcelona from Venezuela. As a result, Biaggio Benito was arrested in Venezuela in 2015.

In 2019, photographs of former deputy Guaidó were found that showed him with members of Colombia’s Los Rastrojos narco-trafficking paramilitary group, which facilitated Guaidó’s transfer to Colombia to promote the “humanitarian aid” invasion attempt of Venezuela on February 23.

Garafolo Forte Biaggio Benito, 49, entered Colombia illegally from La Guajira, Venezuela. After his capture in Colombia last week, in a hotel in Cartagena, it will be up to local authorities to answer for the crimes he is accused of in Spain. It is unclear how the drug lord evaded Venezuelan justice.

Featured image: Former deputy Juan Guaidó with a lost expression in his face. File photo.

(Alba Ciudad)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune


https://orinocotribune.com/arrest-in-co ... liticians/

It's seems as if this Petro guy ain't all 'leftist' as made out, more like a 'democratic socialist', which is to say untrustworthy. If it looks as though he's winning or wins the election and is assassinated then I'm wrong.
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Re: Colombia

Post by blindpig » Mon Mar 28, 2022 2:32 pm

Historical pact will register its presidential formula in Colombia

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Petro and France intend to lead the country towards a democratic and peaceful transition, with broad representation of various social sectors in their coalition, and in Congress. | Photo: @PactoCol
Published 25 March 2022

Gustavo Petro, presidential candidate for that coalition, said that Francia Márquez is the best possible ally to accompany him.

The left-wing coalition Historical Pact will register this Friday before the National Registry of Civil Status of Colombia, its presidential formula with a view to the general elections on May 29 and which is made up of Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez.

According to all the polls carried out and after the parliamentary elections and inter-party consultation on March 13, Petro stands as the favorite to win the elections, among the seven candidates who will fight for the presidency for the different parties or political formations.

Which are Federico Gutiérrez, Team for Colombia; Sergio Fajardo, from the Centro Esperanza coalition; Rodolfo Hernández, of the Conservative Party; Íngrid Batancort, for the Oxygen Green Party; Enrique Gómez, of National Salvation; and Luis Pérez from Movimiento Ciudadano Colombia Piensa en Grande.


Regarding the Historical Pact, it is a progressive formula that proposes a change in Colombia, and which brings together peasants, indigenous people, women human rights defenders, black people, environmentalists, trade unionists, youth, feminists, animal rights activists, among other sectors that make up a spectrum varied within Colombian society.

This alliance will have 52 representatives in Congress, and regarding the election of Francia Márquez as his companion as possible vice president, Petro stated that “I have decided that my vice-presidential formula is France. She is the best candidate we have had in recent times.”


The presidential elections on May 29 will determine the next president and vice president of that South American nation for the period 2022-2026, for which the winning formula must be awarded 50 percent plus one of the valid votes.

Otherwise, on June 19, a second round will be held between the two candidates with the highest number of votes, from which the Colombian dignitary will emerge for the next four years without the right to re-election.


This Wednesday Sergio Fajardo registered with the National Registry in Bogotá for the Centro Esperanza coalition, with Luis Gilberto Murillo as the vice-presidential formula.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/pacto-hi ... -0003.html

Colombian vice-presidential candidate receives death threat

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Márquez demanded that the Government of Iván Duque guarantee his physical integrity and that of his family. | Photo: @FranciaMarquezM
Published March 28, 2022 (4 hours 42 minutes ago)

According to recent polls, Petro and Márquez are favorites to win the first round of the presidential elections.

The candidate for the vice presidency of Colombia for the left-wing coalition Historical Pact, Francia Márquez, denounced on Sunday being the victim of death threats and demanded that the Government guarantee her safety and that of her family.

In a series of messages posted on her official Twitter account, the environmental activist said: "The slander, the racist demonstrations are not enough, but in less than a month they have threatened me with death twice, along with other social leaders." .

In her tweet, Márquez published photographs of pamphlets from the criminal structure calling itself Águilas Negras, in which they make threats against her and other political and social leaders.

"Mr. President Iván Duque, I ask you to guarantee my physical integrity, that of my family and that of the leaders mentioned here," the political leader demanded.


Likewise, he asked the Colombian Attorney General's Office to investigate the reported events. "Hopefully this time impunity doesn't win," said the human rights defender.

He also denounced that he has had a series of problems with the operation of his protection scheme, although he did not delve into details.

Márquez and Gustavo Petro, the candidate for the presidency of Colombia for the Historical Pact, registered last Friday before the National Registry their formula for the elections of next May 29.

According to recent polls, Petro and Márquez are favorites to win the first round of the presidential elections.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/colombia ... -0006.html

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Re: Colombia

Post by blindpig » Mon Apr 04, 2022 1:02 pm

UN: Violence in Colombia Registers a 621% Increase This Year

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Violence in eastern Colombia has claimed 130 lives this year, UN says. | Photo: Twitter @HerWorld5

Published 1 April 2022

The UN report pointed out that 48,000 people are in a situation of confinement, which means an increase of 394 percent compared to the same period of time last year.

In the first two months of 2022 at least 274,000 people in Colombia were affected by violence, which represents an increase of 621 percent compared to the same period of 2021, according to a report by the United Nations (UN) Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The UN body mentioned in its report that 3,000 people have been displaced, while 48,000 people are in a situation of confinement, which means an increase of 394 percent compared to the same period last year.

Of the total number of people in confinement, 87 percent are in the northwestern department of Chocó, one of the regions most impacted by armed conflict.

The Ombudsman's Office has also had to issue at least five early warnings due to the situation of forced displacement.


Meanwhile, continuing with the comparison, the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz) of Colombia revealed that 48 social leaders have been killed in the first quarter of the year, which means an increase of six compared to the same period of 2021.

The number of massacres and people killed in this type of actions also increased, since so far there are 27 massacres with 94 victims in 2022 in contrast to 23 and 84 in 2021, respectively.

Between January 1 and March 30, 2022, 11 murders of signatories of the 2016 peace agreement have been registered, three less than in the same period in 2021.

