Bogotá, Colombia – Leftist presidential candidate Iván Cepeda challenged his opponents to a debate on Saturday after turning down previous proposals to face-off with his rivals.
“I challenge the far right, its two candidates – Senator Paloma Valencia and lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella – to a debate,” Cepeda told a crowd at a rally in Fusagasugá, a city near Bogotá.
His opponents responded by accepting the proposal, while also highlighting that they had been calling for a debate for months.
The possibility of a live face-off between candidates has been a recurring theme ahead of first-round presidential elections on May 31.
Shortly after beginning his candidacy last year, Cepeda dismissed the idea of participating in a debate: “I’m not going to take part in debates—let me make this clear from the outset—to exchange insults with other candidates, or to threaten one another, or to denigrate one another.”
Cepeda’s rivals have repeatedly criticized him for refusing to spar with them on the public stage, something they highlighted following the leftist candidate’s U-turn on Saturday.
“Allow me to correct you: you’re not issuing a challenge; you’re accepting the challenge you were invited to take up months ago,” said criminal defense attorney de la Espriella.
Valencia, the candidate for the Centro Democrático (Democratic Center) party, also seized the opportunity to pounce on Cepeda: “A few weeks ago, it was I who challenged Iván Cepeda several times to a face-to-face debate, yet you chose to hide away in the Senate with a controlled microphone.”
She suggested that Cepeda’s U-turn owes to a worsening performance in recent polls: “Now that the polls are tightening, you’re coming out of Fusagasugá with this challenge.”
Analysts agreed with Valencia’s suggestion, saying that Cepeda’s debate proposal is an attempt to inject life into a stagnating campaign.
“Cepeda has offered to debate because of his campaign’s inherent lack of momentum and general weakness. He is not captivating any new voters or finding a tangible way of changing the narrative in his favor,” Sergio Guzmán, Director at Colombia Risk Analysis, a political risk consultancy, told Latin America Reports.
Internal party polls reportedly show sluggish growth in Cepeda’s polling numbers since he became the official candidate for the Pacto Histórico (Historic Pact) in October.
Meanwhile, Valencia has been soaring in the polls following her victory in presidential primaries in March; Cepeda and de la Espriella did not partake.
But the debate is not without risk for Cepeda, according to Guzmán: “Cepeda runs the risk of having to go on the defensive of Petro and his administration.”
Others believe that Cepeda’s oratory style does not lend itself to the televised debate format.
“He has a much more academic tendency, which is not so typical in politics, let alone in modern politics,” noted Miguel Jaramillo Luján, a Colombian political strategist. In contrast, he noted that de la Espriella and Valencia have a more media-savvy communication style.
Nevertheless, the analyst told Latin America Reports that Cepeda’s debate style could give him the chance to woo crucial centrist voters: “I believe he can inspire confidence and credibility among his target audience and even among the centre, particularly when it comes to dispelling certain myths and lies that have been spread by the centre and the right.”
With the leading candidates agreeing to debate, the battle over the specifics – including moderators, questions, and location – begins.
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President Petro says he will sue Daniel Noboa over an interview in which the Ecuadorian president accused his Colombian counterpart of associating with feared drug baron Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias ‘Fito’, during a state visit to Ecuador.
“I have decided to file a criminal complaint against President Noboa for his slander,” wrote Petro on his X account, following statements made by Ecuador’s leader to Semana News.
In Sunday’s interview Noboa made references to Petro’s visit to Ecuador in May, 2025, as part of a state visit to attend the right-wing president’s own inauguration.
After the event Petro took a three-day visit to the coastal city of Manta to rest and write his book, the Colombian president later explained.
But this hiatus from the public eye – Petro is rarely out of the spotlight – and his choice of destination sparked rumors that the Colombian president was holding secret meetings with underworld figures. Manta is both a tourist destination with Pacific beaches and the ground zero for violent armed gangs that control Ecuador’s drug trafficking.
Rumors started with unfounded comments by Ecuadorian politicians that Petro was “holed up” in a luxury house on the coast, adding tantalizing details that officials “could not confirm or deny” that Fito or persons related to the gang leader were present.
“What we know is that Gustavo Petro was in Manta inside a house for his entire stay. We can’t confirm whether Fito was there. It’s been said that certain political figures were with him,” Ecuador’s Interior Minister John Reimberg stated to news media at the time.
“He arrived at a luxury house and stayed there for two days. He never left, not even to eat. He was locked inside. I can’t say who he met with.”
