Bogotá, Colombia — Thousands gathered in Plaza de Bolívar after answering Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s call to mobilize against threats to Colombia’s national sovereignty from the United States.
Petro called for people to take to the streets in every public square across the country after Trump said military action in Colombia “sounds good” on Sunday, January 4,, just a day after removing Nicolás Maduro from power in neighboring Venezuela.
While Petro was expected to deliver a rousing speech against U.S. intervention, he told the crowd that he had to make his remarks less “harsh” after a conciliatory call with Trump just minutes before addressing demonstrators.
Plaza de Bolívar, located in central Bogotá near Congress and the Casa de Nariño presidential residence and office, hosted over 20,000 demonstrators and was adorned with flags and protest signs from the afternoon into the night of January 7.
“And no, no, I do not feel like being a North American colony. And yes, yes, I do feel like being a free and sovereign Colombia,” protesters chanted.
Many participants also used the demonstration to voice opposition to related issues, such as the exploitation of natural resources and the presence of foreign military bases.
“If we don’t defend our country, who will do it for us?” said one demonstrator. Other attendees stressed that the mobilization was not only about Colombia, but about Latin America as a whole.
Throughout the day, the rally featured musical performances and included the presence of labor and union representatives, public institutions, and a large portion of the presidential cabinet. The president and several ministers delivered speeches from the main stage.
President Petro presented some official data and concrete results from three years of his administration — including his fight against drug trafficking — many of them in comparison with the previous government. Among the achievements cited was the seizure of 2,800 tons of illegal substances by December 31, 2025.
“My goal was zero blows against Colombia’s peasantry, voluntary crop substitution; we are now at 30,000 hectares registered,” he explained.
Petro publicly accused the U.S. far right and Colombian politicians of having convinced Trump that he “ran cocaine factories” and was a “front man for Maduro.” “We are not enemies of any people in the world,” he stated during his speech. Petro also said he spoke with Delcy Rodríguez, Interim President of Venezuela.
The phone call was later confirmed by Trump through his Truth Social account: “It was a great Honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we had. I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future. Arrangements are being made between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Foreign Minister of Colombia. This meeting will take place in the White House in Washington, D.C..”
In closing, the Colombian leader reaffirmed his stance on national sovereignty, as well as his differences with Trump over events in Venezuela — which he described as “illegal” — and other issues.
“To the mothers of Colombia, I say that the country clearly stands up for the defense of national sovereignty, because [Álvaro] Uribe is wrong. If they touch Petro, they touch Colombia. And if they touch Colombia, Colombia responds as its history has taught it—plain and simple.”
Featured image: Demonstrators at Plaza de Bolívar in central Bogotá
Author: Cristina Dorado Suaza
This article originally appeared on Latin America Reports and was re-published with permission.
The post Thousands rally in Colombia’s Plaza de Bolívar following President Petro’s call with Trump appeared first on The Bogotá Post.
"He's a nice guy," [former Apple engineer Cameron] Rogers said. "He's someone you want to hang out with. Everyone loves him because he's great. Has he made any hard decisions? No. Are there hard problems he's solved in hardware? No."Ternus and others may quibble with that assessment, however, as Ternus has been involved with a number of innovative products over the years, including spearheading the effort to develop the iPhone Air and working on the upcoming foldable iPhone.
In an era of shifting global economic alliances, few countries find themselves more strategically positioned than Colombia. Caught between the massive state-backed investment initiatives of China and the established political and economic influence of the United States, Bogotá’s policy decisions have never held higher stakes for investors, the region, or especially, the country’s own citizens.
At the 2025 Colombia Gold Summit, Finance Colombia Executive Editor Loren Moss spoke with Daniel Giraldo, a Managing Director at FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN), a global business advisory firm specializing in cross-border investment and corporate finance. Giraldo offered his perspective on the geopolitical chessboard, examining what Colombia’s recent decision to join the Belt and Road Initiative means for its future relationship with its largest long-standing ally, the United States.
Finance Colombia: I’m here with Daniel Giraldo of FTI Consulting. So we’re here at the 2025 CGS, Colombia Gold Summit, where we also talk about other precious metals, we talk about silver, we also talk about metals like copper, molybdenum, things like that. You gave an interesting talk yesterday, I don’t want to steal your thunder. Why don’t you summarize your discussion?
Daniel Giraldo: Well, if I could summarize my lecture yesterday, I think there’s a chessboard, a giant global chessboard right now. And there are two main players: US and China. And Colombia is one key figure, a key part of this chessboard. Right now, Colombia is in a key position with lots of opportunities between Chinese investment and the US investment. However, which decisions Colombia takes right now will shift the entire game for the coming years.
