Colombia

Colombia is in the midst of a dramatic surge in violence from armed conflict. Already this year, hundreds of people have been killed, tens of thousands trapped in their homes by fighting, and nearly 122,000 forcibly displaced. How did we get here? 

[…] A court in Bogotá found the 73-year-old, who was president from 2002 to 2010, guilty of witness-tampering and a fraud charge.

Colombia has changed profoundly since the 2016 peace deal, but uneven state presence, lingering armed groups and mounting political tensions threaten to erode confidence unless implementation accelerates, the top UN envoy for the country said on Friday.

Colombian prosecutors have seized the offices of Anglo-French oil and gas firm Perenco, accusing it of paying paramilitaries, a charge the company denied Wednesday. Between 1997 and 2005, the firm was accused of paying the now-defunct United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia.

A wave of explosions has rocked southern Colombia, killing one and injuring dozens in the city of Cali. Authorities said there were also attacks on police posts in nearby towns. … While it remains unclear who carried out the apparently coordinated attacks, guerrilla groups that split from the once-powerful FARC militia are known to be active in the area.

[…] The government of left-wing President Gustavo Petro said it "categorically" condemned the attack as an "act of violence not only against his person, but also against democracy". 

Colombia’s government and two FARC dissident groups agreed to create at least three temporary locations for guerrillas who wish to take part in demobilization, disarmament and reintegration programs.

Colombia has joined the long list of Latin American countries that have signed up to China's key infrastructure initiative. The move comes after a Beijing summit of leaders from the region.

Illegal armed groups have forcibly recruited at least 1,494 minors in Colombia since the signing of a peace deal between the government and guerrilla organization FARC in 2016, according to the prosecution of war crimes tribunal JEP. In a report, the JEP’s Investigation and Accusation Unit (UIA) made it clear that the peace process that followed the accord in November 2016 failed to effectively protected children and minors.

The Colombian government says 15 police officers and 12 soldiers have been killed over the past two weeks in targeted attacks it blames on armed groups.