Noboa reinforced the slurs this week, stating without evidence that the house rented in Manta was “directly or indirectly linked to drug trafficking”.
The Colombian president “never has any real explanations for his actions”, pressed Noboa, suggesting the book writing was a cover for more suspicious motives. But he failed to provide any motive as to why Petro would want to meet with Fito or his associates from Los Choneros gang, Ecuador’s most violent armed group.
Fito has been likened to Mexico’s El Chapo, with a history of repeated prison breaks. The career criminal was re-arrested again in Manta in June last year – a month after Petro’s visit – hiding in a bunker, and has since been extradited to the U.S.
For his part, Petro hit back claiming the Ecuadorian president had been himself been well aware of his plans to holiday in Manta, a visit accompanied by the Ecuadorian army and a Colombian security detail. These and other witnesses could vouch for his book writing, he said.
“I don’t know if going anywhere in Ecuador raises suspicions of shady dealings. Manta is a beautiful place worth visiting.”
Petro stayed in a “wooden cabin with a sea view”, he said, and not the luxury condominium conjured up by Noboa.
Petro linked Noboa’s verbal attacks on the recent trade war between Colombia and Ecuador and Petro’s request that Noboa released former Ecuadorian vice president Jorge Glas currently jailed for corruption.
See also: Ecuador doubles trade tariffs on Colombia to 100 per cent.
Both disputes have put relations between the two countries at rock bottom.
Behind those disagreements lie long-standing accusations by Ecuador that Colombia has exported violence and criminality over the shared border during Petro’s tenure, a claim supported by a recent report by Amazon Underworld.
Illegal drugs passing through Ecuador came mostly from Colombia, said the report, and Colombian armed groups like the Comandos de La Frontera had established a permanent presence on the Ecuadorian side of the border.
The high tariffs imposed by Ecuador, which seem out of U.S. President Trump’s playbook, seem designed to punish Colombia for its internal security policies and Petro’s left-wing government at political poles from the Noboa administration.
The spat over Jorge Glas stems from the former vice-president’s jailing after being found guilty of corruption in public office.
Glas was VP to left-wing leader and former president Rafael Correa, and accused of corruption in contracting cases. In 2017 he was jailed for six years. After his release was again accused of fresh crimes related to corruption.
Faced with these new accusations, in 2024 the politician took refuge in the Mexican Embassy in Quito but was quickly captured by Ecuadorian state forces who violated international protocols by invading the protected site, creating a diplomatic crisis with Mexico.
For his part, Petro conferred Colombian citizenship on Glas, declared him a ‘political prisoner’, and demanded his extradition to Colombia. Meanwhile Petro has been highlighting the former VPs stark prison conditions on social media.
“Just as I demanded the freedom of political prisoners in Venezuela and Nicaragua, I believe that Jorge Glas should be released,” he wrote, angering Noboa who recalled his ambassador from Bogotá earlier this month.
The rift between the two leaders also widened after announcements of joint military operations between the U.S. and Ecuador, with tension mounting after an air bombardment of the border left an unexploded bomb on Colombian territory.
In Sunday’s message Petro alluded to coordinated plots by political opponents in Ecuador, Colombia and “the extreme right in Florida” to drag up dirt from his Mantra trip.
Events this week should clarify if Petro has grounds to sue his Ecuadorian counterpart in a court of law, or if the battle continues on social media.
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A Qatar Airways cargo jet and a Lufthansa passenger plane came within an estimated 200 meters of each other on final approach to Bogotá on Sunday evening, in a near miss that could have resulted in a major airline catastrophe.
The incident unfolded near El Dorado International Airport as both aircraft were being guided toward runway 32L during a late-evening arrival window. According to preliminary information, Qatar Airways cargo flight QTR 8174, operated by a Boeing 777 from São Paulo, was descending to approximately 9,600 feet when it converged with Lufthansa flight DLH 542.
The Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt Airport, operated by a Boeing 787 -900 ‘Dreamliner’ carrying some 270 passengers, had departed at 3:08 p.m. local time and was scheduled to land in Bogotá at 11:51 p.m. local time. As it approached the Colombian capital, the aircraft turning at roughly 9,700 feet, placing it on a dangerously converging path with the Qatar Airways freighter.
The two wide-body aircraft, each spanning more than 60 metres in length, were both landing from the East, and were above the residential neighbourhood of Modelia, according to late-night eyewitness reports.