Finance Colombia: So we are in the last few months of a government that has been relatively friendly or biased towards China. And hostile might be too strong of a word, but relatively cold towards the United States, talking about the Petro government. Colombia, under Petro, just signed up for the Belt and Road Initiative. What is the significance of that for Colombia, not just in its relationship with the United States, but what does that do or change for Colombia?
Daniel Giraldo: Well, what we are seeing right now is that Colombia signed formally the Belt and Road Initiative earlier this year. And there’s been a lot of tensions with the Trump government. At the same time, the US is the main investor in Colombia. And what we’re seeing is how China, through different initiatives, wants to have a bigger long-term influence in the region. And Colombia is, in a soft way, saying, “We want that for us.” However, that’s not a shift that can be made automatically. That’s not made in a single signature by one president. It takes years and years to forge a relationship. And although the government of Petro, President Petro is showing how they’re very interested in the Chinese investment, and to have a strong relationship with the Chinese government, it’s not the way, to just step out of their major alliances throughout years with the US
Finance Colombia: The way that investment is done in China is fundamentally different than the way investment is done from places like the US or Canada or many European countries. In the US, if you’re going to attract investment in Colombia, it’s going to be with some company. And that company is going to do what it wants to do within the law but not really giving a damn about what Washington says or what Washington wants or what Ottawa says or wants. Whereas in China, it’s very much a government-to-government thing. You have state-owned enterprises, and Xi Jinping or the Communist Party says, “we’re going to invest in this,” whether it’s profitable or not, for whatever kind of geopolitical reasons that they want to do things. So it’s a fundamentally different thing.
If you do a deal with a company in the US, you’re doing a deal with that company. Now, yes, you have to make sure that regulatory things go through. Trump is a little bit more of a patronage type of president where he wants to get involved with things so he can find benefit for himself or his administration. But generally speaking, even still, if we look at investors, if you’re going to bring in someone to invest in one of these mining companies here or exploration, it’s a company. In China, it’s going to be a state-backed company. Now, what does that imply, then, for the way business would be done going forward, number one? And number two, Petro’s on his way out, and maybe there will be another left-wing government to continue his project, it doesn’t look like it at this point. But do you see continuity in that affinity or that participation in the Belt and Road Initiative? Like you mentioned, it’s not a treaty, it’s more of like a memorandum of understanding, like the diplomats like to call it. But what do you foresee over the next two or three years?
Daniel Giraldo: Yeah, I believe every tactic has been launched in a very moderate way somehow. So, of course, Belt and Road is just a framework, and every project that could be contemplated by Chinese government, depending on the feasibility of each one of these projects. So they’re not basically getting married yet, they’re just dating.
They’re just on their first dates. However, we’re married to the US We’ve had a long-standing marriage, and what we are seeing right now is that how investment works for both countries is different. However, for both countries, there are more and more, basically, things they require to be approved.
So in order to achieve this, the US is not being indirect about it. They require trusted partners. They require trusted allies, which get what’s at stake right now. So, Petro’s government has one year left. We are expecting a shift. However, even if Colombia gets a left-wing government or a right-wing government, it doesn’t change the fact that investment in the latest years has been in a rough place.
So Colombia requires this investment, and the country requires a very stable policy framework, regulatory framework, legal framework, in order to get investors feeling safer, with more appeal. And, yes, of course, it’s not the same as an SOE (State Owned Enterprise) Chinese company that wants to invest, that needs the approval of Beijing and all this. In contrast, we have the US. Of course, Washington can say whatever they want. They can say Petro is now on the Clinton list, and they can sanction him personally. But a company, a US company, can still invest here; it changes how they see Colombia in the long run.
Finance Colombia: I think one of the things that is very notable is that the Trump government sanctioned Petro, his son, his wife, and his interior minister personally, rather than imposing sanctions on the country or doing, like, I don’t know, tariff things. Actually, by the time we publish the video, we might know what happens, but right before the Supreme Court right now, actually as we speak, there is a challenge to Trump’s ability to circumvent congressional law. And so if we have a trade pact, like free trade agreement or something like that, a lot of businesses in the US have challenged Trump’s ability to just… you can’t just cancel a law. Congress passed a law, and it’s in effect, and you can’t just cancel it. Well, that’s what they’re arguing. And all of these kind of unilateral, discretionary tariff moves that affect entire economies and entire industries, there’s some uncertainty that is going to be settled there.
