Latest news with #Petro
France 24
5 days ago
- Business
- France 24
China not trying to 'replace' US in Colombia: ambassador
Until recently Colombia was one of the United States' closest trade and security partners in Latin America. But the country's first leftist president Gustavo Petro, who has crossed swords with his US counterpart Donald Trump, is trying to steer more trade towards China. China's ambassador to Bogota denied that Beijing was seeking to topple the United States from its pole position in Latin America. "China is coming to offer our collaboration, not to replace anyone, nor seeking to take someone's place," Zhu Jingyang told AFP on the sidelines of a media briefing. Earlier this month, Colombia formally joined China's vast Belt and Road (BRI) infrastructure program. Bogota's accession boosted Beijing's efforts to deepen ties with Latin America, a key battleground in its confrontation with the Trump administration. It came in the wake of a showdown between Trump and Petro over deportation flights which ended in humiliation for Colombia. After initially denying entry to US military planes carrying deported Colombians in January, Bogota sent its own planes to bring them home to avoid hefty US tariffs threatened by Trump. The business community in Latin America's fourth-biggest economy has expressed fears that Petro's rapprochement with China could damage Colombia's trade with the United States. The State Department's special envoy for Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone, warned recently that the United States might start buying flowers and coffee -- two of Colombia's top exports to the United States -- from other Latin American countries instead. Zhu accused the Trump administration of using "intimidation" and "blackmail" to try keep Colombia in its orbit.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
China not trying to 'replace' US in Colombia: ambassador
China is not seeking to "replace" the United States as the top trading partner of Colombia, Beijing's ambassador to Bogota, whose president has announced a pivot to China, told AFP on Tuesday. Until recently Colombia was one of the United States' closest trade and security partners in Latin America. But the country's first leftist president Gustavo Petro, who has crossed swords with his US counterpart Donald Trump, is trying to steer more trade towards China. China's ambassador to Bogota denied that Beijing was seeking to topple the United States from its pole position in Latin America. "China is coming to offer our collaboration, not to replace anyone, nor seeking to take someone's place," Zhu Jingyang told AFP on the sidelines of a media briefing. Earlier this month, Colombia formally joined China's vast Belt and Road (BRI) infrastructure program. Bogota's accession boosted Beijing's efforts to deepen ties with Latin America, a key battleground in its confrontation with the Trump administration. It came in the wake of a showdown between Trump and Petro over deportation flights which ended in humiliation for Colombia. After initially denying entry to US military planes carrying deported Colombians in January, Bogota sent its own planes to bring them home to avoid hefty US tariffs threatened by Trump. The business community in Latin America's fourth-biggest economy has expressed fears that Petro's rapprochement with China could damage Colombia's trade with the United States. The State Department's special envoy for Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone, warned recently that the United States might start buying flowers and coffee -- two of Colombia's top exports to the United States -- from other Latin American countries instead. Zhu accused the Trump administration of using "intimidation" and "blackmail" to try keep Colombia in its orbit. Two-thirds of Latin American countries have already joined the Belt and Road Initiative. vd/das/cb/sla
Daily Tribune
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Tribune
Colombia Names First Ambassador to Palestinian Territories
Colombia has appointed its first-ever ambassador to the Palestinian territories, marking a significant diplomatic step nearly a year after cutting ties with Israel. Jorge Iván Ospina, a prominent political figure and former mayor, was officially named as Colombia's ambassador to Palestine on Monday, the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in a statement carried by national news agency ANCOL. The appointment underscores the Petro administration's firm stance on Middle East policy. President Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first leftist leader, had severed diplomatic relations with Israel in May 2024, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of committing 'genocide' in Gaza during the ongoing conflict. Speaking after his appointment, Ambassador Ospina stressed the urgency of international attention on humanitarian issues in the Palestinian territories. 'The world cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of civilians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank,' he said. 'No one should die from hunger or lack of medical care. Rehabilitation and global solidarity are urgently needed.' Colombia's diplomatic move is likely to deepen its engagement in regional and humanitarian efforts while strengthening bilateral ties with the Palestinian Authority. The announcement also signals a broader shift in Latin American foreign policy, with several regional governments increasingly voicing criticism of Israeli military actions and advocating for Palestinian rights on the global stage.
France 24
23-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Colombian VP accuses government of 'racism, patriarchy'
Francia Marquez, a trailblazing Afro-Colombian activist turned politico, launched an extraordinary broadside at her own colleagues, less than a year before a presidential election. "The role of vice president has not been easy," she told an event to mark the abolition of slavery Wednesday. "It hasn't been an easy task to govern in a country that has a racial state, and that has a government that practices racism and patriarchy." Her comments come as Gustavo Petro -- Colombia's first leftist president -- struggles to carve a legacy before he must leave office next year. His administration has been beset by cabinet resignations, infighting and a stalled legislative agenda. The president has called for a general strike later this month, in an effort to force hostile lawmakers to take his flagship labor and health care reforms. Marquez has had several public disputes with Petro, and was stripped of her role as equality minister earlier this year. But her barbed remarks went beyond previous criticism of Petro's administration. "When I arrived, I arrived with lots of wishful thinking," she said. "But I've had many obstacles put in the way of realizing the hopes and dreams of my people, my community and for this country."
Hamilton Spectator
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Colombia's president suggests Vatican could host new peace talks with rebel group
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia's President Gustavo Petro said on Monday that he is contemplating a new round of peace talks with the nation's largest remaining rebel group, and suggested that the talks could take place in the Vatican. Petro's statement came after he attended an audience with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican, which has not commented on the suggestion that it could host peace talks between Colombia's government and the National Liberation Army, or ELN, a group with around 5,000 fighters that was founded in the late 1960s. 'I spoke with the Pope about what can be done for the Vatican to hold the new peace talks,' Petro said in a video posted on X. He added that the ELN wants to keep talks in Cuba and Venezuela, but suggested that the Vatican could be a more suitable venue for negotiations. 'I think this is the place, where we can recall the theory of effective love,' Petro said, referring to one of the founding principles of the rebel group. The ELN has not commented on Petro's proposal. Colombia's government suspended peace talks with the ELN in January after the group staged a series of deadly attacks on villages in the northeast Catatumbo region, that forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes. Petro, who was a member of another rebel group during his youth, has accused the ELN's leadership of becoming 'greedy' criminals and of betraying their revolutionary ideals. 'They have replaced the banners of change and transformation, for the banners of Mexican drug cartels,' Petro said on Monday. The ELN was founded by activists and union leaders inspired by the Cuban revolution and by a Catholic movement known as liberation theology , that calls on the faithful to dismantle social and economic structures that cause inequality and poverty. The group has also had members of the clergy among its ranks, including Camilo Torres , a prominent priest who joined the ELN shortly after it was founded and was killed in a battle with the Colombian army. During his presidential campaign, Petro promised to make peace with the ELN 'within three months' of taking office. Three years on, his government is struggling to pacify rural areas, where the ELN and several other groups are fighting over territory that was abandoned by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia , the large guerrilla group that made peace with the government in 2016. Colombia's Catholic Bishops Conference has called on the government and the ELN to resume negotiations so that violence can decrease in rural areas, where crimes like the forced recruitment of children, and the murders of human rights leaders are on the rise.
