Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Latest News

Colombia’s ‘Tiger’ victory reverberates with world leaders

By Richard Emblin -

Congratulations poured in from world leaders on Sunday evening  after conservative president-elect Abelardo “El Tigre” de la Espriella secured a razor-thin victory in Colombia’s presidential runoff, with messages from Washington to Jerusalem signaling expectations of a significant realignment in the country’s foreign and economic policies. The strongest endorsements came from the United States, where President […]

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Trump Endorses De La Espriella, Calls Cepeda a “Radical Left-Wing Marxist”

By Richard Emblin -

U.S. President Donald Trump has thrown his unconditional support behind Colombian hard-right presidential candidate Abelardo “El Tigre” de la Espriella, offering what he described as his “complete and total endorsement” ahead of the country’s June 21 runoff election. The endorsement, published Tuesday evening on Trump’s Truth Social platform, immediately injected an international dimension into Colombia’s […]

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Trump Nominates Nate Morris as U.S. Ambassador to Colombia

By The City Paper Staff -

U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated Kentucky businessman and political ally Nathaniel “Nate” Morris to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Colombia, placing a prominent supporter of the Republican president at the helm of one of Washington’s most important diplomatic posts in Latin America. The nomination was formally submitted to lawmakers on Monday, one […]

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U.S. prosecutors probe Colombia’s Petro over alleged narco links, NYT reports

By The City Paper Staff -

U.S. federal prosecutors have opened preliminary criminal investigations into Colombian President Gustavo Petro over alleged links to drug traffickers and possible illicit financing of his 2022 campaign, according to a report by The New York Times. The previously undisclosed probes are being conducted by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Brooklyn and involve specialists in international […]

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Petro and Trump: What next in U.S.–Colombia relations?

By Richard Emblin -

Nearly a week after Donald Trump hosted Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, at the White House, calm has returned to a bilateral relationship that only recently appeared headed for rupture. The insults have stopped. The social media theatrics have faded. Diplomacy, not spectacle, is back in charge. This alone tells us that both governments have agreed […]

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All That Glitters Isn’t Trump Nor Petro

By Richard Emblin -

Colombian President Gustavo Petro appeared on Tuesday to melt into the gilded woodwork of the Oval Office, wearing a gold tie and an uncharacteristically sober dark suit. Seated beside U.S. President Donald Trump, the two-hour meeting appeared—at least on the surface—to be a cordial encounter between political adversaries entrenched on opposite sides of the ideological […]

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

By The City Paper Staff -

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 […]

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Trump shows AI map with Canada, Greenland and Venezuela under U.S flag.

By The City Paper Staff -

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was “no going back” on his goal to bring Greenland under U.S. control, refusing to rule out the use of force and escalating tensions with European allies already bracing for a renewed transatlantic trade dispute. Trump’s remarks followed a series of social media posts featuring AI-generated images, […]

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

By Opinion Desk -

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 […]

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

By Richard Emblin -

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 […]

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Petro Calls Colombians to the Streets After Trump Raises Military Option

By The City Paper Staff -

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 […]

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

By The City Paper Staff -

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 […]

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Trump praises “brilliant” military operation against Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro

By Richard Emblin -

U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed as “brilliant” the U.S. military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, as explosions were reported in Caracas early Saturday. Governments across the Americas and Europe are reacting to the arrest of the Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. In a brief telephone interview with […]

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BREAKING: Venezuela’s Maduro captured after U.S strikes Caracas

By The City Paper Staff -

The United States has captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, along with his wife Cilia Flores, after a series of targeted military strikes on Caracas at 1:30 am on Saturday, January 3, 2026. In a statement posted on his Truth Social platform, U.S President Donald J. Trump said U.S. forces, working with U.S. law enforcement, conducted […]

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

By Richard Emblin -

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 […]

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