“However, we’re married to the US We’ve had a long-standing marriage, and what we are seeing right now is that how investment works for both countries is different.” – Daniel Giraldo
But it’s interesting because it seems that with them sanctioning Petro and Benedetti directly as individuals, they’re saying that they want to maintain some predictability and constancy in the bilateral economic relationship with Colombia. And I think that there have been a lot of missions. Fico, the mayor here in Medellin, some of the other mayors and Colombian congressional people have visited Washington and met with senators and met with people in the State Department and said, “Look, you know, we disagree with what the president’s doing. Wait a few months.” And it seems like Washington has heard that and is not acting too rashly towards Colombia as a country but rather decided to take their ire out directly on the president and his consigliere Armando Benedetti.
Daniel Giraldo: What I believe of this is that Trump’s government can say like, “We’re not afraid. We are not afraid of imposing sanctions. We’re not afraid of not conducting business in the way we used to do it anymore.” And it’s been shown, for example, in the relationship with China, for example, with the Chinese government, with Xi Jinping. And there’s been like an escalation of tariffs, for example, I think up to 130%. I can’t remember the exact number. And then last week they say, “let’s stop this. Let’s trade the sequels.” And it’s also their way of showing the carrot and then showing the mace or bat, this metaphor.
Finance Colombia: Yeah, the stick.
Daniel Giraldo: And with Colombia, I believe it is the same. It’s like we could, if we wanted, to give some sanctions and they will have great consequences in terms of our bilateral trade. However, they’re aware of their position. They’re our main investor. We have a very good relationship in bilateral trade. There’s been years and there’s been decades of both countries benefiting from each other. We have a great position in one of the closest countries to enter South America. And they know this government is just ending. So why would they give us, like give the left-wing parties an opportunity to just bash them and say, “Oh, Trump’s government can’t be trusted.” Whereas if you take another position and say, “Look, this is personal, this is just these individuals, not the whole country.” You still have ground to negotiate, to renegotiate, to benefit. So I believe it is quite tactical.
Finance Colombia: Another thing that you mentioned is the difference on the ground. When you look at, for example, if we talk about the mining sector, not just on the ground, but literally in the ground, the US right now, the Trump administration, and really just the US more broadly, is very concerned about rare earths. And Colombia, even though there’s not yet a lot of mining activity, Colombia does have rare earth potential. There’s already been illegal coltan, cobalt ore mining taking place down in the Amazon, things like that. But it would seem that further damaging relationships with Colombia right now would contravene the political strategy in the US to strengthen its rare earth mineral supply chain.
Daniel Giraldo: Yes, it is completely true. The US has shown how important it is for them to be less dependent on the supply chains of the Chinese government, specifically in terms of their rare earths and critical minerals refining processes. So the US has been in recent weeks signing lots of memorandums of understanding and bilateral agreements with Australia, with Japan, with Malaysia, with Thailand. And they already have very good deals with Argentina, with the Mineral Security Partnership, for example, Mexico, Peru, Argentina. And the Dominican Republic. And Colombia could be in the radar as well. And what Colombia requires to be here and to benefit with the US as well is just to be patient, to get the best and the highest standards of ESG, and to reassure the different governments that it is safe to trade minerals with Colombia. That if they purchase Colombian minerals, they explore the region and they trade with us, they will find quality, they will find high standards of minerals, without assuming lots of risks that these markets don’t want to assess anymore.
Finance Colombia: So longer term, looking out three to five years, are you optimistic or pessimistic about the bilateral relationship between the US and Colombia?
Daniel Giraldo: I feel optimistic, not only because it’s the most comfortable answer, but I do feel optimistic because I believe there is a lot of potential. And right now, the sector is not in its best place. But I believe that sometimes you just have to grit your teeth, take the punch, and then stand up again and do everything that’s in your power to just become better. And Colombia has a history of learning, and the sector will learn as well how to be more competent, how to attract investors, and how to get to the highest standard and quality of their bilateral trade with different countries.
Finance Colombia: Great. Well, Daniel Giraldo from FTI Consulting, you guys are one of the leading strategic consulting firms globally, especially when you look at things like cross-border investment. That seems to be your strong suit, even though you guys are a large firm and you guys do a lot of different things. Always great to see your presence here at CGS, at Colombia Gold Summit. And thanks for your insights.
Daniel Giraldo: It’s a pleasure, thanks for having me.
Avianca Group International Limited (AGIL) yesterday reported its consolidated financial results for the third quarter of 2025. The company achieved $411 million USD in Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization, and Rent (EBITDAR), resulting in a 27.2% margin for the period.
