Latest News

ACOTUR: Tourism as an Instrument of Regional Recovery

By Richard Emblin - November 6, 2026

As Popayán prepares to host the VIII ACOTUR Sustainable Tourism Summit, Cauca is seeking to turn its extraordinary agricultural biodiversity, cultural heritage and nature-based tourism potential into an engine for rural development, international investment and economic opportunity. POPAYÁN — For a department that has endured decades of armed conflict, displacement and economic marginalization, the prospect […]

Airbus explores investment to develop Colombia’s aviation sector

By Richard Emblin - November 5, 2026

The Toulouse-based aircraft manufacturer will send representatives to Bogotá next week as the De la Espriella government looks to attract industrial investment and strengthen the country’s role in aviation. BOGOTÁ — Colombia is seeking a place in the global aerospace supply chain as Airbus prepares to explore investment opportunities in the country, opening discussions that […]

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 […]

Why Does the Earth Keep Shaking in Chaparral, Tolima?

By Richard Emblin - November 3, 2026

An unusual seismic swarm in the central lowlands of Colombia has produced more than 1,400 recorded earthquakes since September. A magnitude 5.6 tremor on Tuesday morning, felt as far away as Bogotá, has renewed questions about the geological forces beneath Tolima. BOGOTÁ — It was a sudden wake-up call for Bogotá when, at 4:13 a.m. […]

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 orders temporary militarization of Cúcuta

By Richard Emblin - October 30, 2026

The temporary deployment of the Army in Norte de Santander’s capital follows the assassination of a former senior municipal official and a series of bomb attacks, as the government confronts expanding criminal networks along the Venezuelan border. President Abelardo de la Espriella has ordered the temporary militarization of Cúcuta, the capital of Norte de Santander, […]

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 […]

María Corina Machado’s Return to Venezuela Tests Washington’s Managed Transition

By Richard Emblin - October 26, 2026

After nearly ten months abroad, Venezuela’s opposition leader has returned to a country still governed by Nicolás Maduro’s former deputy, raising fresh questions about the role of Colombia, the Trump administration and the prospects for free elections. María Corina Machado’s return to Venezuela over the weekend has reopened the central question confronting the country after […]

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 […]

Thirteen Colombian Soldiers Remain Stranded in Cauca After Black Hawk Crash

By Richard Emblin - October 21, 2026

Rescue efforts continue in rugged terrain near Inzá, Cauca, where difficult weather conditions have delayed the evacuation of 13 Army personnel following the October 19 helicopter crash. INZA – Thirteen Colombian Army soldiers remain stranded near the site of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash in the mountainous municipality of Inzá, Cauca, on Wednesday, October […]

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 […]

Who Gets to Tell Colombia’s Story? National Museum on Frontline Over Historical Memory

By Richard Emblin - October 19, 2026

At least 30 National Riot Police officers stood outside Colombia’s National Museum on Monday as academics, artists and historians gathered to debate a question that reaches far beyond the objects recently removed from display: who gets to decide how the country remembers its past? The museum was closed, as it is every Monday. But the […]

De la Espriella Targets Wokeism and Petro’s Revisionism of Colombia’s M-19

By Richard Emblin - October 16, 2026

President Abelardo de la Espriella has ordered Culture Minister Paola Holguín to remove images and references to former M-19 guerrilla commander Carlos Pizarro from government public spaces, opening a new front in the battle over how Colombia remembers its decades-long internal conflict. Speaking at the Ministry of Culture on Thursday, alongside Holguín, De la Espriella […]

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 […]