Last March 23, the International Committee of the Red Cross in Colombia acknowledged that, according to the figures available to them, "most of the effects derived from armed conflict and violence reached (in 2021) the highest level in the last five years".

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/UN- ... -0003.html

Colombia Defense Min Claims Victims of Massacre Were Guerrillas

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Colombia's Defense Minister claims alleged military massacre in Putamayo province was legitimate operation. April. 1, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@davesnewscom

Published 1 April 2022

According to Colombia's Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, the victims of an apparent military slaughter were guerrillas who were murdered in a legitimate operation.


On Monday, a defense minister's statement, which aroused controversy, emerged in light of evidence pointing to the killing of at least four civilians by the National Army in Putumayo province in the country's south.

The United Nations human rights office said the civilian victims included a community leader, an indigenous governor, and at least another 16-year-old boy. Meanwhile, Colombia's defense minister announced on Monday that nine "criminals: had been killed in Puerto Leguizamo, a jungle municipality on the border with Ecuador.

However, President Iván Duque then upped the death toll, stating that 11 members of dissident groups of the former FARC guerrillas were killed. "Four more criminals were detained in Puerto Leguizamo," Duque added.

On Wednesday, General Edgar Alberto Rodriguez of the National Army's Southeastern Joint Command N3 said that the victims belonged to the "Segunda Marquetalia" guerrilla group. The Ombudsman's Office denied confirming that the people killed in Puerto Leguizamo were guerrillas and asked for a quick clarification.

A regional community organization said Tuesday that seven villagers who were misrepresented as guerrillas had been identified. The community said the military slaughtered the villagers attending a bazaar in El Remanso village.

Locals said civilian casualties included the community's elected leader, his wife, an indigenous governor, and a 16-year-old boy. At least three locals were reportedly injured in the massacre and others have been missing since the fake offensive.

The A la Orilla Del Río regional think tank corroborated the massacre and published images of the community center where the killings took place. Similarly, human rights organizations and independent media released accounts from multiple locals accusing the National Army of murdering the villagers. The fact-finding news website Cuestion Publica also published the death certificates of four of the victims.


The opposition leader, Gustavo Petro, a presidential candidate, said Duque's government was guilty of a war crime. He said they were not 11 FARC members; they were civilians and disarmed peasants and indigenous people, including children.

The defense minister doubled down on his misleading assertions given Petro's accusation. He said the victims were drug traffickers, not innocent indigenous people and also published a video of people talking and weapons seized in military operations in the interest of backing his allegations. However, news reporters told the minister that talking was legal and that there was no evidence that the weapons were confiscated at the massacre site.

The war crimes tribunal is investigating Diego Molano for his suspected implication in the executions of 22 civilians in 2006 and 2007. The military officer is on probation due to a peace process with the former FARC guerrillas. The general could be sent to prison if the court finds legal merit to presume that the general continued to violate human rights after the 2016 peace agreement.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Col ... -0022.html

Un huh, yes, of course....and if ya believe that one I've got a massacre in Ukraine to sell ya...
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Re: Colombia

Post by blindpig » Wed Apr 13, 2022 2:22 pm

UN asks to investigate military operation in Putumayo, Colombia

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The Colombian Attorney General's Office asked the Military Forces for information on the military operation in Putumayo that left at least 11 dead. | Photo: The Spectator
Published April 13, 2022 (5 hours 36 minutes ago)

The UN warned that the wave of violence sweeping through Colombia is taking a heavy toll on indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities.

The head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, asked the Colombian government on Tuesday to investigate the military operation in Puerto Leguízamo, department of Putumayo, in which at least 11 people died, including an indigenous governor.

The Colombian authorities maintain that those who died in the operation on March 28 in the rural area of ​​Putumayo were members of a FARC dissident group, while civil organizations assure that the fallen were indigenous and community leaders.

The Colombian Attorney General's Office asked the Military Forces for information on the operation, since several social organizations denounced that it was "false positives."


"The department of Putumayo has been similarly affected by violence in recent weeks. I underscore the importance of the relevant authorities thoroughly investigating the death of 11 people, including indigenous and community leaders, reported in the framework of a military operation against members of an illegal armed group in Puerto Leguízamo," Ruiz Massieu told the United Nations Security Council.

Given the situation, Ruiz Massieu maintained the importance of an investigation in relation to the reports of the death of eleven people in the middle of a military operation.

The UN official warned that the wave of violence sweeping through the South American country is taking a heavy toll on indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities.


Although it recognizes the progress made in the implementation of the peace agreements, "it does not minimize the obstacles and risks that still threaten the consolidation of peace in the country," such as the growing wave of violence that must be addressed for a complete peace.

Ruiz Massieu also denounced the increased presence of armed actors in the departments of Arauca and Putumayo, as well as the recruitment of minors in these territories.


In response to the remarks made by the head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, the Colombian president, Iván Duque, assured that his country has zero tolerance against any violation of Human Rights by agents of the public force.

According to UN data, at least 315 peace signatories have been killed since the signing of the agreement, 241 since the date of possession of Iván Duque and 27 ex-combatants are missing.

In addition, he pointed out that there were 43 homicides of social leaders during the first three months of this year.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/onu-pide ... -0001.html

Google Translator

*****************************

„Any veteran and leader can be killed, I am no exception.“ Colombia's peace deal without peace.

In 2016 the FARC-EP was ready to give up its weapons. Now, unarmed, ex FARC veterans are being shot. Today, peace in Colombia is an illusion.
K. Nazari
Mar 1, 2021

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The ex-gueriller@s of the former FARC-EP signed a peace deal in the year 2016 with the Colombian government. The armed conflict with Colombia’s largest Guerilla organization came to an end, at least on paper. High-ranking politicians shook their hands and earned Nobel-peace-prices. The FARC handed over thousands of guns and millions of ammunition to the United Nations. Thousands of guerilla women and men were full of hope and ready for change. Today, you will find this enthusiasm nowhere. While the government talks about peace and success, at least 254 ex-combatants were murdered. Ex FARC-EP gueriller@s are fearing for their lives while the belief that the so-called peace deal is built on an illusion is gaining popularity. Thousands ripped the contract in half and took up guns and rifles again. The „Party of the rose“, the legal FARC, lost many of its members. Top influential FARC commanders Jesus Santrich & Iván Márquez returned into the mountains to announce the FARC-EP's formation: Second Marquetalia. Today, peace in Colombia is an illusion.