The third-quarter EBITDAR represents a 15.5% year-over-year increase from the $356 million USD reported in Q3 2024. Total operating revenues reached $1,509 million USD, marking a 12.8% increase compared to the $1,338 million USD recorded in the same period of the prior year. Total operating costs increased by 13.3% year-over-year, settling at $1,290 million USD. Net income for the quarter was $101 million USD, an improvement from $72 million USD in Q3 2024.
Capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometers (ASKs), reached 18,284 million, denoting a 6.8% increase compared to Q3 2024. This growth was attributed primarily to a 6.2% year-over-year increase in Stage Length. Passenger departures increased 1.0% year-over-year. The company transported 9.7 million passengers, consistent with the volume in the comparable period of 2024. The network encompassed 169 routes serving 83 destinations across 28 countries. Subsequent to the quarter’s close, Avianca introduced three new international routes, which included Belém (Brazil) and Monterrey (Mexico).
Cost performance for the quarter indicated a reduction in overall per-unit costs. Total Passenger CASK (Cost per Available Seat Kilometer) was 5.7 cents, a 1.9% decrease relative to Q3 2024. This decline was largely driven by Passenger Fuel CASK, which decreased 9.9% to 1.7 cents, resulting from lower fuel prices and increased fuel efficiency. Passenger CASK excluding fuel increased 2.1% year-over-year to 3.9 cents.
As of September 30, 2025, Avianca reported liquidity totaling $1,361 million USD, which represented 24.2% of last-twelve-month revenue. This total includes a cash balance of $1,161 million USD and $200 million USD available through an undrawn Revolving Credit Facility. The Net Debt to last-twelve-month EBITDAR ratio improved sequentially to 2.8x from 2.9x reported on June 30, 2025.
Rating agencies Moody’s and Fitch upgraded Avianca’s credit ratings to B1 and B+ respectively. Both rating actions were assigned a stable outlook.
The cargo division, Avianca Cargo, recorded $157 million USD in revenue during Q3 2025, representing a 14.1% year-over-year increase. The operating freighter fleet currently consists of nine Airbus A330s, following the integration of two additional P2F aircraft during the quarter.
The loyalty program, LifeMiles, reported a 72% year-over-year increase in Q3 2025 Third-Party Cash EBITDA, reaching $77 million USD.
In network strategy, AGIL expanded its Business Class service to 54 additional routes from key operational centers including Bogotá (Colombia), Medellín (Colombia), San Salvador (El Salvador), Quito, and Guayaquil (Ecuador). The company’s passenger operating fleet totaled 161 aircraft as of September 2025, including 134 Airbus A320 family aircraft, 15 Boeing 787s, and 12 Airbus A330s.
Avianca is a member of Star Alliance and is part of the Abra Group. The Abra Group also controls Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. and holds a strategic investment in Wamos Air .
Above photo: Avianca A330F cargo jet (photo courtesy Avianca)
Colombia’s Transport Minister María Fernanda Rojas said on Monday that Avianca is close to completing mandatory software updates on its Airbus A320 fleet, with only 19 aircraft still pending intervention after a week of global disruptions triggered by what aviation experts describe as the largest recall in Airbus’s 55-year history.
The grounding forced airlines across several continents to halt operations, rebook thousands of passengers, and reconfigure flight schedules during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
According to Aerocivil, Colombia’s Civil Aviation Authority, 102 of Avianca’s 124 grounded A320 aircraft are now back in service following an accelerated technical effort led in coordination with Airbus technicians. The remaining aircraft are expected to be updated within three days at Avianca’s main maintenance base at Rionegro, Antioquia. Authorities fast-tracked the import of 10 additional software units from France after Colombian regulators, the Ministry of Transport, and the tax agency DIAN jointly cleared an emergency customs process over the weekend.
Latam Airlines and JetSMART, the two other carriers in Colombia operating affected A320s have already completed updates on their six combined jets. The minister said the rapid turnaround reflects “an unprecedented level of coordination” between airlines, regulators and Airbus engineers, who were deployed across several countries to help implement the corrective measures.
Globally, airlines said operations were returning to normal on Monday, after the grounding struck at a sensitive time for the global aviation industry. The Airbus A320, which only weeks ago overtook the Boeing 737 as history’s most-delivered jetliner, also faces long-term maintenance bottlenecks that have left hundreds of aircraft parked and waiting for parts under the pressure of post-pandemic demand.
The crisis also hit Airbus at a moment when the European manufacturer was stepping up efforts to meet its year-end delivery targets. Signals of lower-than-expected deliveries for November have already rattled investors, and the grounding added further uncertainty to an already tight production schedule. Shares of major Airbus customers — including Lufthansa and easyJet — fell on Monday amid concerns that delivery timelines could slip further. According to Reuters several deliveries have already been impacted, though the extent and duration remain unclear; one industry insider estimated around 50 aircraft could face delays.
