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Local farmers were first to arrive at the crash site of the Satena flight on Wednesday afternoon. Photo: X

Colombia rules out external factors in SATENA crash as probe opens

By The City Paper Staff - January 30, 2026

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 […]

President Gustavo Petro announced Tuesday that his trip to the White House on February 3 will benefit the "life of humanity". Photo: Presidencia

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

By The City Paper Staff - January 28, 2026

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 […]

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

By The City Paper Staff - January 27, 2026

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 […]

As Fighting Engulfs Briceño, Colombia, Schools Forced to Close

By The City Paper Staff - January 26, 2026

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 […]

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

By The City Paper Staff - January 22, 2026

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 […]

Federal Jury Awards Drummond $256 Million in Colombia Defamation Case

By The City Paper Staff - January 19, 2026

A federal jury in the United States has awarded coal producer Drummond Company Inc. $256 million after finding that a prominent human-rights attorney and his associates orchestrated a campaign of false accusations linking the company to paramilitary violence in Colombia. The verdict, delivered on January 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District […]

RCN Poll Reveals Cepeda’s 30% Ceiling, Right’s Path to Consolidation

By The City Paper Staff - January 19, 2026

Colombia’s presidential race has entered poll season with a revealing snapshot from Noticias RCN and Spanish firm GAD3 that points to an election defined less by early frontrunners than by who can consolidate votes after March’s inter-party consultations. At first glance, Historic Pact senator Iván Cepeda appears comfortably ahead. The RCN poll places him at […]

Senior cabinet members have been barred from U.S. after Petro’s defiant rally near Times Square, New York. Photo: X/MinCultura.

Vocal on Gaza, Petro’s Silence on Iran Is Hypocrisy Incarnate

By Opinion Desk - January 15, 2026

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has made Gaza the moral centerpiece of his foreign policy. Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, he has devoted extraordinary political capital to denouncing Israel, questioning its right to self-defense, and framing the Gaza war as a singular global emergency. He summoned “Free Palestine” marches, spent public funds hosting […]

Beatriz González, one of Latin America’s most influential contemporary artists, died Jan. 9 at her home in Bogotá at 93. Photo: Hernán Díaz/Colección de Arte. Banco de la República.

Beatriz González: The Artist of Colombia’s Political Memory (1932-2026)

By Richard Emblin - January 15, 2026

Beatriz González, one of Latin America’s most influential contemporary artists, whose boldly colored, deliberately unrefined paintings and installations confronted Colombia’s long history of political violence, public mourning and social inequality – while also reshaping the country’s most important public art collection – died on Jan. 9, 2026, at her home in Bogotá. She was 93. […]

Right-wing candidate De la Espriella leads Colombia presidential race, shows latest poll

By Richard Emblin - January 13, 2026

Far-right independent candidate Abelardo De la Espriella, widely known by the nickname “El Tigre” (The Tiger), has taken the lead in Colombia’s presidential race five months ahead of the election, according to a new poll by AtlasIntel published by Semana magazine. The survey places De la Espriella, founder of the pro-democracy movement Defensores de la […]

Petro–Trump Phone Call Defuses U.S.–Colombia Tensions

By The City Paper Staff - January 8, 2026

It was a frustrating night for the roughly 6,000 supporters gathered in Bogotá’s Plaza de Bolívar to hear President Gustavo Petro deliver what many expected to be a fiery, anti-imperialist address. After waiting for hours in cold, rainy conditions, demonstrators waved placards reading “Yankee Go Home,” “Out Trump,” and “Respect Colombia,” anticipating a confrontational speech […]

Petro Calls Colombians to the Streets After Trump Raises Military Option

By The City Paper Staff - January 7, 2026

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called on supporters to mobilise nationwide on Wednesday to defend “national sovereignty,” sharply escalating a diplomatic crisis with the United States after President Donald Trump said a U.S. military operation against Colombia “sounds good” to him. The demonstrations are expected to take place in Bogotá’s Plaza de Bolívar, Parque Lourdes […]

Trump floats U.S. military action against Colombia after Maduro capture

By The City Paper Staff - January 5, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump escalated rhetoric toward Colombia on Sunday, suggesting that a U.S. military operation against the country — which he said could be dubbed “Operation Colombia” — was a possibility following Washington’s capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump described Colombian President Gustavo Petro as “a […]

Colombian coffee culture is more about the experience than the drink.

Colombia’s 23.7% Minimum Wage Hike, Stirs Inflation and Informality Fears

By The City Paper Staff - January 2, 2026

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday decreed a 23.7% increase in the country’s minimum wage for 2026, the largest real rise in at least two decades, bypassing negotiations with unions and business groups and sparking warnings from economists, bankers and employers over inflation, job losses and rising informality. The decree lifts the monthly minimum wage […]

USS Gerald R. Ford is in the Caribbean, placing U.S. naval airpower within rapid range of Venezuela. Photo: Handout/SOUTHCOM

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

By Luis Guillermo Plata - December 18, 2025

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 Venezuela to the United States? After more than four months, the results amount to little more than a handful of small vessels destroyed – an extremely modest impact given the […]

Stain on Hay: Should María Corina Machado Refuse the Literary Festival?

By Richard Emblin - December 17, 2025

For a literary festival, silence can be more revealing than speech. The decision by three writers to withdraw from the 2026 Hay Festival in Cartagena over the presence of María Corina Machado, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the most prominent figure in Venezuela’s democratic opposition, has exposed a paradox at the heart of […]