In 2016 the FARC-EP was ready to give up its weapons. Now, unarmed, ex FARC veterans are being shot. Systematic killings of ex-FARC guerilla are striking the country. The study piece „A criminal peace. Mapping the murders of EX-FARC combatants“ (November 2020) analyzed the origins of the assassinations. „The overwhelming majority of those killed are male. This is perhaps surprising, considering that almost 40% of the guerilla insurgency were female. The majority of victims are also of a low rank.“ The study also showed that ex-FARC are more likely to face extraordinary violence in the areas around the compounds, where guerillas are taking part in reintegration programs.

Ex-combatants say the killers target them systematically, but there is much debate about who is killing ex-FARC combatants and why. Julio Camilo (name changed) used to be a FARC member, „I fulfilled the daily tasks just like every guerrillero.“ he told us. Julio is still holding up the white flag of peace while having to fear for his life. „Any veteran and leader can be killed at this time, and I am no exception.“ Like many, Julio started a grassroots project after laying down his gun. After years of war, he is now brewing beer. We wanted to know his perspective on who is behind the ex-FARC killings.

„The assassinations of leaders and ex-combatants are tied to economic interests. Their executors have been arrested but not the determinants. In the JEP (Jurisdiction for Peace) report, the collusion between paramilitaries, the army and landowners, and business people in these murders has been revealed. The agreement established the dismantling of these organizations responsible for the murders, but the state has not complied with it.“ Ex-FARC militants have set up various grassroots organizations to secure a civil future for themselves.

To get a better insight into the process of ex-FARC killings, we spoke to Andrés, who is now part of the national communication team of the legal Party. Andrés was part of the political structure of the FARC-EP, the Colombian Clandestine Communist Party, for more than ten years. We asked Andrés how the assassinations work exactly:

„There isn’t a typical process. It can be, for example, that the killers call a member of the Party, cheating him with a possible project for the reincorporation, setting up a date in a place far from a village. Another threat for us are hired contract killers, sicarios, in a big city. It can be that an armed group kidnaps a member of the ex-guerrilla and one or two days after he appears dead.

The war against the ex-guerrilla members, social leaders, and defenders of human rights & nature is real. Today, 254 people died from assassination - people who decided to go to civil life, militants who dreamed of seeing Colombia in peace.

In 1984, the FARC and the government of that year signed an accord. It was the Unión Patriótica (UP) birth, a left party with some guerilla members and ordinary people. The Colombian State begun a brutal genocide against UP with more than 5000 killed members. Now, we see the same. Same history - same assassins - same victims. The killings were “justified” in the 80s with the ideology of the war against communism. Now it is “justified” with the doctrine of the war on drugs. The difference is only in discourse, but all the rest is the same.

There are good reasons to come back to the mountains to defend their life of the assassins. On the other hand, people in Colombia do not like war more. There is not any possibility to get political power in Colombia by the weapons. The military way is not viable at this moment.“

Not everyone inside the FARC is determined to the peace deal like Andrés. When ex-combatants become targets for murder and other forms of violence, the peace process itself is at risk. 254 ex-FARC dead, this grim reality is the reason for many to return to armed conflict. In the video published by the FARC-EP SM to announce their return to armed struggle, Iván Márquez stressed that ex-FARC's killings were a significant reason for taking up armed again.

“The state has not fulfilled its most important obligations, which is to guarantee the life of its citizens and especially avoid assassinations for political reasons” - Iván Márquez.

The two significant fractions are now the Second Marquetalia and the structure under the lead of top commander Gentil Duarte, who never demobilized after the 2016 peace agreement with the government. Both structures are gaining members rapidly but are also at war. While the SM structure tried to unite all FARC units, Gentil Duarte and his allied structures see top commanders like Jesus Santrich & Iván Márquez as traitors for engaging in peace talks and laying down weapons. The FARC dissidents are united only in their history.

According to the political scientist Francisco Gutierrez, the government’s refusal to implement peace policies, and the surge of a new generation of paramilitary and guerilla groups, almost exactly recreates the situation that led to the 1964 reactivation of armed conflict.

https://frontlineonline.substack.com/p/ ... killed?s=r
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Re: Colombia

Post by blindpig » Sat Apr 16, 2022 1:35 pm

COLOMBIA TOWARDS THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: WITHOUT PEACE OR LEGALITY
13 Apr 2022 , 9:37 am .

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The victims of the Colombian conflict are increasing unstoppably while the outgoing president, Iván Duque, speaks of "great progress in the implementation of the policy of Peace with Legality" at the UN (Photo: TeleSur)

The president of Colombia, Iván Duque, is in the United States, he spoke yesterday, Tuesday, April 12 for the first time before the UN Security Council to present "a detailed balance of the great advances in the implementation of the Peace policy with Legality", according to the Colombian Presidency.

The outgoing president would also have a meeting with the secretary general of the organization, António Guterres, another with the president of the Security Council, the British Tariq Mahmood Ahmad, and another with the global director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Achim Steiner. Media sources affirm that he would be locating his future work in international organizations by the time his highly criticized work at the head of the Casa de Nariño ends.

NEITHER PEACE NOR LEGALITY: THE DEADLY WAKE OF DUQUE

The Uribe politician, who will intervene in a session of the Peace Consolidation Commission and in the forum "Peace with Legality: The Roadmap for Implementation", is going through another scandal on Human Rights due to the fact that a joint investigation between three media outlets Colombians ( El Espectador, Cambio and Vorágine ) uncovered that a military operation that he himself presented as successful turned out to be another alleged fact of false positives .

Six journalists collected more than 30 testimonies in Puerto Leguízamo, in the southeast of the country, near the border with Ecuador; both the versions and the tests are very different from the official narrative. The evidence collected indicates that there was an abuse of force by the Army, dozens of irregularities and, apparently, extrajudicial executions against civilians who were just enjoying themselves in a community bazaar.

