Latest News

Truck Bomb Explodes Near Patía on Colombia’s Pan-American Highway

By The City Paper Staff - November 4, 2026

An explosives-laden dump truck targeting a police substation in El Estrecho, southwest Cauca, was detonated before security forces could intercept it, resulting in one victim, six injured and damaging nearby homes and businesses. POPAYÁN – An explosives-laden dump truck exploded Wednesday morning near a police substation in El Estrecho, municipality of Patía, in Colombia’s southwest […]

De la Espriella Renews Military Offensive Against Dissidents After Planadas Bombing

By The City Paper Staff - November 3, 2026

Colombia’s Abelardo de la Espriella has vowed to intensify airstrikes, special operations and aerial coca eradication following a wave of terror attacks across Tolima, Huila and Cauca that left civilians dead, including a two-month-old baby. President Abelardo de la Espriella announced Monday that he will intensify Colombia’s military offensive against illegal armed groups following a […]

British National Arrested with Silenced Pistol in Medellín’s Parque Lleras

By The City Paper Staff - November 2, 2026

Leigh Simon Elston, 38, was carrying a CZ handgun, a silencer and 24 rounds of ammunition when police stopped him in the city’s main nightlife district of El Poblado. Mayor Federico Gutiérrez says security operations will continue. MEDELLÍN — A 38-year-old UK national wanted by police in Wales was arrested in Medellín after officers discovered […]

De la Espriella Takes His Crime Crackdown to Bogotá With 172 Arrests

By The City Paper Staff - October 29, 2026

The President’s personal involvement in high-profile police raids, his pledge to govern from within Colombia and proposal for military control in southern Bogotá is putting a hardline security strategy to the test. President Abelardo de la Espriella took his escalating campaign against urban crime to Bogotá on Wednesday, personally accompanying security forces during Operation Kratos, […]

Colombia’s De la Espriella Leads Medellín Crime Crackdown

By The City Paper Staff - October 27, 2026

President Abelardo de la Espriella personally accompanied a major security operation in Medellín overnight on Monday, as police, military personnel and prosecutors carried out coordinated raids targeting criminal networks accused of involvement in homicide, extortion, theft and drug trafficking. The operation, which extended into the early hours of Tuesday, October 27, initially produced a reported […]

Deicy Jiménez Alleges Sex-for-Contracts Network Under Petro

By The City Paper Staff - October 26, 2026

Photographs of cash, suspected drugs and clothing, alongside reported government contracts worth more than COP$100 million, have intensified allegations that public resources were used to facilitate Petro’s private encounters. The ex-President denies exchanging contracts for intimate favours. The allegations surrounding Gustavo Petro’s presidency have taken a disturbing turn. A young woman, identified as Deicy Jiménez, […]

Eva Ferrer to Take Allegations Against Verónica Alcocer to US Authorities

By The City Paper Staff - October 22, 2026

Former presidential adviser Eva Ferrer is preparing to travel to Washington next week to present allegations concerning former Colombian First Lady Verónica Alcocer to US authorities, potentially moving a politically-charged scandal beyond Colombia’s borders. Ferrer, a Spanish-Colombian senior aide who worked closely with Alcocer during Gustavo Petro’s presidency, is expected to meet officials from the […]

Germán Vargas Lleras Family to Denounce Petro Over ‘Valledupar Pact’

By The City Paper Staff - October 21, 2026

The controversy surrounding the alleged Pacto de Valledupar escalated on Wednesday after Enrique Vargas Lleras, co-director of the Cambio Radical party, announced plans to file a complaint against former president Gustavo Petro over allegations that his administration sought to persuade former paramilitary commanders to make accusations against political opponents. Vargas Lleras, the brother of the […]

Colombia Seizes 7.6 Tonnes of Cocaine in Cartagena’s Biggest Port Bust

By The City Paper Staff - October 21, 2026

Colombian authorities seized on Tuesday, October 20, close to 8 tonnes of cocaine hidden inside a shipping container at the Port of Cartagena, in an operation described by the Presidency as the largest drug seizure at the Sociedad Portuaria in the past decade. The operation was carried out by Colombia’s National Police through its Anti-Narcotics […]

Colombia’s Jerusalem Embassy Marks Dramatic Break With Petro’s Anti-Israel Policy

By The City Paper Staff - October 15, 2026

Colombia’s inauguration of its Embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday marked a dramatic reversal of former president Gustavo Petro’s ideologically-biased international relations, restoring a diplomatic relationship that had been severed over Israel’s invasion in Gaza following the October 7 terrorist attack. The formal opening of the Embassy fulfilled a campaign promise by President Abelardo de la […]

British-Born Cancer Specialist Dies After Medellín’s EDC Music Festival

By The City Paper Staff - October 13, 2026

The death of a British-born cancer specialist after an electronic music festival in Medellín this weekend has cast a shadow over the Colombian debut of one of the world’s best-known dance music brands. A second foreign attendee from Costa Rica also died during the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), held October 10 and 11 at Medellín’s […]

With FARC’s Political Party Over, Colombia’s Peace Accord Faces Deadline

By The City Paper Staff - October 8, 2026

Nine years after Colombia signed its historic peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), one of the central political promises of the Final Accord has run out of road. Comunes, the party formed by the last FARC Secretariat and guerrilla warlords, has lost its legal status after failing to secure sufficient support […]

De La Espriella Sets Ground Rules for Indigenous Protest in Conflict Region

By The City Paper Staff - October 7, 2026

President Abelardo de la Espriella has set clear ground rules for an indigenous mobilization scheduled for October 11–14 in Cauca, guaranteeing the right to peaceful protest while warning that his government will not permit road blockades, violence or attempts to paralyze the department. The warning comes as the Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca (CRIC) prepares […]

Bogotá’s Weather Turns Electric With Hailstorms

By The City Paper Staff - October 6, 2026

Bogotá’s skies have turned violently electric this week, delivering a dramatic reversal to weeks of dry weather, high temperatures and growing concern over forest fires in the capital’s eastern hills and across the Andean lowlands. On Monday afternoon, October 5, a powerful electrical storm swept across the city after temperatures climbed to 24.6°C during the […]

Colombia’s Catholic Church Puts Exorcism Under Closer Scrutiny

By The City Paper Staff - October 6, 2026

The Catholic Church in Colombia is tightening the way exorcism is approached, placing greater emphasis on discernment, professional training and the protection of people who seek help believing they may be experiencing demonic influence. The new emphasis emerged from the third national formation course for exorcists, held in Bogotá under the title “Liberate and Care: […]

De La Espriella keeps his promise and sends Colombia’s Vice-President Restrepo to UN

By The City Paper Staff - September 25, 2026

President Abelardo De La Espriella kept one of his most closely watched campaign promises on Thursday, remaining in Colombia to attend to the security situation in Santa Marta and Cali, rather than travelling to Manhattan for the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Instead, the president entrusted his first address to the UN […]