Adding to Airbus’s challenges, the company on Monday confirmed a separate quality issue involving metal fuselage panels on a “limited number” of A320 aircraft. While the defect does not pose an immediate safety risk, Airbus said it is taking a “conservative approach” by inspecting all aircraft that could potentially be affected. The announcement sent Airbus shares tumbling as much as 6% during early trading, heightening market anxiety already fueled by the software crisis and flight disruptions.
The initial software alert was triggered after Airbus analyzed data from a recent in-flight incident and concluded that intense solar radiation under certain conditions could corrupt data linked to the aircraft’s flight-control computers. The disruptions rippled across major hubs in Latin America and the United States, coinciding with the U.S. Thanksgiving travel weekend, one of the busiest periods of the year.
Delta and American Airlines were forced to delay or cancel flights as dozens of A320 jets were pulled from service for urgent inspections. “Airbus apologises for any challenges and delays caused to passengers and airlines by this event,” the manufacturer said in a statement.
For Colombia’s flagship carrier and one of the world’s largest A320 operators, the near-completion of the updates marks a significant recovery after days of cancellations, rebookings and schedule reshuffling. The airline will reopen ticket sales on December 5 as its domestic and international network returns to full capacity and the remaining 19 jets are certified to fly.
Colombia’s flagship carrier, Avianca, announced Friday it has grounded more than 70% of its Airbus A320 fleet after the European manufacturer issued an urgent global bulletin ordering operators to carry out immediate software updates to prevent potential flight-control failures.
The disruption, one of the most severe to hit the airline in years, comes as Airbus launched one of the largest fleet-wide recalls in its history, affecting some 6,000 A320 commercial aircraft worldwide — more than half of the global fleet. The A320 is the world’s most widely used single-aisle airliner and the backbone of Avianca’s operations across Latin America and to U.S and Canadian hubs.
There are around 11,300 A320 jets in operation in total.
In a statement, Avianca said Airbus notified operators on November 28 that a significant portion of A320 require a mandatory software modification. The update, which Airbus described as reverting to an earlier software version, must be applied before affected aircraft can resume flights, except for ferry operations to maintenance bases.
“As soon as the aircraft reach their maintenance bases, they must remain on the ground until the updates are completed,” Avianca said. “This order affects more than 70% of Avianca’s fleet.”
The airline warned that the grounding will trigger significant operational disruptions over the next 10 days as engineers work to install the update across its aircraft. To limit further complications and manage passenger flow, Avianca has temporarily closed ticket sales for travel dates through December 8 — an extraordinary measure taken to “reorganize its capacity and re-accommodate passengers on available flights.”
Customers with upcoming reservations will receive direct notifications from the airline detailing their travel options.
The update requirement has already led to cascading delays and cancellations across several regions. Reuters reported that, at the time Airbus issued its notice to more than 350 operators, roughly 3,000 A320 aircraft were airborne. Airlines in the United States, Europe, South America, India and New Zealand said the repairs could trigger operational disruption during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.
American Airlines, the world’s largest operator of the A320 family, said about 340 of its 480 aircraft require the fix. The carrier expects the majority of updates to be completed by Saturday, estimating about two hours of work per jet. Delta Airlines said updates to a small portion of its Airbus A320 planes will likely be completed by Saturday morning, a spokesperson said.
Avianca, however, expects the impact to last longer given the scale of its grounded fleet in Latin America and the limited availability of maintenance slots at Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport.
The airline said its priority is passenger and crew safety and that it is working “as quickly as possible” to complete the mandatory modifications and restore normal operations.
To mitigate the fallout, Avianca is offering several options to affected passengers:
Rebooking on the nearest available Avianca flight or on partner airlines with which it has commercial agreements.
Flexible changes, allowing travelers to reschedule without penalty fees or fare differences, subject to availability, for up to 180 days after the original travel date.
Refunds for unused flight segments through the airline’s website, call center, sales offices or travel agencies.
Avianca urged customers not to go to the airport unless their flight has been confirmed and to closely monitor email notifications associated with their reservation, as well as updates on its official channels.
Despite the scale of the disruption, the airline said the swift grounding demonstrates its commitment to safety while complying with Airbus’ unprecedented directive.
“The priority of Avianca is to ensure the safety of our passengers and crew,” the company said, adding that it aims to complete the required modifications as soon as possible to “minimize service disruptions.”
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