Under standard air traffic control procedures, aircraft must maintain a minimum vertical separation of 1,000 feet, 0r 300 metres. The apparent compression of that buffer to an estimated 600 feet suggests a significant breakdown in sequencing or communication during the critical end-phase of a flight.
Disaster was averted when the Lufthansa aircraft abruptly climbed to over 12,000 feet, executing what appears to have been an emergency “Go-Around” avoidance manoeuvre. Such actions are typically triggered by onboard collision avoidance systems, which issue automated instructions to pilots when another aircraft is detected at dangerously close range. The manoeuvre forced the passenger flight to abort its initial landing approach before safely completing a second descent into Bogotá. No injuries were reported.
However, the near miss has renewed scrutiny over air traffic control operations in the Colombian capital, following another serious safety incident just two months earlier.
On February 20, a LATAM Airlines flight operated by an Airbus A320 carrying 157 passengers was forced to abort take-off after a military helicopter appeared unexpectedly near the runway at El Dorado International Airport.
According to Colombia’s civil aviation authority, Aerocivil, the aircraft—bound for San Andrés—had been cleared for departure after routine taxi procedures. At 17:04 local time, the plane was authorized for pushback from position C5, and by 17:13 it had been instructed to taxi toward runway 14R.
At 17:36, after receiving clearance for take-off, the crew initiated the departure roll. Moments later, pilots detected a rotary-wing aircraft flying on a parallel trajectory and approaching the runway environment. The unexpected presence of the helicopter forced the crew to execute an aborted take-off, a high-risk manoeuvre at speed, in order to avoid a potential collision.
Aerocivil attributed the incident to interference in the communication frequency of the airport’s north control tower, raising concerns about coordination between different air traffic control sectors. The episode, involving a commercial jet accelerating for departure and an unauthorized or mis-coordinated helicopter movement, has been classified as a serious operational safety event.
Together, the two incidents have cast a spotlight on the operational pressures facing El Dorado International Airport (SKBO), which handles hundreds of daily movements and serves as one of the busiest aviation hubs in Latin America. Bogotá’s high-altitude location—more than 2,600 metres above sea level—combined with surrounding mountainous terrain, requires tightly managed flight paths and precise coordination between controllers and pilots.
Sunday’s late evening incident involving two long-range aircraft is expected to undergo a detailed investigation, including analysis of radar data, cockpit voice recordings and air traffic communications.
On Monday, Colombia’s Aerocivil, affirmed that the event did not constitute a critical safety risk. In an official statement, the authority said runway 32 Right had been temporarily unavailable due to a third aircraft blocking the strip, prompting controllers to redirect incoming traffic—including the Qatar Airways and Lufthansa flights—to runway 32 Left.
Aerocivil said the change in instructions led to a reduction in speed that decreased horizontal separation between the two aircraft during the approach phase. However, it stressed that “controlled and safe vertical separation was maintained at all times.”
According to Aerocivil , the Lufthansa crew’s decision to abort the landing was carried out “independently” and in line with standard global aviation protocols. “This is a normal and standardised procedure in aviation, designed precisely to guarantee safety when visual or distance parameters so require,” the statement said.
The technical analysis, Aerocivil added, confirms that the situation was “an operational event managed under control” and “at no time represented a critical situation or a real risk to air safety for passengers or crew.”
The authority also urged the public and political actors not to “exaggerate or politicise” what it described as a strictly technical matter, warning that reliance on unofficial sources could generate unfounded alarm and affect confidence in Colombia’s aviation sector.
A plan to swap Colombian cocaine for guns was exposed last week when a Lebanese-Syrian smuggler Antoine Kassis – a cousin of deposed Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad – faced trial for his attempt to send Russian-made armaments to ELN guerrillas.
The failed plot, which played out in a U.S. federal courtroom last week but seemed more suited to a Hollywood movie, risked putting military-grade weapons sourced from Syrian arsenals in the hands of the Colombian rebels.
In exchange, the ELN planned to send 500 kilos of cocaine disguised in a cargo container of Colombian fruit, according to U.S. Justice Department documents.
A federal jury convicted Antoine Kassis on charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy and conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization after a five day hearing. He now faces at least 20 years in a U.S. prison.
Kassis, 59, who had links to proscribed organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah, offered the ELN drones, grenades, assault rifles, missiles, mortars and heavy machine guns in exchange for the cocaine smuggled to a Syrian port.
He eventually hoped to sell the Colombian-supplied narcotics throughout the Middle East.