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In the community of Alto Remanso (Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo) they say that the soldiers identified themselves as guerrillas to attack a supposed group from the Border Commandos. An undetermined number of civilians died in the operation.
:

His defense minister will have to be accountable to a strengthened opposition after the March 13 elections in Congress. Deputies of the so-called Historical Pact demand a motion of censure to remove him from office due to his political responsibility for the 11 civilians killed in said military operation that could have violated International Humanitarian Law.


The influence of the United States in the structure and functioning of the Colombian military (and paramilitary) machinery is evident and a risk for the region. There seems to be no peace or legality in the management of the lawyer graduated from the controversial Sergio Arboleda University in Bogotá, some figures give reason for it:

*Colombia adds 51 social leaders, ex-combatants and civilian population murdered and just over 30 massacres in the first four months of 2022, according to the Institute of Studies for the Development of Peace (Indepaz).
*The UN Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that in the first two months of 2022, more than 274 thousand people were affected by dynamics associated with armed violence, an increase of 621% compared to the same period in 2021 and warned that at At least 13,000 Colombians have had to move this year.
*Indepaz itself recorded 114 massacres during 2021 and noted that at least 198 social leaders were killed, for a total of 1,284 leaders killed after the signing of the Peace Accords in 2016.
*Last March, 15 social leaders were assassinated in the departments of Bolívar, Boyacá, Chocó, Caquetá, Cauca, Putumayo, Norte de Santander, San Andrés Isla and Tolima.
*Since 2016, Indepaz registered 310 murders against peace signatories, and 11 of these events have occurred during this 2022.
*The NGO Global Witness declared that, for the third consecutive year, Colombia was the most dangerous country in the world to defend environmental rights and to combat the causes of climate change while its government refuses to ratify the Escazú Agreement, to protect the lives of those who defend the environment.
*According to the UNHCR, Colombia continues to be the country in the world with the most victims of forced displacement with nine million people.
*According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, after Afghanistan, Colombia is the country with the most victims of antipersonnel mines in the world.

A BLOODY NEOLIBERAL AIRCRAFT CARRIER

The economic-political system that prevails in the neighboring country is necrophilous in the extreme, it is a neoliberal machine that drinks the blood of those who oppose the privatization of profitable state companies and the dismantling of agrarian reform. To sustain itself, it represses with structured violence and the paramilitary strategy persecuting trade unionism and the peasant and indigenous movement, for which Plan Colombia was also implemented in 2000.

Although it emerged as an anti-drug and peace strategy that would benefit the State and the economy, in reality the Plan was an extermination campaign against the civilian population, the leadership of social movements and the guerrillas through asymmetric warfare implemented with the advice of thousands of soldiers and mercenaries paid by agencies of the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel.

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Iván Duque and U.S. advisors assigned to the 1st Security Forces Assistance Brigade (SFAB) during the activation of the Colombian Anti-Narcotics Transnational Threats Division (CONAT) in Tolemaida

Plan Colombia did not put an end to drug trafficking, but rather installed a neoliberal aircraft carrier, annihilating social opposition to privatization, labor flexibility and austerity measures whose symbiosis with free trade agreements has strengthened the corporations of the Global North.

In 2021, ECLAC reported that the economy grew by 9.5% in 2021 while the NGO Oxfam reported that two people concentrate more wealth than 50% of the population, which translates into an inequality that has 42% of the Colombian population in poverty and increasingly wide gaps in the social sphere. Foreign companies enjoy legal and material security that translates into low labor and tax costs to "stimulate investment."

Colombia is one of the countries with the greatest income inequality and informality in the labor market in Latin America. More than 10 million workers survive on less than a minimum wage and do not have access to social security.

On the other hand, a substantial part of the State's expenses is destined to defense and to the payment of the 170 billion dollars of foreign debt that means that every Colombian born owes the international bank about 14 months of their work with a minimum salary.

Unemployment is greater than 14% while the salary does not cover 30% of household expenses, which forces the population to join the, also repressed, informal economy.

Due to a tax reform proposed by Duque, a social protest broke out in 2021 that lasted more than a hundred days, without channels of dialogue, only persecution, death and urban paramilitarism that led to a balance of 80 young people killed by the police, hundreds of prisoners and countless acts of abuse of authority.

" LEAD IS WHAT IT IS"

The link between the United States and the Colombian establishment that Duque represents today is becoming closer and closer and it is not just a doctrinal coincidence but also economic and geostrategic interests, this is reflected in how the American heritage linked to Defense and Security increases In colombia. In addition, Duque has insisted on positioning himself before the US government by insisting that Colombia belong to NATO, even if it is in a secondary role.

To give wings to this aspiration, Minister Molano himself accused Russia, a few weeks before Duque's visit to Washington, of supporting Venezuela militarily, which generated tensions with the Eurasian country. He also accused Russia of "cyber attacks to stoke violence" during the 2021 protests and, during a visit to Israel, warned of Hezbollah financing criminals in Colombia, stating that "Iran and Hezbollah, which operates against Israel, but also supports the regime of Venezuela".

In tune with NATO's war aspiration, the neighboring country experiences the contrast of having thousands of people suffering from malnutrition and limited access to health care while it feeds, pays, heals, arms and pensions the second largest public force in Latin America after Brazil.

But if Plan Colombia sought to eliminate irregular groups, that has not been the task accomplished by Duque, a document called "Lead is what it is: Violence and security in the time of Duque" reports that in 420 Colombian municipalities there is a presence of armed groups organized as the guerrilla National Liberation Army (ELN), the Clan del Golfo and dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), that is, in 37% of the national territory.

The Clan del Golfo, a narco-paramilitary structure, remains the strongest armed group with a presence in 241 municipalities, in second place is the ELN, which is in 183 municipalities, while dissidents are gaining ground, especially in southwestern Colombia. . The report indicates that as of 2018, when Duque came to power, the massacres increased exponentially: "The most dramatic increase occurred between 2019 and 2020, by more than 300%."

