Latest News

What next for Santa Marta after De la Espriella militarized the coastal city?

By The City Paper Staff - September 23, 2026

An uneasy calm settled over Santa Marta on Wednesday, with the Caribbean-facing boardwalk of the city’s historic waterfront noticeably quieter than usual, its bustling street vendors absent and the early-morning joggers few and far between. Across the old city, colonial streets that would normally be filling with residents, tourists and workers remained largely empty. Shops […]

Wildfire reaches Iguaque sanctuary as more than 700 hectares of protected land burn

By The City Paper Staff - September 22, 2026

A wildfire that began on the hills above Colombia’s historic town of Villa de Leyva has spread into the Santuario de Fauna y Flora Iguaque, with more than 700 hectares of the protected area now affected and two fire fronts still active. The emergency, which began on September 19 in the La Castellana area and […]

De La Espriella vows to get ‘Pinocho’ after death of paramilitary leader in Santa Marta

By The City Paper Staff - September 22, 2026

Santa Marta woke on Tuesday to deserted streets, closed businesses and suspended transport following the killing of a senior commander of the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN), as President Abelardo De La Espriella vowed to pursue the armed group’s leadership. José Luis Pérez Villanueva, alias “Cholo”, described by authorities as the second commander […]

Raging wildfire threatens Villa de Leyva, authorities investigate suspected arson

By Richard Emblin - September 21, 2026

A massive wildfire continued to burn on Monday above the historic Colombian town of Villa de Leyva, with strong winds hampering efforts to contain the flames as authorities investigated mounting indications that the fire may have been deliberately started. The blaze, which began on Saturday afternoon near the cusp of the San Marcos mountain, has […]

19 minors reported missing in Bogotá in a single week

By The City Paper Staff - September 16, 2026

The disappearance of children and adolescents has become a growing concern in Bogotá after the city’s Security Secretariat reported 19 cases during the last week, the majority involving minors. Twelve of those reported missing were subsequently found alive, while the search continues for the remaining seven. Authorities said several of the cases were linked to […]

Chocó is still moving more than a month after Colombia’s 7.4 earthquake

By The City Paper Staff - September 15, 2026

A seismic swarm around Sipí and Istmina in the middle San Juan region of Chocó continues to produce tremors across the department as President De La Espriella visits to oversee reconstruction. The earth beneath Chocó has continued to move more than a month after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia’s Pacific litoral, with a series […]

De La Espriella launches all-out offensive against corruption and “white-collar criminals”

By The City Paper Staff - September 14, 2026

Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella launched a forceful attack on corruption during an televised address to the nation Sunday, targeting both those convicted of crimes involving public funds and those who, he says, attempt to use their positions, influence or personal connections to secure special treatment. In a speech focused on the victims of […]

Colombia Moves to Revive Aerial Eradication of Coca Crops

By The City Paper Staff - September 10, 2026

Colombia is moving rapidly to revive aerial eradication of coca, but the chemical at the centre of its first proposed test will not be glyphosate, known commercially as “Round Up”. The government of President Abelardo de la Espriella has approved a pilot programme to test the aerial spraying of coca crops with glufosinate ammonium, an […]

Rubio’s Whirlwind Visit Signals a New Era in U.S.-Colombia Relations

By Richard Emblin - September 9, 2026

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s whirlwind visit to Colombia on Tuesday marked a decisive shift in relations between Washington and Bogotá, with President Abelardo De La Espriella presenting his government as a renewed strategic partner for the United States in Latin America. Meeting in Barranquilla, the alternate seat of Colombia’s presidency since De La […]

Rubio Arrives in Colombia as Washington Seeks New Strategic Alliance

By The City Paper Staff - September 8, 2026

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to arrive in Barranquilla on Tuesday afternoon for a high-level meeting with Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella, in what could become a defining moment in the reconstruction of relations between Bogotá and Washington. The visit, confirmed by Colombia’s Foreign Ministry, will be Rubio’s first official trip […]

Puracé keeps Colombia on alert after volcanic eruptions across the Pacific

By The City Paper Staff - September 7, 2026

Colombia’s Puracé volcano remains under an orange alert after another episode of seismic activity was recorded in the southwestern department of Cauca on Sunday night, adding to a sustained period of volcanic unrest that has included ash emissions, volcanic tremor, gas releases and slow deformation of the ground. A magnitude-4.1 earthquake was recorded at 8:58 […]

Bogotá’s Sacred Music Festival Turns 15 With ‘La Concordia’

By Richard Emblin - September 4, 2026

Bogotá’s iconic Teatro Colón is the starting point for a month-long exploration of music, spirituality and the many ways in which cultures find common ground in a city of contrasts. The occasion is the 15th edition of the International Sacred Music Festival, which opens on under a theme that is both musical and quietly ambitious: […]

Colombia’s ‘Miracle’ Chick Offers Hope for a Bird on the Brink

By Richard Emblin - September 3, 2026

In a country where the morning chorus can include more bird species than anywhere else on Earth, the arrival of one tiny chick carries an outsized significance. Named Milagro, or “Miracle,” the newly hatched blue-billed curassow (Crax alberti) represents more than a successful breeding effort. The female chick is a rare new generation of a […]

Colombia’s ‘Ley Anticapuchos’ draws a necessary line between protest and vandalism

By The City Paper Staff - September 2, 2026

There is nothing particularly controversial about protecting the right to protest. Colombia’s Constitution does it. A democracy needs it. Governments should expect citizens to march, demonstrate, criticize and, when necessary, confront those in power. But there is an equally important principle: the right to protest cannot become a licence to destroy. That is the premise […]

Colombia’s armed groups turn TikTok and Facebook into recruiting grounds for children

By The City Paper Staff - September 1, 2026

Colombia’s long-running conflict has found a new recruiting ground, one that fits inside a child’s pocket. Human Rights Watch has warned that illegal armed groups are increasingly using TikTok, Facebook and other social-media platforms to recruit children, combining propaganda, promises of money and status, coded language and carefully chosen emojis to draw minors toward illegal […]

De La Espriella announces recovery for Tolima as fires destroy 50,000 hectares

By The City Paper Staff - August 31, 2026

President Abelardo De La Espriella announced a sweeping recovery program for Colombia’s fire-ravaged Tolima department on Sunday, saying more than 50,000 hectares had been affected by wildfires and warning that investigators had found indications that many of the blazes were deliberately started. The announcement came during a nationally televised address from Bogotá in which De […]