Colombia

Colombia’s first leftist president was sworn into office Sunday, promising to fight inequality and heralding a turning point in the history of a country haunted by a long war between the government and guerrilla groups.

Colombia and Venezuela will appoint new ambassadors in their respective capitals when Colombian President-elect Gustavo Petro takes office next month, authorities said, in an effort to rebuild diplomatic relations after years of tension.

A special peace tribunal investigating atrocities committed during Colombia’s decades-long conflict has charged 19 soldiers with war crimes and crimes against humanity for murdering 303 people, mostly civilians, between 2005 and 2008.

The incoming administration in Colombia must prioritize tackling rising violence perpetrated by non-State armed groups and criminal organizations in rural areas, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report published on Tuesday. 

Paramilitary organization AGC proposed a ceasefire for August, and talks that would allow Colombia’s illegal armed groups to demobilize and disarm. The proposal is the second since 2017, when extradited former AGC commander “Otoniel” said that his organization was willing to surrender to justice. … According to the US Government, the AGC is Colombia’s largest drug trafficking organization.

The international community should lend full support to the incoming administration in Colombia, which has a tremendous opportunity to speed up implementation of the landmark 2016 Peace Agreement that ended more than 50 years of civil war, the top UN official in the country told the Security Council on Thursday. 

Colombian President-elect Gustavo Petro has in mind a series of revolutionary changes to achieve total peace in a country torn by guerrilla wars for over six decades, including the resumption of talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), it was reported Tuesday.

Colombia’s Truth Commission recommended radical policy changes to prevent a repetition of violence and armed conflict that left the country traumatized. The commission published its long-awaited report on Colombia’s armed conflict and violence between 1958 and 2016 after a thorough study of more than three years.

.

Colombia’s longest-living guerrilla group ELN reiterated that the rebels want to resume peace talks after Sunday’s election victory of President-elect Gustavo Petro.