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Mercenaries financed by characters close to the Duque administration assassinated the president of Haiti, Jovenel Möise, in 2021, were captured by Haitian authorities and "humanized" by the corporate press of the neighboring country

The export of Colombian mercenaries, graduates of the (para)military machinery that the United States continuously oils, constitutes a panorama of how the establishment of a permanent state of war is not accidental. The privatization of war has been part of the plan that the Global North implements to increase destabilization in various regions such as Latin America, thus the participation of mercenaries in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Möise has been forgotten and the public witnessed the media campaign of the media outlet Semana that, as Renán Vega Cantor would say:

" ...he mainly dedicated himself to interviewing his relatives, wives and sentimental partners, and gave his affirmations as true, one does not know if they speak naively or cynically, that those individuals were tame pigeons and did not kill a fly".

ELECTIONS OR THE FRAUD ROUTE?

Meanwhile, the electoral process progresses with obstacles even though the first phase was completed on March 13, when 107 senators and 167 deputies were elected, and seats for victims of the armed conflict were implemented for the first time. At the same time, primaries were held to determine who will be the candidate for the presidency of the center-right alliance Centro Esperanza, the right-wing Equipo por Colombia and the coalition Alianza Histórico.

More than 18 million voters (47% of the electorate) went to the polls in which the Historical Pact won 25 seats, as many as the Colombian Conservative Party. These were the results of the primaries:

Gustavo Petro, from the Historical Pact, became the presidential candidate with 4 million 487 thousand 551 votes over Francia Márquez who obtained 783 thousand 160 votes.
On the side of the right-wing coalition Team for Colombia, the winner was Federico "Fico" Gutiérrez, former mayor of Medellín, who obtained 2,160,329 votes while second place Alejandro Char obtained 706,587 votes.
In the Centro Esperanza coalition, the winning candidate was Sergio Fajardo, who obtained 723,084 votes, while the candidates Juan Manuel Galán and Carlos Amya received 486,808 and 451,122, respectively.
However, some voices cataloged the electoral event as the greatest historical irregularity in an electoral process and could lead to several changes in the composition of Congress for the period 2022-2026. Alejandra Barrios, director of the Electoral Observation Mission in Colombia reported that "Multiple errors were found in the filling out of the E-14 forms by the jurors who filled them out and that were disseminated through the pre-count system." She, however, refused to talk about electoral fraud.

Former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez's party, Centro Democrático, published a statement in which it strongly criticized the work of the National Registry and described as "unacceptable the situation of uncertainty generated by the inaccuracy of the published results (...) which, in addition to modifying the makeup of Congress calls into question the rigor with which the data was processed".

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The shadow of the drug trafficker linked to the Clan del Golfo, José Guillermo "Ñeñe" Hernández Aponte, has not yet disappeared from the Colombian political spectrum over Duque's political career and the electoral results that led him to the presidency

For his part, Petro denounced on his social networks that "in one of every four tables there are no votes for the (Historic) Pact to Congress throughout the country" while another spokesman for his coalition, Alexánder López, assured that "we are living, I think one of the worst scandals in the country's electoral history".

The panorama on the road to the presidential elections is no less than complex, the social and political conditions that are envisioned are not precisely those that Duque is trying to sell during his visit to multilateral spaces, but quite the opposite. It is a country under war and illegality with export qualities and the elections, which could be a turn in history, do not guarantee that it will be so due to the latent risk of electoral irregularities.

https://misionverdad.com/globalistan/co ... -legalidad

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Re: Colombia

Post by blindpig » Thu Apr 21, 2022 1:52 pm

ÁLVARO URIBE VÉLEZ: LEGACY AND MARK OF CRIME IN COLOMBIA
20 Apr 2022 , 4:50 pm .

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Álvaro Uribe Vélez participated in the creation and sponsorship of paramilitary groups in Colombia. Former paramilitary Pablo Hernán Sierra García, alias "Alberto Guerrero" says that he "has not demobilized" (Photo: Juan Zarama / Shutterstock)

The influence of Álvaro Uribe Vélez in shaping Colombian reality dates back more than 20 years. He has been the personal representation of a transnational project that has not only sought to turn Colombia into a safe enclave for raw materials, but also a geostrategic one from which to influence the rest of South America and the Caribbean.

It can be said with precision that Uribismo has governed in Colombia since 2002 because former President Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018) was its political ally and projected himself politically after being an official of an Uribista government.

INEQUALITY AND CRIMES MARK URIBE

One of the determining aspects of the Uribista legacy has been the deepening of social inequality by strengthening the direct and indirect drivers of this scourge, one of which has to do with land ownership which, together with the neoliberal intoxication of the economy, sustains a process of accumulation that produces exclusion and violence in an accelerated manner, even when the macroeconomic figures say otherwise.

Land grabbing is part of a structural problem in Colombia, it is the origin of the political dispute that has caused 200 years of war in the country with the cruelest oligarchy in Latin America that tends to concentrate land ownership not to produce, but for speculative purposes or territorial control. The guerrilla movements, the parapolitics , the massacres and the displacement of millions of peasants are fueled by this dispute.

The degree of inequality in the distribution of an asset such as land is usually measured through the Gini Index, a measure that ranges from 0.0 (absolute equality) to 1.0 (a single owner owns the entire asset). According to the 2015 National Agricultural Census, Colombia has a Gini Index for land of 0.90 and this makes it the fifth country with the highest concentration of land.

Farms larger than 500 hectares, which were 32% of the land in 1995, came to occupy 62% of the national area in 2015, in charge of less than 4% of the owners.

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Distribution of inequality in access to land in Colombia, a process in which Uribe Vélez has been the main actor (Photo: ECLAC)


Much of the analysis of Uribe's criminal legacy focuses on the continuous human rights violations carried out during the Uribe governments, they are a mark of his political legacy due to the fact that several people around him have been imprisoned, and others have judicial processes, for cases such as Yidispolitica, where votes were bought in Congress to approve the re-election.

In the case of Agro Income Security, landowners divided up their properties to access multiple subsidies and in the case of the DAS "wiretaps", where telephone communications were intercepted and opponents were followed up. The networks of informants put the population at risk and turned the population into actors in the conflict and in 2018, the Superior Court of Antioquia asked to initiate an investigation against Uribe Vélez for his possible relationship with the paramilitary massacres and his possible links with paramilitarism and made known to public opinion that there are more than 28 legal proceedings against him in the Supreme Court of Justice that have not progressed.