The deal was initially brokered in 2024 before the fall of al-Assad but unraveled after a sting operation mounted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2025.
As court documents revealed, Kassis traveled to Africa in February last year after reassuring the Colombian guerrillas that the cocaine swap was still on – even after the unexpected fall of his cousin’s brutal dictatorship in Syria at the end of 2024.
Kassis claimed he could bribe Syrian port staff US$10,000 per kilo of cocaine to import the illicit drug through Latakia, a well-known route for drugs in and out of the eastern Mediterranean.
Despite the fall of al-Assad, he could still access “all the toys”, he told the Colombians, referring to the military-grade weapons.
Unknown to Kassis, DEA investigators had already infiltrated the Colombian end of the deal and sent an undercover agent posing as an ELN weapons expert to the crucial meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.
Kassis was arrested with the help of Kenyan police and extradited weeks later to the U.S.
Meanwhile the suspected ELN counterparts, named by news website Infobae as Alirio Rafael Quintero and Wisam Kherfan Okde, were arrested in Colombia. They are currently detained in Bogotá’s La Picota prison pending extradition requests from the U.S.
Evidence from the Kassis investigation pointed to a vast money-laundering operation based in Colombia that shifted million-dollar drug profits in cryptocurrencies across four continents. According to court documents, the plot roped in Palestine’s Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel.
The Kassis case also showed that the ELN was attempting to upgrade its weapons arsenal even as the armed group was engaged in on-off peace negotiations with Colombia’s Petro government. Talks are currently on hold.
The Marxist rebel group, properly known as the Ejército de Liberación Nacional, has been fighting the Colombian state since 1964 and is currently said to have 3,600 armed combatants, many based in neighboring Venezuela where it controls drug routes and illegal mining camps.
The latest round of peace talks, under Petro’s controversial Paz Total initiative, has seen the ELN expand in both territory and numbers within Colombia, with an estimated growth of 9 per cent in the last two years. Attempts to obtain Russian-made weapons via Syria are likely linked to that expansion.
See also: Peace Plan has caused more conflict, says thinktank.
Of note was the missiles included in the thwarted Syrian cargo. Though exact details were not given in the court documents, these could refer the portable shoulder-fired anti-aircraft weapons, highly coveted by Colombia’s armed groups for their ability to down helicopters and small attack aircraft used by state forces against insurgent groups.
In recent months Colombian armed forces have returned to aerial bombing of suspected guerrilla camps, a controversial practice that risks killing or injuring civilians and children. Bombing campaigns against dissident FARC groups in Guaviare late last year left at least 15 minors dead, according to news reports from the time.
And on February 4 this year, an air attack ordered by President Petro on an ELN camp in the Catutumbo region left seven ELN fighters dead, with no reports of child victims.
The ELN have in the past experimented with home-made anti-aircraft missiles, such as found in a hidden cache in Cauca in 2018, and some of their combatants are thought to have been trained in the use of Russian-made Igla-S missiles, of which 5,000 are used by state forces in Venezuela.
The Kassis case highlighted links between Colombian armed groups and the Middle East that include designated terror groups such as Lebanon-based Hezbollah.
According to expert testimony at a U.S. senate caucus on narcotics in October last year, groups like Hezbollah received funds via drug trafficking and money laundering in Latin America, with hubs in Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela and Colombia.
“Hezbollah capitalized on a combination of weak local governance, corruption, and the presence of sympathetic diaspora communities to create cells and recruit financial facilitators,” former treasury official Marshall Billingslea told the caucus in October last year.
Billingslea suggested that Hezbollah could source up to a third of its income from Latin America, and until recently had close links through its Iranian backers Venezuela, now in flux with the forced removal of former president Nicolás Maduro to the U.S. in January this year.
But while its Venezuelan ties were more often reported, the Lebanese Shi’ite group had also made inroads into Colombian crime circles with a long history of deals, such as cocaine shipments sent by the Oficina de Envigado cartel, and drugs-for-weapons swaps with the former FARC guerrillas, he said.
In 2016, U.S. prosecutors brought charges against a Hezbollah laundering ring based in Medellín, according to reports in the Miami Herald at the time. Funds were connected to jailed Mexican kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Billingslea explained that groups like Hezbollah also saw Colombia as a refuge for foreign operatives who obtained fake passports and ID cards. Recent turmoil in the Middle East could stimulate armed groups there to increase their interests in countries like Colombia, he said.
