Sunday, August 9, 2026

Latest News

Colombia’s President-Elect Urges International Oversight for Democratic Transition

By The City Paper Staff -

Colombia’s president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, has appealed to the international community to closely monitor the country’s democratic transition, as outgoing President Gustavo Petro and opposition leader Iván Cepeda attempt to undermine the August 7 transfer of power. In a statement released by his transition team on Wednesday, the criminal defense lawyer said he had […]

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Colombia’s VP-elect rejects Cepeda’s call for “Civil Disobedience” as tantrum

By The City Paper Staff -

Colombia’s Vice President-elect José Manuel Restrepo on Wednesday condemned opposition senator Iván Cepeda for calling on supporters to engage in “peaceful civil disobedience” unless President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella renounces his U.S. citizenship before taking office, describing the move as “an anti-democratic tantrum” and an attack on the country’s democratic institutions. The confrontation marks a […]

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Colombia’s President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella Pledges a ‘Miracle Nation’

By María Claudia Peña -

Standing behind a bulletproof screen beneath Barranquilla’s towering Ventana al Mundo monument, President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella delivered a triumphant yet carefully choreographed victory speech Sunday night, promising to restore security, revive confidence in Colombia’s democratic institutions and govern for all Colombians after one of the closest presidential elections in the country’s modern history. Addressing […]

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Voting Begins in Colombia’s Closely Watched Presidential Race

By Richard Emblin -

Much of Colombia woke up to temperate weather and clear skies over the capital, Bogotá. As lines began to form outside polling stations when they opened at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, voters cast their ballots in one of the country’s most closely watched presidential elections in decades, a contest that could redefine the political direction […]

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Former Colombia FM Álvaro Leyva Accuses Petro of Undermining Colombia’s Elections

By Richard Emblin -

Former Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva Durán launched a blistering attack against President Gustavo Petro just days before Colombia heads to the polls on May 31, warning of what he described as looming threats to the country’s democratic institutions and accusing the government of preparing to reject an unfavorable electoral outcome. In a lengthy manifesto […]

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Exiled Venezuelans may well support regime change – but diasporas don’t always reflect the politics

By The Conversation -

Protest and military action raised the prospect of regime change in Iran and Venezuela, and the voices of both countries’ diasporas were heard loud and clear through the media of their host nations. Venezuelan exiles in the U.S. were, according to the popular narrative, broadly behind President Donald Trump and his plan to “run Venezuela,” […]

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Democracy Deferred: Did Washington Abandon María Corina Machado?

By Richard Emblin -

The extraction of Nicolás Maduro on Saturday was meant to signal the end of an era. Instead, it has exposed an uncomfortable truth that may loom over Washington weeks and months after the “shock-and-awe” attacks in central Caracas have waned from headlines: was Venezuela’s democratic opposition sidelined at the very moment it appeared closest to […]

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Petro mobilizes Civic Day to defy Congress on social reforms

By The City Paper Staff -

Colombia’s Gustavo Petro has declared March 18 a “Civic Day” to rally support for his social reforms, bypassing Congress. By pressuring workers to march, Petro risks deepening political divides and setting a dangerous precedent of governance through mass mobilization over the due legislative process.

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