Latest news with #LuisJaimeAcosta
The Star
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
57 soldiers rescued after being kidnapped in southwest Colombia
BOGOTA (Reuters) -The Colombian army and police rescued 57 soldiers held for two days in a mountainous southwestern region that is under pressure from leftist guerrillas, the military said on X on Monday. The troops were detained near the village of El Plateado in Cauca province, a strategic area for drug trafficking where security forces launched an operation in October 2024 to expel illegal armed groups. The region is a stronghold of a dissident faction of the former FARC guerrilla group, which rejected a 2016 peace deal. Authorities accuse the group of recruiting minors and pressuring civilians to resist the presence of state forces. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta)
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colombian rebel group steps towards peace, hands over war material
By Luis Jaime Acosta PASTO, Colombia (Reuters) -Colombian armed group Comuneros del Sur, which has broken away from the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, handed over war material and signed two agreements with President Gustavo Petro, the government and the group said on Saturday. During an event in Pasto city in the southwestern Andean region, Comuneros del Sur said the delivery of explosives, grenades and other devices was a sign of the group's desire for peace. "We consider that the armed fight is obsolete, that there are new times and new needs. We refuse to return to war," said Royer Garzon, one of the leaders of the armed group. The move paves the way for eventual disarmament and reincorporation of some 300 Comuneros del Sur fighters into civilian life. The deal is the most significant step toward peace since Petro assumed the presidency in 2022 with plans to end Colombia's internal conflict. Analysts said Petro's other peace efforts -- with ELN, FARC factions and criminal gangs -- show little progress.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colombia to decide which NATO fighter jets to buy within months, minister says
By Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia will decide within months from which NATO country it will purchase fighter jets, new Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said, acknowledging that illegal armed groups have taken advantage of peace efforts to strengthen themselves militarily. Colombia has been looking to replace its fleet of more than 30-year-old Israeli Kfir planes for more than a decade and is considering U.S.-made F-16s, Sweden's Gripen and France's Rafale, Sanchez said in a Sunday interview. "This is an issue of sovereignty. We cannot leave Colombia unprotected in this capacity," said Sanchez, a former air force general who left the military to take up his ministerial post. He would not say how much Colombia will spend on the planes or how many it will buy, but the government said in 2023 it had a $3.65 billion budget to purchase some 16 planes. Armed groups like the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, re-armed members of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Clan del Golfo crime gang have strengthened militarily and expanded territorially amid peace efforts, including negotiations with the government of President Gustavo Petro, Sanchez said. Petro, the country's first leftist president, promised to end a six-decade-long conflict that has killed 450,000 people, but with less than 17 months left in office has yet to ink any accords. Participation in peace talks does not oblige armed groups to stop illegal activities, but Sanchez said continued drug trafficking and illegal mining allowed the groups to increase their fighting power. "They betrayed the Colombian people, they increased their narco-criminal power and it's necessary to fight it," Sanchez said. A potential decision by the United States to cut or suspend military aid would negatively impact operations against "the cancer of drug trafficking," Sanchez said, including efforts to combat cocaine production. Washington for years has been gradually drawing down military aid, but funding from the U.S., including for social programs, still accounts for about $400 million annually. Colombia had the capacity to produce some 2,664 metric tons of cocaine annually in 2023. "If we fracture, we give space to the criminals," Sanchez said, referring to U.S.-Colombia relations and funding for anti-narcotics efforts.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colombia to decide which NATO fighter jets to buy within months, minister says
By Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia will decide within months from which NATO country it will purchase fighter jets, new Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said, acknowledging that illegal armed groups have taken advantage of peace efforts to strengthen themselves militarily. Colombia has been looking to replace its fleet of more than 30-year-old Israeli Kfir planes for more than a decade and is considering U.S.-made F-16s, Sweden's Gripen and France's Rafale, Sanchez said in a Sunday interview. "This is an issue of sovereignty. We cannot leave Colombia unprotected in this capacity," said Sanchez, a former air force general who left the military to take up his ministerial post. He would not say how much Colombia will spend on the planes or how many it will buy, but the government said in 2023 it had a $3.65 billion budget to purchase some 16 planes. Armed groups like the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, re-armed members of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Clan del Golfo crime gang have strengthened militarily and expanded territorially amid peace efforts, including negotiations with the government of President Gustavo Petro, Sanchez said. Petro, the country's first leftist president, promised to end a six-decade-long conflict that has killed 450,000 people, but with less than 17 months left in office has yet to ink any accords. Participation in peace talks does not oblige armed groups to stop illegal activities, but Sanchez said continued drug trafficking and illegal mining allowed the groups to increase their fighting power. "They betrayed the Colombian people, they increased their narco-criminal power and it's necessary to fight it," Sanchez said. A potential decision by the United States to cut or suspend military aid would negatively impact operations against "the cancer of drug trafficking," Sanchez said, including efforts to combat cocaine production. Washington for years has been gradually drawing down military aid, but funding from the U.S., including for social programs, still accounts for about $400 million annually. Colombia had the capacity to produce some 2,664 metric tons of cocaine annually in 2023. "If we fracture, we give space to the criminals," Sanchez said, referring to U.S.-Colombia relations and funding for anti-narcotics efforts.
