Thursday, March 26, 2026

Latest News

U.S. prosecutors probe Colombia’s Petro over alleged narco links, NYT reports

By The City Paper Staff -

U.S. federal prosecutors have opened preliminary criminal investigations into Colombian President Gustavo Petro over alleged links to drug traffickers and possible illicit financing of his 2022 campaign, according to a report by The New York Times. The previously undisclosed probes are being conducted by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Brooklyn and involve specialists in international […]

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Colombia arrests “mastermind” of Ecuador candidate Villavicencio’s murder

By The City Paper Staff -

Colombian authorities on Wednesday arrested Ángel Esteban Aguilar Morales, alias “Lobo Menor”, an alleged senior figure in the Ecuadorian criminal group Los Lobos and suspected intellectual author behind the 2023 assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. The arrest took place at El Dorado International Airport, where Aguilar Morales arrived on a commercial flight from […]

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Colombia – Ecuador rift widens over cross-border bombings

By The City Paper Staff -

President Gustavo Petro accused Ecuador on Monday of carrying out bombing raids inside Colombian territory, sharply escalating a diplomatic and trade dispute that has been simmering since January. Petro said “27 charred bodies” have been found near the border and suggested the attacks could not have been carried out by illegal armed groups, though he […]

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Colombia bars 10 foreigners in single-day crackdown on suspected sex tourism

By The City Paper Staff -

Colombia’s migration authority Migración Colombia denied entry last week to 10 foreign nationals suspected of seeking sex tourism, marking the largest single-day refusal of its kind at Medellín’s main international gateway, officials said. The individuals — nine from the United States and one from Anguilla — were stopped at José María Córdova International Airport on […]

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Suspected drone attack disrupts high-level visit to Colombia’s Hidroituango

By The City Paper Staff -

Colombia’s security forces alerted late Sunday Medellín Mayor Federico Gutiérrez and Antioquia Governor Andrés Julián Rendón to cancel a planned visit to the Hidroituango hydroelectric complex for Monday, March 2, after intelligence warnings of a possible drone attack and credible terrorist threat. The visit, which included a press conference expected to draw around 100 journalists, […]

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Bogotá to welcome 500,000 Easter visitors with expanded Semana Santa programme

By The City Paper Staff -

Bogotá and the department of Cundinamarca are preparing to receive up to half a million visitors during Semana Santa 2026, as the Mayoralty unveiled an ambitious tourism campaign aimed at positioning the Colombian capital as a leading Easter destination in Latin America. Branded “Paso a Paso, Caminando hacia la Pascua con María” (Step by Step, […]

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Tayrona Park closure highlights security risks on Colombia’s Caribbean coast

By The City Paper Staff -

The Colombian government temporarily closed last week PNN Tayrona National Natural Park following threats against park staff and escalating violence between rival armed groups fighting for control of drug trafficking corridors along the Caribbean coast. The shutdown, announced on Feb. 17 by Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia, was described as a preventive measure to protect […]

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Colombia’s Petro Defies Court Suspension of Minimum Wage Hike

By The City Paper Staff -

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday mounted a forceful defence of his government’s 23.7% minimum wage increase for 2026, pledging to issue a temporary decree to keep the so-called “vital wage” in place after the Council of State provisionally suspended the original measure. Speaking in a televised address on Feb. 15, Petro said that while […]

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Colombia’s Blueberry Boom Is Growing Fast, but Exports Lag

By The City Paper Staff -

Colombia’s goldenberry symbolized the country’s push into high-value fruit exports. Now, it faces a turf war at home from a fruit with far greater global recognition: the blueberry. While blueberry cultivation has expanded rapidly across Colombia over the past decade, producers say the industry remains far from becoming a fully fledged export powerhouse. Colombia currently […]

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Extreme flooding in northern Colombia triggers humanitarian crisis

By The City Paper Staff -

Unseasonal heavy rains and severe flooding across northern Colombia have created a full-blown humanitarian crisis, displacing hundreds of thousands, destroying homes and farmland, and pushing local infrastructure and health systems to breaking point. The disaster has hit hardest in the department of Córdoba, where officials say 156,000 people have been affected and 80% of the […]

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Colombia rules out external factors in SATENA crash as probe opens

By The City Paper Staff -

Colombian authorities said on Thursday they have found no evidence so far of “external factors” contributing to the crash on Wednesday of a SATENA Beechcraft 1900 aircraft on the Cúcuta–Ocaña route , which killed all 15 people on board. The conclusions were presented during a press conference held at Ocaña airport in the northeastern department […]

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Colombia’s Petro claims U.S. “kidnapped” Maduro during Caracas strike

By The City Paper Staff -

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Tuesday that Nicolás Maduro should be returned to Venezuela to face trial in his home country, calling the U.S. military operation that captured the ousted leader in Caracas earlier this month a “kidnapping” that violated Venezuelan sovereignty. “They have to return him and have him tried by a Venezuelan […]

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Colombia, Ecuador locked in trade dispute as pipeline tariff jumps 900%

By The City Paper Staff -

Ecuador has sharply increased tariffs on Colombian crude oil transported through its pipeline system, deepening a trade and energy dispute between the two Andean neighbours that has already disrupted electricity exports and bilateral commerce. Ecuador said on Tuesday it had raised the tariff paid by Colombia for each barrel of oil transported through the state-owned […]

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As Fighting Engulfs Briceño, Colombia, Schools Forced to Close

By The City Paper Staff -

The school year had barely begun when gunfire forced children in rural northern Colombia to cower under their desks in fear and silence. On the same day students were returning to classrooms after the Christmas and New Year holidays, fighting between illegal armed groups erupted near Briceño, in the northeast of Antioquia. By nightfall, schools […]

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Colombia, Ecuador in trade and energy spat after Noboa announces 30% “security” tariff

By The City Paper Staff -

Colombia and Ecuador have started exchanging trade retaliations after Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced a 30% “security” tariff on imports from Colombia, escalating tensions between Andean neighbours over border security cooperation. Noboa said the measure would take effect on Feb. 1 and would remain in place until Colombia shows “real commitment” to jointly tackle drug […]

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Bogotá declares Metro Line 2 tender void after no bids received

By The City Paper Staff -

The Bogotá mayoralty has declared the tender process for the construction of the capital’s second metro line void after no bids were submitted by the deadline, Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said on Tuesday, highlighting ongoing challenges facing Colombia’s most ambitious infrastructure project. Galán said none of the prequalified consortia presented final offers before the cutoff […]

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