Latest News

Qatar Airways opens a new aviation corridor between Bogotá, Caracas and Doha

By Richard Emblin - November 7, 2026

The launch of the airline’s twice-weekly South American service offers more than a new connection for Colombians. Its strategic importance may lie in linking Venezuela’s vast energy resources with Gulf investment capital and opening a new gateway between Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. BOGOTÁ – After months of changes to its launch schedule, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

De La Espriella launches all-out offensive against corruption and “white-collar criminals”

By The City Paper Staff - September 14, 2026

Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella launched a forceful attack on corruption during an televised address to the nation Sunday, targeting both those convicted of crimes involving public funds and those who, he says, attempt to use their positions, influence or personal connections to secure special treatment. In a speech focused on the victims of […]

Petro severs ties with Central Bank after Colombia rate rise

By The City Paper Staff - April 7, 2026

President Gustavo Petro has triggered a rare institutional confrontation with the Central Bank after he ordered to “break relations” following an modest interest rate increase, raising concerns over economic policy independence just two months before the May 31 presidential election. The board of Banco de la República voted on March 31 to raise its benchmark […]

Dr. Candice Fast’s research shows that hidden beliefs between leaders and employees significantly shape workplace performance.

Candice Fast on the Hidden Beliefs That Shape Workplace Performance

By Richard Emblin - February 20, 2026

As Latin American companies confront slowing growth, talent churn and the demands of hybrid work, leadership effectiveness is being redefined. Strategy and charisma are no longer enough. Increasingly, performance hinges on something less visible: the assumptions leaders and employees hold about one another. New doctoral research by Dr. Candice Fast suggests those hidden beliefs – […]

Colombia’s Petro Defies Court Suspension of Minimum Wage Hike

By The City Paper Staff - February 16, 2026

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday mounted a forceful defence of his government’s 23.7% minimum wage increase for 2026, pledging to issue a temporary decree to keep the so-called “vital wage” in place after the Council of State provisionally suspended the original measure. Speaking in a televised address on Feb. 15, Petro said that while […]

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 […]

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 […]

Why a Strong Peso Is Making a Colombia Vacation More Expensive

By Timothy Langham - January 14, 2026

For much of the past decade, Colombia built a reputation as one of travel’s great value destinations: culturally rich, visually stunning, and refreshingly affordable. A strong U.S. dollar, competitive hotel rates, and inexpensive food and transport helped turn cities like Medellín and Cartagena into global favorites, while smaller destinations thrived on a steady flow of […]

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 […]

Black-market will push Venezuela for bigger discounts following US oil tanker seizure

By The Conversation - December 15, 2025

The U.S. seizure of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast appears designed to further squeeze the economy of President Nicolás Maduro’s government. The Dec. 10, 2025 operation — in which American forces descended from helicopters onto the vessel — followed months of U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean and was immediately condemned by Venezuela […]

Colombian Politicians React to Trump’s Tariff Threat and Aid Suspension

By Richard Emblin - October 20, 2025

U.S President Donald Trump triggered a political firestorm in Colombia after announcing on his social media platform – Truth Social – the immediate suspension of all financial aid and imposition of punitive tariffs on Colombian exports. The decision came after he branded President Gustavo Petro an “illegal drug leader.” Trump’s extraordinary statements mark one of […]

Trump Calls Colombia’s Petro an “Illegal Drug Leader,” Halts U.S. Aid

By The City Paper Staff - October 19, 2025

In an extraordinary escalation that threatens to end decades of strategic partnership, U.S. President Donald J. Trump on Sunday labeled Colombian President Gustavo Petro an “illegal drug leader” and announced the immediate suspension of U.S. financial aid to Colombia. Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump accused […]