Latest News

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, […]

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, […]

Bogotá Moves to Curb Halloween Violence One year After Moreno Death

By Richard Emblin - October 28, 2026

Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán’s administration is reintroducing nighttime motorcycle restrictions and deploying more than 400 District personnel as the capital prepares for Halloween, days after two men were sentenced for the killing of the 20-year-old university student in Chapinero. As Bogotá prepares for another Halloween weekend, the death of university student Jaime Esteban Moreno casts […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Abelardo’s first Sixty Days: Security at Home, Investment Abroad

By Richard Emblin - October 5, 2026

After 60 days, Abelardo de la Espriella has made one thing unmistakably clear: the era of Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” is over. There will be no intermediaries, no back-channel negotiations and no political accommodation with Colombia’s illegal armed groups. The new government is betting instead on military pressure, territorial control and the restoration of the […]

Colombia security debate moves to Bogotá as congressman seeks military deployment

By Richard Emblin - October 1, 2026

A proposal to deploy Colombia’s armed forces in three of Bogotá’s most populous localities has opened a new debate over the role of soldiers in urban security, days after President Abelardo De La Espriella ordered a military deployment in the Caribbean city of Santa Marta following a wave of violence attributed to a criminal organization. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Colombia’s De la Espriella announces military strike against FARC dissidents in Guaviare

By The City Paper Staff - August 27, 2026

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announced Thursday that the country’s Armed Forces have carried out a military strike against the FARC dissident faction commanded by alias Calarcá in the southern department of Guaviare. According to initial reports, eight members of the criminal armed group have been killed. De la Espriella said the operation, code-named […]

De la Espriella declares all criminal groups in Colombia ‘terrorists’ in sweeping security crackdown

By The City Paper Staff - August 26, 2026

Colombia’s Abelardo De La Espriella has declared that every illegal armed and criminal organization operating in Colombia will be treated as a terrorist group, signaling a sharp hardening of his government’s security policy only weeks after taking office. Speaking during a security council in Barranquilla on Sunday, President De La Espriella said his government would […]

Colombia’s Mayors back De la Espriella’s anti-crime crackdown

By The City Paper Staff - July 6, 2026

Colombia’s President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella said he will sign a decree on Aug. 7, the day he is sworn into office, creating special “Urban Security Defense Blocs” in the country’s largest cities as part of a sweeping security crackdown and a broader shift away from the outgoing government’s security strategy. De la Espriella, who […]

De la Espriella gives Colombia’s armed groups one month to surrender

By The City Paper Staff - June 25, 2026

Colombia’s president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella on Thursday gave the country’s illegal armed groups one month to submit to justice, pledging to abandon the broad negotiations pursued by the outgoing administration and instead adopt a hardline security strategy aimed at dismantling criminal organizations. Speaking after receiving his official credentials from the National Election Council (CNE) […]