https://www.scmp.com/rss/523156/feed The latest news and top stories on Gustavo Petro, Colombia's President since 2022. He previously served as Mayor of Bogotá and as a Senator. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters A Colombian military plane crashed in a take-off disaster on Monday, killing 66 people as rescuers shuttled dozens of survivors to nearby hospitals and searched for four who were still missing, according to a top official. The Lockheed Martin-built Hercules C-130 transport plane was carrying 128 people, including 11 Air Force members, 115 army personnel and two national police officers, according to ‌Hugo Alejandro Lopez, head of the nation’s armed forces. The death toll was nearly double that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347639/dozens-soldiers-feared-dead-after-colombian-military-plane-crashes-take?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347639/dozens-soldiers-feared-dead-after-colombian-military-plane-crashes-take?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 18:58:24 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Tuesday he had escaped an assassination attempt hours earlier, after months of warnings about an alleged plot by drug traffickers to target him. On Monday night, Petro’s helicopter was unable to land at his destination on the Caribbean coast because of fears that unspecified people “were going to shoot” at it, he said. “We headed out to open sea for four hours and I arrived somewhere we weren’t supposed to go, escaping from being killed,” Petro said in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343152/colombias-president-says-he-escaped-assassination-attempt-while-helicopter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343152/colombias-president-says-he-escaped-assassination-attempt-while-helicopter?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 05:13:35 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Colombian President Gustavo Petro and US President Donald Trump appeared to bury the hatchet on Tuesday, after a year of sparring that culminated in threats by Trump to topple the left-wing leader like in Venezuela. “My impression of the meeting a few hours ago is first and foremost that it was positive,” Petro told reporters after meeting Trump at the White House behind closed doors. Trump said he “got along very well” with the leader whom he recently accused of pumping cocaine into the United... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3342295/trump-makes-colombias-petro-fireworks-free-meeting-hes-been-very-nice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3342295/trump-makes-colombias-petro-fireworks-free-meeting-hes-been-very-nice?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2026 21:40:23 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a leftist his administration has long belittled, will visit the White House next month as he voiced optimism for ties. Trump just days ago had threatened Petro in the wake of the US attack that removed Venezuela’s leader, but Trump appeared to have a change of heart after the two spoke by telephone on Wednesday. “I look forward to having a meeting with Gustavo Petro, the President of Colombia, in the White House,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339410/trump-says-colombias-petro-visit-us-abrupt-switch-threats-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339410/trump-says-colombias-petro-visit-us-abrupt-switch-threats-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jan 2026 19:59:47 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump abruptly changed his tone on Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, saying they had exchanged a friendly phone call and he had even invited the leader of the South American country to the White House. “It was a Great Honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had,” Trump posted on his social media site. “I appreciated his call and tone, and look... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3339116/trump-invites-colombias-president-white-house-after-threat-military-strike?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3339116/trump-invites-colombias-president-white-house-after-threat-military-strike?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 02:45:44 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Venezuela is open to negotiating an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking, the South American country’s President Nicolas Maduro said in a pretaped interview aired Thursday on state television, but he declined to comment on a CIA-led strike last week at a Venezuelan docking area that the Trump administration believed was used by cartels. Maduro, in an interview with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, reiterated that the US wanted to force a government change in Venezuela... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3338465/venezuelas-maduro-open-talks-us-drugs-and-oil-silent-cia-strike?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3338465/venezuelas-maduro-open-talks-us-drugs-and-oil-silent-cia-strike?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Jan 2026 04:22:24 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels, according to two people familiar with details of the operation who requested anonymity to discuss the classified matter. The first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes in September marked a significant escalation in the administration’s months-long pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government. The strike has not been... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3338268/cia-behind-drone-strike-drug-boat-loading-facility-venezuela-sources?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3338268/cia-behind-drone-strike-drug-boat-loading-facility-venezuela-sources?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Dec 2025 06:28:11 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said any country trafficking illegal drugs into the United States could be attacked. “Anybody that’s doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack,” Trump told reporters during a cabinet meeting at the White House, after raising the issue of cocaine from Colombia. Colombian President Gustavo Petro shot back at Trump in a social media post, arguing the South American nation destroys a drug-producing laboratory every 40 minutes – “without... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334971/trump-says-any-country-trafficking-drugs-us-could-be-attacked?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334971/trump-says-any-country-trafficking-drugs-us-could-be-attacked?