THE VORACIOUS CONSTRUCTION OF POWER

Beyond that bloody legacy as such, there is the usufruct of power and illicit enrichment that have been woven in a vertiginous and unstoppable way. The investigative journalism portal, Cuestión Pública published a timeline of Álvaro Uribe Vélez as a public servant and his assets.

The political leader, born in Medellin in 1952, began his career as a public servant in 1976-1977 when he was appointed head of assets at Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM), a time when the company Inversiones Uribe Vélez Ltda. was also registered. other positions such as general secretary of the Ministry of Labor, director of the Administrative Department of Civil Aeronautics (1980-1982), mayor of Medellín (1982), councilor of Medellín (1984-1986), senator of the Republic (1986-1994), Governor of Antioquia (1995-1997), President of the Republic (2002-2010) and Senator again (2014-2018).

His family ties are essential to analyze his behavior not only in politics but also in business, his father Alberto Uribe Sierra died at the hands of FARC-EP guerrillas in June 1983, it is said that after his death the Uribe Vélez family suffered a strong economic crisis and that these events determined his sponsorship of paramilitary groups in revenge for the murder of his father. The FARC-EP deny responsibility for the aforementioned murder.

Presumably the businessman and rancher Uribe Sierra maintained relations with drug trafficking sectors, his helicopter was found in the largest cocaine laboratory owned by Pablo Escobar, called Tranquilandia, in 1984. The press reported that, after his death, the helicopter that his son Álvaro Uribe used to get to the farm to collect his body, which was also owned by Pablo Escobar.

The one found in Tranquilandia was an aircraft from the firm Amórtegui Aerofoto, of which Uribe Sierra was a partner. The former Colombian president assures that by this time the Hughes HK-2704-X helicopter had already been sold, however Aerocivil was the one that granted him the registration and license on October 27, 1981, precisely when he was its director.

Álvaro Uribe married Lina Moreno in 1979, she is a philosopher who signed as a "housewife" when she bought the " California " property from the former mayor of Cereté (Córdoba), Alfonso Spath Spath, for 4.7 million pesos , in the rural area of ​​Montería. Today the Balmoral Country Complex is being built on that property, a development that has been the subject of investigative interest due to several peculiarities.



In 2008, then President Uribe and his former Minister of Agriculture Andrés Felipe Arias signed Decree 732 of 2008, which ordered the injection of resources into the district of Mocarí, among others, where the California estate, today Balmoral, is located.

The congressmen, Alirio Uribe and Iván Cepeda, assure in their book Por las sendas de El Ubérrimo that former President Uribe has benefited in a non-accidental way from State investments in areas surrounding his properties because the aforementioned signature could have been carried out to "prioritize investments that favored his own properties and those of his wife's and children's company, and he did not declare himself prevented from doing so."

THE CORE OF URIBISTA PRAXIS

Since 1981, when the Sociedad Uribe Vélez Asociados Ltda was founded, there are many Uribe family businesses and also the properties acquired. As reported by Cuestión Pública, they have bought 80 properties and have sold 22.

The livestock company Agropecuaria El Uberrimo SAS was founded by the Uribe Moreno family in 1990, it is the icon that foreshadows the image of the owner Uribe, the former first lady Lina Moreno de Uribe, is his legal representative and has 50% of the shares.

In particular, together with his sons Tomás and Jerónimo, they have founded or participated in companies such as Area Proyectos Inmobiliarios SA, in Medellín (2001), Ecoestitución Co SAS, dedicated to the recycling business (2003) and Achlys Investment Corporation, a Panamanian company dissolved in 2014. , over which the sons of the so-called "Matarife" would have recognized their ownership in the midst of the scandal over the lands of the Western Free Zone together with another of their companies, Yogur S. A, founded in 2008 and called Desarrollo e Innovaciones Inmobiliarias SAS which is "in liquidation".

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The Uribe Moreno family is the nucleus of the enrichment and the political influences that have defined the Uribista praxis (Photo: File)

The enrichment process of the Uribe Moreno brothers from the appraisal of some properties in the Mosquera municipality, when they were declared a Free Zone, was stopped when the political opposition to Uribe Vélez made the respective complaints.

They are also mentioned as shareholders in other companies such as Promotora Gransabana SA (2007), Ecoindustry SA, (2008), Innovative Andina SA (2009) and in Asia American Investment Corporation, which was incorporated in the commercial registry of the British Virgin Islands in 2008, As it became known through the Offshore Leaks, an investigation by the International Consortium of Journalists (ICIJ), the Uribe brothers later said that they had canceled the investment.

In the real estate business, the Uribe Moreno brothers own shares in Sapia CISAS, which in 2009 absorbed Salvarte (2001), a crafts company and from which they left in 2017. Also 31416 SAS (2013), Vele Inv SAS (2013), and Jaguar Capital SAS, promoter of a network of shopping centers called "Our", where Tomás Uribe Moreno is legal representative. The latter has opened malls in Apartadó (Antioquia, 2015), Soledad (Atlántico, 2017) and Montería (Córdoba, 2017). For his part, Jerónimo Uribe Moreno has been the legal representative of Servicios de Ingenieria de Datos SAS, a computer consulting firm.

THE SLOW PACE OF JUSTICE

On April 13, the Constitutional Court maintained Uribe Vélez as a defendant for his alleged bribery of witnesses and procedural fraud with a vote of 9 to 0. His defense stated that there was a "violation of judicial impartiality and independence" by part of some magistrates who made the decision and argued that this represents a "violation of the fundamental right to due process", for which it was requested to annul the ruling in question.

This is one of the cases in which justice has managed to advance the most and, however, remains in a non-decisive phase, however it motivated his surprise resignation from the Senate in 2018. The case began in 2014 when the former president denounced the Congressman Iván Cepeda for allegedly visiting witnesses in prisons to testify against him.

Cepeda had denounced Uribe for his links with two paramilitaries identified as Pablo Hernán Sierra and Juan Guillermo Monsalve, to form the Metro Bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Córdoba and Urabá at the Las Guacharacas ranch , then owned by his family and where it happened. the murder of his father.

