🎂 This month is the Colombia Briefing’s fifth birthday! 🎂
In this industry (and especially at the moment) I believe even small wins are worth celebrating! Over the last half-decade, I have felt really proud watching this project evolve, and it is inspiring to see just how many people still support independent journalism.
So, to celebrate the fifth anniversary of this project, there is 50% off all subscriptions - if you sign up before the end of the month!
I’ve also taken the paywall down so you can get a feel for what I’m up to, and if you’re still not convinced, you can get free trial for a month and see how you go - unsubscribe any time!
🗞️ Yesterday was Colombian Independence Day, celebrating 215 years since the country’s declaration of independence from Spain with marches and events across the country.
Also on Sunday, a new legislative session was inaugurated – the fourth and last of this government.
New congressional presidents have been elected: Liberal party Senator Lidio García is now President of the Senate and Julián López, La U party Senator, is President of the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies.
Neither politician has been ideologically close to President Gustavo Petro, but both received government support to be elected. These new congressional presidents imply potential allies for the government, and a stronger position for the ongoing reform agenda.
Outgoing President of the Senate, Efraín Cepeda, a staunch opponent of the government, gave a final speech, warning of polarisation amid Petro’s alleged attacks on democracy.
“To disregard Congress, to disregard judges, to disregard journalists, to disregard opposition, to disregard institutions: that is the sure road to autocracy," Cepeda said.
President Gustavo Petro also gave a speech, outlining his government’s successes so far, highlighting social justice and economic success including a drop in inflation and a higher minimum wage, as well as lower child mortality. He did acknowledge, however, that ‘Total Peace’ has not been achieved.
Along with the ongoing ‘Total Peace’ project, this coming session is likely to be dominated by remaining government reforms: including the health reform – now in its fourth year of debate and discussion - and a recently-announced tax reform.
🗞️ Nine social workers have been kidnapped by FARC dissident group Estado Mayor Central (EMC) in the department of Cauca this week, long an epicentre of violence and armed group activity.
The kidnapping took place in the municipality of López de Micay, part of a coca-growing enclave where 57 soldiers were also kidnapped last month.
The guerrilla group, commanded by alias Iván Mordisco, insists that the seven women and two men were carrying out military activities - delivering anti-drone equipment to the security forces.
The EMC also carried out an explosives attack on a police station in a nearby town on Sunday, though neither casualties nor fatalities have been reported.
Also in Cauca this week, indigenous leader Aída Damaris Flor Camayo was murdered in her home by armed men, though it is not clear which group might be responsible. 89 community leaders have now been killed this year, 23 of them in Cauca, according to observatory Indepaz.
Further east, in the department of Norte de Santander, the guerrilla group Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) carried out a drone attack against a military patrol group on Sunday, killing three soldiers and leaving eight injured. This attack, carried out in the municipality of El Carmen, is a part of an emerging pattern of drone-usage by armed groups in Colombia, particularly in this area.
In more positive news, in Nariño and Putumayo, armed group Coordinadora Nacional del Ejército Bolivariano (CNEB) have agreed to hand over 13.5 tonnes of weapons as part of peace negotiations with the government, following commitments to coca crop substitution and concentration zones made earlier this year.
🗞️ New agreements to sanction Israel have been signed at this week’s summit of the Hague Group, held in Bogotá.
Led by Colombia and South Africa, a group of 12 countries agreed on a series of measures against the Israeli government, with the intention to pressure Israel for an end to its military offensive in Gaza.
Measures include prohibition of the supply of military equipment that could be used by Israel in its offensive; the prevention of Israel-bound vessels carrying military equipment from transiting or being serviced in ports; a review of public contracts which might finance the Israeli occupation; and pushing for prosecutions for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Countries which signed up to the measures include Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, and Oman. Of the 30 states in attendance, only 12 signed the agreements, and critics question how effective smaller economies can be in applying pressure to Israel, given the multi-billion-dollar support that its government receives from the United States.
Opening the summit, Colombia’s new foreign minister Rosa Villavicencio said, "What is happening in Palestine is not an accidental tragedy, but a regime of occupation and exclusion that the international community can no longer tolerate."
Though Colombia banned the export of coal to Israel last year, it has been revealed that Drummond and Glencore (two multinational corporations operating in the country) continued to supply coal to Israel. This was reported by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Around 1.24 million tonnes was supplied to Israel by these companies between September and April of this year – making Colombia Israel’s largest supplier of coal. Colombia accounts for 60% of Israel’s coal imports; exports to Israel account for only 5% of Colombia’s balance for coal.
Both companies have denied wrongdoing, saying they are only complying with existing contracts and established obligations.
Petro spoke at the summit, saying that Colombian coal must not become ‘bombs for the killing of children,’ and even proposed leaving NATO, saying that European governments are ‘helping to throw bombs.’
In May 2024, the Colombian government announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Israel due to its attacks on Gaza, which have killed nearly 59,000 Palestinians since this particular intensification of conflict began in October 2023, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. This figure includes around 18,000 children.
Groups from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to the International Criminal Court, as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, have categorised Israel’s military campaign as genocide.
🗞️ The national strike by Colombia’s rice farmers continues, including roadblocks which have affected an estimated 500,000 travellers and around 8 billion pesos in commerce and transport.
Talks between unions and the government continue this Monday, hoping to reach an agreement regarding fixed minimum prices for paddy rice and white rice, breaking monopolies in processing, and preventing contraband rice entering from neighbouring countries - particularly Ecuador.
Unions went on strike last Monday due to drops in the price of rice, rising production costs, and alleged government failure to comply with previous agreements including those made following the last strike, earlier this year.
🗞️ Bogotá is celebrating the end of water worries - at least for now - as its principal reservoir, the Chingaza, has now reached historic highs at nearly 93% capacity following a long drought.
Partly due to intense rains in April, the levels are now so high that some have even raised concerns about flooding. Environmental authorities assure that there are mechanisms in place to prevent overflows, and for many this high is a relief after drought brought the level below 20% of capacity last year, causing many months of shortages and mandatory rationing measures for the city’s residents.
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