“Now, with their Lebanese infrastructure in shambles, and with robust financing from Iran again in doubt, I believe Hezbollah will make a hard pivot to Latin America and to the drug trade in particular.”
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ARTBO Weekend returns to Bogotá this week with a milestone worth noting – and a programme that suggests the event is no longer content with staying within its traditional comfort zones.
Celebrating its tenth edition from April 16 to 19, the city-wide initiative organized by the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce (CCB) arrives bigger, more dispersed and arguably more ambitious than ever. With over 160 free activities, 86 participating spaces and 280 artists from 27 countries, the numbers alone tell a story of steady expansion. But the real shift this year is geographic.
For the first time, ARTBO Weekend – Fin de Semana – pushes decisively into new territory. The addition of Kennedy, Nogal and Chicó as official circuits marks a deliberate move away from the event’s familiar enclaves. It is, in many ways, a statement about where Bogotá’s art scene is headed – or where it wants to go.
Kennedy stands out. Historically on the fringes of the city’s cultural programming, the district’s inclusion is more than symbolic. The reopening of the Chamber of Commerce’s exhibition space in the area signals a longer-term investment in decentralising Bogotá’s art ecosystem. It also raises a question that has hovered over ARTBO Weekend in recent years: who, exactly, is the event for?
For organisers, the answer has consistently been “everyone.” And, on paper, that commitment holds. Entry remains free across all venues, and the programme spans everything from gallery exhibitions and museum shows to performances, workshops, talks and editorial launches. The addition of complimentary transport routes – the Bus ARTBO – helps bridge the distances between circuits, turning what could be a logistical challenge into something closer to an urban stroll.
Still, navigating ARTBO Weekend requires a degree of planning. Bogotá is not compact, and its art circuits are spread across distinct neighbourhoods, each with its own pace and character. San Felipe, long considered the epicentre of the contemporary gallery scene, remains a reliable starting point, particularly for first-time visitors. Chapinero offers a more eclectic mix, where independent spaces sit alongside institutional venues, while the Centro Histórico provides a slower, more contemplative route through museums and heritage sites.
This year, however, the draw may well lie in the unfamiliar. Kennedy’s circuit promises a different rhythm – less polished, perhaps, but more reflective of the city’s broader social fabric. Chicó and Nogal, by contrast, introduce a more polished, design-forward dimension to the programme, expanding the conversation beyond traditional gallery spaces.
What distinguishes ARTBO Weekend from its larger counterpart, ARTBO, is precisely this sense of movement. There are no booths, no central venue, no singular point of focus. Instead, the city itself becomes the exhibition space, and the act of moving between circuits becomes part of the experience.
That experience is not purely visual. The “Conversaciones” series, curated by Raphael Fonseca of the Denver Art Museum, brings together artists, curators and academics for a series of panel discussions that aim to unpack the themes shaping contemporary art today. With free entry and simultaneous translation, the talks offer a point of entry for audiences looking to engage more deeply with the works on display.
Equally, the Encuentro Editorial continues to carve out a niche within the programme. Focused on independent publishing and the book as an artistic medium, it provides a quieter counterpoint to the busier exhibition circuits. For many, it is here – among the artist books and experimental print projects – that the creative pulse is most tangible.
After a decade, ARTBO Weekend has settled into a rhythm that feels both established and open-ended. It has succeeded in building audiences, supporting local galleries and positioning Bogotá within a wider Latin American art conversation. At the same time, it continues to grapple with the challenges of scale, access and representation that come with growth.
For visitors, the best approach may be to resist the urge to see everything. Pick two or three circuits per day. Use the Bus ARTBO, but don’t be afraid to walk, and take an umbrella for the inclement April weather. Allow time for the unexpected – a performance that spills into the street, a conversation that runs longer than planned, a small space that wasn’t on the map.
Because if ARTBO Weekend has proven anything over the past ten years, it is that Bogotá’s art scene is not confined to a single district, or a single idea of what art should be. It is scattered, evolving and, at its best, deeply connected to the city.
The dismantling of a major crime gang which operated in Bogotá caused controversy last week after it emerged its leader was declared a peace negotiator under President Petro’s controversial Paz Total, or Total Peace, plan.
National police rounded up 23 members of the La Mesa gang in simultaneous operations in Tolima, Cesar and Bogotá. According to police reports, the gang was involved in serious crimes across the capital since 2012, including drug trafficking and murders.