In February 2018, the Court filed the case against Cepeda and considered that there was evidence that it was the opposite, and that the victim of the alleged false witnesses was Cepeda and not Uribe Vélez. Some acts:

*Sierra and Monsalve told Cepeda that in the late 1990s, when Uribe was Governor of Antioquia, the paramilitary group emerged.
*Sierra indicated that Álvaro Uribe, his brother Santiago, and other ranchers in the region "were the bosses and creators of that structure," and related them to the orders for several homicides.
*According to the Supreme Court, lawyer Diego Cadena contacted former members of paramilitary groups in different prisons to prepare documents and videos in favor of Senator Álvaro Uribe Vélez and his brother Santiago, in exchange for legal favors and money.
*The former prosecutor of Justice and Peace (process of "pacification" of paramilitary groups), Hilda Niño Farfán, and Álvaro Prada Artunduaga, senator of the Democratic Center (Uribe's party) in Huila, collaborated with Uribe's cause.

In Colombia there is an interdependence between the possession of land and the owner's income and, although it is a colonial legacy, Uribeism has intensified it. The spiral of enrichment and accumulation of power by Uribe Vélez, his family environment and his allied sectors , allow a certain doctrine of shock to prevail in which the armed conflict and the arms trade benefit the elites. They also benefit from the lack of control over property rights, which makes it one of the countries with the highest rates of displacement in the world, which leads to more social inequality and cultural dispossession.

On the other hand, drug trafficking has generated an almost independent economic system and with it sources of illegal work, of low quality, without the slightest guarantees for the worker, while the juicy profits are enjoyed by a few capos without even paying taxes or contributing to the economic development of the country.

It is in this chain of realities that Uribe is a top predator.

https://misionverdad.com/globalistan/al ... n-colombia

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Colombian Vice President Candidate Francia Márquez Denounces Racism (King Kong Slur)
April 21, 2022

The Afro-Colombian candidate for the Vice Presidency of Colombia, Francia Márquez, denounced a new case of racism against her, where she was called “King Kong.”

This Wednesday, April 20, Francia Márquez said: “A while ago, when I was having lunch, a call came in and I answered it. When I asked: ‘Who is this?’ they told me: ‘Who am I talking to?’ and I said: ‘Who do you need?’ and do you know what they answered? ‘King Kong.'”

Márquez is the running mate of Gustavo Petro, candidate for the presidency of the Historic Pact for Colombia, and favorite in the polls for the upcoming presidential elections, where the second round of elections is due to take place on May 29.

The candidate asserted that this comment does not diminish her strength or discourage her: “Of course it hurts, and it hurts because racism kills,” added the 40-year-old social leader from Cauca.

Petro and Márquez have as their main adversary former mayor of Medellín Federico Gutiérrez, who will present himself as the right-wing candidate for Colombia, and who has the support of Uribismo (supporters of former president Alvaro Uribe). Petro has already assured that he would decisively win the upcoming May elections, if there is no fraud and if the Colombian and international oligarchs do not attack his physical safety.

The use of the racist slur “King Kong” against Márquez was previously used in a tweet published, and later deleted, by the Colombian singer Marbelle, with whom she has had a long controversy on the communication networks that has even reached judicial instances. From there, the vice-presidential candidate has sent conciliatory messages to the artist through communication networks, despite her repeated hostile responses.

On March 27, Marquez reported that she received death threats for the second time and demanded that the right-wing government of President Iván Duque guarantee her safety.

“As if the slander, and racist acts were not enough, in less than a month they have threatened to kill me twice, along with other social leaders. President Iván Duque, I request that you guarantee my physical safety, and that of my family and the leaders mentioned here,” Márquez tweeted along with the photographs of two letters from the paramilitary group Aguilas Negras or Black Eagles, in which the group made threats against her and other progressive political and social leaders.

https://orinocotribune.com/colombian-vi ... kong-slur/

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Another social leader is assassinated in Norte de Santander, Colombia

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With Camilo Borou Bosachira there are 58 leaders assassinated so far in 2022 in the South American country. | Photo: @IvanCepedaCast
Published April 20, 2022 (6 hours 29 minutes ago)

Camilo was a member of the Motilón Barí indigenous people and defender of the territory, Iquiakarora community in the municipality of El Carmen.

The Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz) denounced on Tuesday the murder of another social leader in Colombia, Camilo Borou Bosachira Axducaracyara, which occurred in the Norte de Santander department, located in the northeast of the country.

Camilo, who was murdered in the area known as Los Higuerones, was a member of the Motilón Barí indigenous people and defender of the territory, Iquiakarora community, in the municipality of El Carmen.

"For its part, the Ombudsman's Office has issued AT 050/20 for the municipality of Tibú, where it indicates that the threat factors are multiple and are not strictly related and/or only related to the dynamics of the armed conflict," said Indepaz.


The non-governmental organization (NGO) mentioned that among the aforementioned elements they also correspond to "a broader range of structures and organizations that associate around economic, strategic, and security aspects agree and negotiate their action and control in the territory" .

Various armed groups are present in the area, including the ELN, the EPL, Rastrojos, the post-FARC-EP group of the 33rd front and the Danilo García Command, as well as the Second Division of the Colombian Army.


With Camilo Borou Bosachira there are 58 leaders assassinated so far in 2022 in the South American country.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/colombia ... -0039.html

New murder of social leader reported in Antioquia, Colombia

Published April 21, 2022 (5 hours 36 minutes ago)

With Cruz Gómez there would be five social leaders and human rights defenders assassinated in just three days in Colombia

The Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz) denounced this Wednesday the murder of social leader Camilo Andrés Eduardo Cruz Gómez in the municipality of Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia.

Cruz Gómez developed as a leading member of the Scouts of the region where the event occurred, in addition to the recognition that the young man participated in various recreation and social activity processes.

Last Tuesday, the 27-year-old novice received multiple gunshot wounds from armed men who were traveling on a motorcycle in the sector known as the Four Corners, reported Indepaz.


Likewise, the Ombudsman's Office issued the fourth early warning of 2022 for the electoral process in which it points out several risk factors against leaders and defenders of human rights.