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 22:53:57 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick Chinese President Xi Jinping has reaffirmed Beijing’s steadfast support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, sending a congratulatory letter on the eve of the embattled leader’s birthday that pledged continued backing for the South American country’s sovereignty amid mounting regional tensions and US military pressure. In the message, released by Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry over the weekend, Xi described China and Venezuela as “intimate friends, dear brothers and good partners”. He vowed to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3334007/xi-jinping-pledges-support-nicolas-maduro-and-criticises-us-actions-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3334007/xi-jinping-pledges-support-nicolas-maduro-and-criticises-us-actions-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 20:05:26 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press International airlines increasingly cancelled flights to Venezuela on Sunday after the US Federal Aviation Administration warned pilots to use caution when flying in the country’s airspace because of worsening security and heightened military activity. Marisela de Loaiza, president of the Airlines Association in Venezuela, said six carriers have indefinitely suspended flights: TAP, LATAM, Avianca, Iberia, Gol and Caribbean. Turkish Airlines suspended flights from November 24 to 28. She did not... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3333872/airlines-cancel-flights-venezuela-after-us-faa-warns-poor-security-military-activity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3333872/airlines-cancel-flights-venezuela-after-us-faa-warns-poor-security-military-activity?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Nov 2025 21:05:22 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for a high-level security meeting with the United States, China and regional partners, arguing that recent US military deployments and strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific are escalating tensions in the region. Joining other regional voices condemning the operations, he stressed that Latin America and the Caribbean should be treated with respect and repeated his proposal for talks in Pearl Harbour, noting that he... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3333166/colombia-pushes-talks-include-china-over-us-military-build-near-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3333166/colombia-pushes-talks-include-china-over-us-military-build-near-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Nov 2025 19:06:18 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Colombia’s human rights ombudswoman said on Saturday that seven children were killed in a controversial air strike against a rebel group in the country’s south earlier this week, as the administration of President Gustavo Petro steps up efforts to regain control of rural areas in Guaviare province. In a statement, ombudswoman Iris Marin said the minors killed in the strike against the Farc-EMC rebel group had been forcibly recruited and were being used as “human shields”. Marin called on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3332955/7-children-killed-air-strike-against-colombia-rebel-group-officials-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3332955/7-children-killed-air-strike-against-colombia-rebel-group-officials-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Nov 2025 20:57:46 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US forces have killed six more people in strikes on alleged drug-running boats, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday, bringing the campaign’s total number of deaths - which critics describe as illegal executions - to 76. Hegseth, in a post on X, said the United States had carried out the strikes on Sunday in international waters in the eastern Pacific, targeting two boats “carrying narcotics” with three people on board each. “All 6 were killed. No US forces were harmed,” he said. As... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332245/hegseth-confirms-new-us-strikes-kill-6-pacific-drug-boats-prompting-investigation-calls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332245/hegseth-confirms-new-us-strikes-kill-6-pacific-drug-boats-prompting-investigation-calls?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 13:57:10 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Fallout from lethal police raids in Rio de Janeiro and mounting regional fears about US military intervention in Venezuela are threatening to overshadow the major United Nations climate summit set to begin in Brazil. The Cop30 gathering in the northern city of Belem was supposed to provide President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a chance to showcase the environmental challenges facing the Amazon rainforest while spurring an aggressive response to climate change. Instead, the pair of crises sparked... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3331733/rio-raids-venezuela-crisis-threaten-overshadow-brazils-un-climate-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3331733/rio-raids-venezuela-crisis-threaten-overshadow-brazils-un-climate-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Nov 2025 06:00:03 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump on Friday denied he was considering strikes inside Venezuela, appearing to contradict his own comments from last week and amid intensifying expectations that Washington may soon expand drug-trafficking-related operations. The US has built up a large military presence in the Caribbean in recent months, with fighter aircraft, warships and thousands of troops. That presence will significantly expand in the coming weeks with the arrival of the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3331134/trump-says-not-considering-strikes-within-venezuela-contradicting-earlier-remarks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3331134/trump-says-not-considering-strikes-within-venezuela-contradicting-earlier-remarks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Oct 2025 17:27:19 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United States on Friday announced sanctions on Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, who Washington has accused of failing to curb illicit drug trafficking, alongside his wife and eldest son. “President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement unveiling the move. “President [Donald] Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3330286/us-sanctions-colombia-president-over-drugs-amid-escalating-row-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3330286/us-sanctions-colombia-president-over-drugs-amid-escalating-row-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 21:37:15 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg US President Donald Trump has said that “the land is going to be next” in his campaign to halt the flow of drugs into the US from Venezuela, the clearest indication yet that he was preparing to broaden strikes that have so far been limited to targets at sea. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday, Trump directed US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to notify Congress of the administration’s plans. He did not discuss targets, though, he has repeatedly suggested he could order the US... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3330168/trump-vows-escalate-drug-war-land-targets-were-just-going-kill-them?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3330168/trump-vows-escalate-drug-war-land-targets-were-just-going-kill-them?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 05:03:54 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Colombia’s leftist president ramped up denunciations of Donald Trump’s anti-drug air strikes and swatted aside US threats to freeze hundreds of millions of dollars in aid Thursday. Fuelling a spat that threatens to shatter ties between the long-allied nations, Gustavo Petro said: “Mr Trump has slandered me and insulted Colombia”. Petro accused Trump of “carrying out extrajudicial executions” that “violate international law” by striking alleged drug-trafficking boats. The US has destroyed nine... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3330125/colombian-president-accuses-us-executions-caribbean-and-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3330125/colombian-president-accuses-us-executions-caribbean-and-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Oct 2025 18:13:49 +0000 Agencies Agencies The United States has announced strikes on two alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Pacific Ocean that left five people dead, expanding the Trump administration’s campaign against drug trafficking in South America. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the two strikes on boats in the Pacific - one on Wednesday and another the day before - in social media posts showing the vessels being engulfed in flames. “Just as Al Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329991/us-widens-anti-drug-campaign-deadly-strike-boat-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329991/us-widens-anti-drug-campaign-deadly-strike-boat-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Oct 2025 19:01:30 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service For decades, Colombia and the United States have been devoted allies, sharing military intelligence, a robust trade relationship and a multibillion-dollar fight against drug trafficking. Now that is all at risk as the US ramps up deadly air strikes off Colombia’s coast and the leaders of both nations trade scathing verbal attacks. US President Donald Trump called Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla fighter and Colombia’s first leftist president, an “illegal drug dealer”. Petro called Trump “rude”... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3329762/air-strikes-and-insults-trumps-feud-colombia-threatens-decades-long-alliance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3329762/air-strikes-and-insults-trumps-feud-colombia-threatens-decades-long-alliance?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Oct 2025 06:25:46 +0000 Reuters Reuters Colombia said on Monday it has recalled its ambassador from Washington after US President Donald Trump said he would raise tariffs on the South American nation and stop all payments to it, intensifying a feud stemming from US military strikes on vessels allegedly transporting drugs. Trump also called Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro an “illegal drug leader” on Sunday, which Petro’s government described as offensive. Colombia’s currency fell 1.4 per cent to 3,889 pesos per US dollar in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3329709/colombia-recalls-ambassador-us-trump-petro-feud-over-tariffs-drugs-intensifies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3329709/colombia-recalls-ambassador-us-trump-petro-feud-over-tariffs-drugs-intensifies?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Oct 2025 13:47:15 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The United States will slash assistance to Colombia and enact tariffs on its exports because the country’s leader, Gustavo Petro, “does nothing to stop” drug production, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday, escalating the friction between Washington and one of its closest allies in Latin America. In a social media post, Trump referred to Petro as “an illegal drug leader” who was “low rated and very unpopular”. The Republican president warned that Petro “better close up” drug operations “or... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3329594/trump-calls-colombias-petro-illegal-drug-dealer-and-says-he-will-slash-us-aid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3329594/trump-calls-colombias-petro-illegal-drug-dealer-and-says-he-will-slash-us-aid?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 17:34:18 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Saturday that the United States had violated Colombia’s sovereignty over its waters and killed a fisherman during its recent anti-drug trafficking military campaign in the Caribbean. “US government officials have committed murder and violated our sovereignty in our territorial waters. Fisherman Alejandro Carranza had no ties to drug traffickers and his daily activity was fishing,” the leftist leader said on social media. Carranza was reportedly killed in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3329550/us-strike-caribbean-kills-colombian-fisherman-stoking-sovereignty-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3329550/us-strike-caribbean-kills-colombian-fisherman-stoking-sovereignty-row?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 03:57:02 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations has accused the US of killing innocent people in the Caribbean, citing local reports that two of the men in the latest boat bombing were Trinidadian fishermen. “People from different countries - Colombia, Trinidad, etc - are suffering the effects of these massacres,” ambassador Samuel Moncada told reporters at the UN on Thursday, while holding up the cover story of local Trinidadian newspaper Guardian on the deaths. The comments reflected Venezuela’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3329357/us-strikes-boats-caribbean-fuel-speculation-over-missing-fishermen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3329357/us-strikes-boats-caribbean-fuel-speculation-over-missing-fishermen?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Oct 2025 05:18:00 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday there were “signs” that Colombian citizens were killed in the last small boat attacked by the US military off the coast of Venezuela. “A new front in the war has opened: the Caribbean,” Petro wrote on the social platform X. “Signs show that the last bombed boat was Colombian with Colombian citizens aboard.” He did not provide any explanation for what those signs were. “I hope that their families come forward and report it,” he added. Neither... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3328299/us-strike-boat-caribbean-may-have-killed-colombians-petro-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3328299/us-strike-boat-caribbean-may-have-killed-colombians-petro-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 02:15:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israel said on Thursday it would deport pro-Palestinian activists on an aid flotilla intercepted at sea as they headed towards Gaza, adding that none of the vessels had successfully breached its maritime blockade. The Global Sumud Flotilla of around 45 vessels began its voyage last month, with politicians and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg heading to Gaza, where the United Nations says famine has set in. The Israeli navy has intercepted vessel after vessel at sea... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3327648/israel-deport-intercepted-gaza-aid-flotilla-activists-including-greta-thunberg?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3327648/israel-deport-intercepted-gaza-aid-flotilla-activists-including-greta-thunberg?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Oct 2025 09:18:12 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick Colombian President Gustavo Petro has ordered the removal of diplomats from his country’s embassy in Beijing, accusing them of sabotaging relations with China as Bogota pivots sharply away from Washington. “There is a foreign ministry [here] that feels ashamed of engaging with China and sabotages relations. All those people have to go,” Petro told ministers on Tuesday. He said diplomats in Beijing had altered his schedule and cancelled meetings without authorisation when he visited the country... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3327444/colombias-petro-fires-own-beijing-embassy-team-sabotaging-china-outreach?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3327444/colombias-petro-fires-own-beijing-embassy-team-sabotaging-china-outreach?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Sep 2025 19:02:57 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Colombian officials said on Monday that the country had produced its first combat rifle, a cheaper, lighter weapon aimed at replacing the arms that were once supplied by its former military ally, Israel. Leftist President Gustavo Petro broke ties with Israel last year to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing military offensive in the Gaza Strip. State-owned weapons manufacturer Indumil produced the arms – the first combat rifle manufactured in Colombia – to replace the Galil, a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3327324/colombia-unveils-first-combat-rifle-amid-diplomatic-rift-us-israel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3327324/colombia-unveils-first-combat-rifle-amid-diplomatic-rift-us-israel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Sep 2025 03:52:12 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The US State Department said on Friday it would revoke the visa of Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro for his “incendiary actions” during a pro-Palestinian street protest in New York. “Earlier today, Colombian president @petrogustavo stood on a NYC street and urged US soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence,” the State Department said in a social media post. “We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions.” On his social media account, Petro shared a video... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3327076/us-revokes-colombian-presidents-visa-after-he-calls-soldiers-disobey-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3327076/us-revokes-colombian-presidents-visa-after-he-calls-soldiers-disobey-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Sep 2025 05:01:40 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification Hong Kong and Dubai share more than a global orientation – both are built on trade, transformation and the free flow of capital. Our story stretches back to the Silk Road, when merchants connected... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3321963/win-win-model-hong-kong-and-dubai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3321963/win-win-model-hong-kong-and-dubai?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Aug 2025 03:30:08 +0000 Reuters,Associated Press Reuters,Associated Press Colombian Senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, who was shot in the head at a campaign event two months ago, died in the early hours of Monday, his family and the hospital treating him said. He was 39. Uribe, from the right-wing opposition, was shot in Bogotá on June 7 as he was giving a speech at a rally, in an attack that shocked the nation. His wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, announced his death on social media. “I ask God to show me the way to learn to live without you,” she wrote.... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3321482/colombian-presidential-hopeful-uribe-dies-2-months-after-shooting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3321482/colombian-presidential-hopeful-uribe-dies-2-months-after-shooting?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Aug 2025 12:30:47 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Sudan’s air force has destroyed an Emirati aircraft carrying Colombian mercenaries as it landed at a paramilitary-controlled airport in Darfur, killing at least 40 people, the army-aligned state TV said on Wednesday. A military source, speaking to Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity, said the UAE plane “was bombed and completely destroyed” at Darfur’s Nyala airport. The airport has recently come under repeated air strikes by the Sudanese army, at war with the paramilitary Rapid... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3321031/sudan-claims-downing-emirati-plane-carrying-colombian-mercenaries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3321031/sudan-claims-downing-emirati-plane-carrying-colombian-mercenaries?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Aug 2025 03:39:41 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The alleged mastermind behind the shooting of a conservative Colombian senator and presidential candidate was taken into custody Saturday, almost a month after the attack, law enforcement authorities said. Elder Jose Arteaga Hernandez, alias “Chipi” or “Costeno”, was arrested in a neighbourhood in the northwestern part of the capital, Bogota, National Police Director Major General Carlos Fernando Triana told reporters. Authorities had previously accused him and other suspects of being near the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3317113/colombia-police-capture-alleged-mastermind-attack-presidential-candidate-uribe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3317113/colombia-police-capture-alleged-mastermind-attack-presidential-candidate-uribe?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Jul 2025 17:50:48 +0000