Opinion

Abelardo’s first Sixty Days: Security at Home, Investment Abroad

After 60 days, Abelardo de la Espriella has made one thing unmistakably clear: the era of Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” is over. There will be no intermediaries, no back-channel negotiations and no political accommodation with…

RICHARD EMBLIN October 5, 2026

---

After an Impeccable Campaign, Colombia’s “Tiger” Faces His Greatest Test

For the better part of a year, Colombians endured a presidential campaign in which a crowded field of hopefuls traded accusations, unveiled ambitious manifestos and…

RICHARD EMBLIN June 17, 2026

---

If Colombia’s Left Loses, Will It Accept the Verdict of Democracy?

For a country that has spent decades trying to strengthen its democratic institutions, Colombia finds itself confronting an uncomfortable question ahead of the June 21…

RICHARD EMBLIN June 9, 2026

---

How London, Paris and New York coped in the heatwaves of the past

Paris, London and New York are more often associated with culture, finance and history than with dangerous heat. Yet each summer all three are increasingly…

THE CONVERSATION May 26, 2026

---

Exiled Venezuelans may well support regime change – but diasporas don’t always reflect the politics

Protest and military action raised the prospect of regime change in Iran and Venezuela, and the voices of both countries’ diasporas were heard loud and…

THE CONVERSATION February 18, 2026

---

Petro and Trump: What next in U.S.–Colombia relations?

Nearly a week after Donald Trump hosted Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, at the White House, calm has returned to a bilateral relationship that only recently…

RICHARD EMBLIN February 9, 2026

---

All That Glitters Isn’t Trump Nor Petro

Colombian President Gustavo Petro appeared on Tuesday to melt into the gilded woodwork of the Oval Office, wearing a gold tie and an uncharacteristically sober…

RICHARD EMBLIN February 5, 2026

---

The New Monroe Doctrine: U.S. Recasts Latin America as Security Priority

Why such a massive U.S. military deployment off the coast of Venezuela, supposedly to combat the “Cartel of the Suns” and stop drug trafficking from…

LUIS GUILLERMO PLATA December 18, 2025

---

USS Gerald Ford Enters the Caribbean: What Next for Venezuela?

The arrival of the USS Gerald Ford in Caribbean waters has raised the stakes in the tense relationship between the United States and Venezuela. The…

RICHARD EMBLIN November 13, 2025

---

Palace of Justice: Forty Years, Four Peace Processes, and No Peace

I remember perfectly the morning of November 6, 1985. I was 18 years old, a high school conscript serving in the Presidential Guard Battalion. Chaos…

LUIS GUILLERMO PLATA November 9, 2025

---

Petro: Colombia’s President Without a Visa, Without Restraint

Colombian President Gustavo Petro had his U.S. visa revoked after urging American soldiers to defy President Trump. The move drew swift condemnation, deepening fears that…

RICHARD EMBLIN September 28, 2025

---

Maduro Seeks Dialogue with U.S, Petro Sidelined at UN

Colombia's Gustavo Petro is in New York ahead of the United Nation's General Assembly. Petro trip to the U.S comes as Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro seeks…

RICHARD EMBLIN September 22, 2025