Indepaz explained that among the groups that roam the area, "outsourced local structures" stand out and it is the jurisdiction of the Seventh Division of the Colombian Army.

With Camilo Andrés Eduardo Cruz Gómez there would be five social leaders and human rights defenders assassinated in just three days in Colombia and 59 so far in 2022.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/asesinan ... -0002.html

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55 Colombian Human Rights Activists Assassinated So Far

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A citizen during a protest against the assassination of social leaders in Colombia. | Photo: Twitter/ @lideresSC

Published 19 April 2022

Due to the upsurge in armed violence, the Ombudsman's Office issued an “Early Warning” for the municipalities of Arauquita, Fortul, Saravena, and Tame.

On Monday night, the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (INDEPAZ) denounced the murder of John Jairo Esquivel. This fact brings to 55 the number of human rights defenders killed so far this year.

Esquivel, who was a member of the Peasant Guard and a member of the National Peasant Association (ASONALCA), lived in the municipality of Fortul, in the department of Arauca. Illegal armed organizations and the Second Division of the Colombian Army are present in this area.

"We hold the Colombian State responsible for these events and the actions committed against the social movement and its communities," ASONALCA said, referring to the death of this social leader.

The Association also highlighted that the persecution, stigmatization, prosecution, and murder of social activists aggravates the humanitarian crisis. This happens amid the reconfiguration of the armed conflict carried out by paramilitary structures, which are continuing the genocide against Colombians.


ASONALCA urged the international community and human rights organizations to accompany the Colombian communities in their efforts to create "collective protection mechanisms and make visible the serious situation in the country."

Esquivel was killed in circumstances still unknown. Meanwhile, due to the upsurge in armed violence, the Ombudsman's Office issued an “Early Warning” for the municipalities of Arauquita, Fortul, Saravena, and Tame.

Currently, the armed groups establish controls on the mobility of the population and obtain illicit income from smuggling fuel, livestock, merchandise, and weapons.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/55- ... -0001.html
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Re: Colombia

Post by blindpig » Mon Apr 25, 2022 1:23 pm

Massacre number 34 denounced during 2022 in Colombia

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The victims were shot on two of the trails located in the Colombian department of Norte de Santander. | Photo: Indepaz
Published 21 April 2022

Until April 18, 2022, Indepaz reported 33 massacres with 122 fatalities.

Three people were killed on Thursday in the border area between Colombia and Venezuela, according to the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz).

One of the victims was shot on the Los Mangos trail in the Corregimiento of La Parada, while the rest were killed on the La Ramona trail in the Juan Frío Corregimiento.

The massacre took place in the Norte de Santander Department of the Villa del Rosario municipality where the ELN, AGC and sporadic actions of the 33rd and 41st fronts of the FARC-EP armed groups operate.

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The Ombudsman's Office had issued an electoral risk alert and points out that in the border territory the control of armed groups of different kinds predominates, which distort and charge for the passage of people and merchandise.

This is the 34th massacre that has taken place this year in the territory, just four days after the last one reported by the organization.

Until April 18, 2022, Indepaz reported 33 massacres with 122 victims of which. Most of the deaths were registered in the Putumayo department in the Puerto Leguízamo municipality, where 11 people lost their lives.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/indepaz- ... -0035.html

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Indepaz: 35th Massacre Reported in Colombia During 2022

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The Institute for Peace Studies and Development (Indepaz) denounced in Twitter the 35th massacre so far this year and the 17th victim of the peace agreement signatories killed in 2022. | Photo: Twitter @CaracasEnPinta0

Published 25 April 2022

Authorities in Cundinamarca revealed a triple homicide registered in the village of Rambla Baja, in the municipality of San Antonio de Tequendama.

A new massacre cast its shadows over Colombia within the cycle of indiscriminate violence that the South American country is going through, after authorities in Cundinamarca revealed a triple homicide registered in the village of Rambla Baja, Inspección Santandercito of the municipality of San Antonio de Tequendama.

The commander of the local Police Department, Colonel Raúl Vera Moreno, indicated that three bodies with wounds from a sharp weapon were found inside the Santa Inés farm.

The victims this time were two elderly people (a man and a woman) and a 17-year-old teenager, said the officer, in what constitutes the 35th massacre so far in 2022.

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In his report given to the local press, Moreno indicated that the alleged assailant who committed the triple homicide was identified. The person in question is already deprived of his freedom and under the supervision of the authorities.

At the moment of his capture, the alleged aggressor was found with "trace evidence and sharp weapons that will be processed by the forensic team to clarify the fact".

The victims were identified as Anita Diaz, 79 years old, Roberto Diaz, 84 years old, and Jenny Diaz Paez, 17 years old, reported the Instituto de Estudios y Desarrollo de la Paz (Indepaz).

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ind ... -0001.html

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They denounce a new massacre in Colombia, number 36 in 2022

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The authorities point out that local criminal structures and the Cartago Office are present in the city. | Photo: Colprensa
Published April 24, 2022 (9 hours 16 minutes ago)

Colombia also registers 59 social leaders and 17 ex-combatants killed during the year.

The Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz) denounced this Sunday the perpetration of a new massacre in Colombia, this time the event took place in the city of Cartago, located in the department of Valle del Cauca.

According to Indepaz, this new massacre, which is number 36 during 2022, left five fatalities as a result. "According to initial information, armed men arrived at the scene and shot those who were there," they detail.

"Two of the victims were women, of the three men, two were identified as José Germán Chica, 49, and his uncle José Fernando Chica, 56 (...) two minors were also injured in the incident," he explains. the Indepaz report.

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As has happened on several occasions, the Ombudsman's Office had issued an alert in the municipality because the area is a strategic corridor along the Colombian coffee belt for the transit of irregular armed groups, who seek control of drug micro-trafficking.

The authorities point out that local criminal structures and the Cartago Office are present in the city.

The humanitarian situation in Colombia is critical. So far this year, 59 social leaders and 17 ex-combatants included in the Peace Agreement have been assassinated.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/colombia ... -0024.html

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Here we see the model that the US would impose upon Venezuela.
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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