News of the arrests was tainted by the fact that under the Paz Total process – the Petro government’s wide-ranging negotiations with armed groups – gang leader Gustavo Adolfo Pérez Peña, alias El Montañero, had his arrest warrant suspended under his role as gestor de paz, or ‘peace facilitator’.
The kingpin’s release sparked a furious response from Bogotá mayor Carlos Galán, who accused Petro of undermining the city’s efforts to curb crime.
Hoy en Bogotá anunciamos que, gracias a la Dijín, a la Fiscalía y a la @PoliciaBogota, fueron capturados 23 miembros de la banda “El Mesa”, entre ellos 8 sicarios. Mientras tanto, el Gobierno Nacional nombra al cabecilla de esa banda como gestor de paz y le levantó la orden de… pic.twitter.com/qiSmSoHgh7
— Carlos F. Galán (@CarlosFGalan) April 6, 2026
“While in Bogotá,…the prosecutor’s office and the police, with the support of the Bogotá mayor’s office, are working to capture and dismantle a criminal gang dedicated to serious crimes, the national government appoints the leader of that gang as a peace facilitator and lifts the arrest warrant for him,” he railed.
The gang was also suspected of being behind last year’s gruesome killings where pieces of the bodies of victims were wrapped in plastic bags and dumped on the city’s highways.
A free pass for career criminals like Pérez Peña makes fighting crime “incredibly difficult,” added Galán.
Details of La Mesa’s criminal activities released by the prosecutor’s office this week showed the gang originated in Bello, Antioquia, but spread to Bogotá in 2012.
Court documents reported in local news outlet El Colombiano paint Pérez Peña as a hardened criminal; he has been imprisoned four times, including for armed robbery, homicide and illegal possession of firearms, but was freed before serving his full sentences.
His rap sheet includes attacks on armored trucks, notably a cash heist in Bogotá in 2003 where a policeman was shot dead.
Pérez Peña’s most recent jailing was in 2019 when he was sentenced to eight years for conspiracy to commit a crime and illegal possession of firearms. It was during this stint that he was freed as a peace facilitator.
And even while the La Mesa gang has been rounded up this week with members facing multiple charges and long prison sentences, its leader and founder continues at liberty.
Inclusion of criminal gangs in the Paz Total process has proved one of the thorniest aspects of Petro’s flagship policies and a political hot potato in the run-up to next month’s presidential elections.
Since its inception in 2022, the government’s peace negotiators have tried to include some of Colombia’s most embedded crime dynasties under the acronym Estructuras Armadas Organizadas del Crimen de Alto Impacto (EAOCAI).
This Paz Urbana, or urban peace, initiative is based on the reality that in Colombia today lines are blurred between organized armed groups and engrained criminal structures. Much of its effort has focused on Antioquia’s Valle de Aburrá, around Medellín, where many crime gangs took root after the fragmentation of the 1980s cocaine cartels.
The president’s office recently declared the process a partial success, claiming that the nominated peace spokespersons – many feared capos with violent histories – were now in a dialogue process which could “prevent further violence and prevent the resurgence of these structures”.
Many critics have predicted that – similar to the Paz Total process with large guerrilla groups – criminal gangs will leverage the negotiations to their own interests to gain time and territory or a get-out-of-jail-free card.
This week Medellín’s mayor Fico Gutíerez welcomed a resolution by the attorney general’s office to overturn many of the 23 nominations of local crime bosses as peace facilitators.
“The resolution removes 16 criminals currently serving sentences for serious crimes from the program. Seven remain eligible for the benefit,” he posted on X.
He also echoed Galán’s complaint that hardened criminals were being included in the peace process. “It is unacceptable that the Petro government has asked the prosecutor’s office to lift the current arrest warrant for homicide.”
Defenders of Petro’s agenda hit back reminding that Paz Urbana was part of a constitutional process protected by Colombian law.
“Peace is a right, not a political strategy,” said Isabel Zuleta, a senator and key player in the Paz Total process.
The senator, who represents the government at the negotiating table with representatives of criminal gangs, accused the media and politicians of misreporting the negotiations.
“For nearly three years, a serious path toward de-escalating urban violence in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley has been painstakingly forged. Today, that work is being exploited by right-wing sectors that prefer to sabotage urban peace rather than acknowledge progress that is not electorally advantageous to them,” she said.
Zuleta also pointed out suspension of arrest warrants for gang leaders seeking peace did not free them of responsibilities for crimes they committed, nor would it stop judicial investigations.
Meanwhile, a mix-up between Petro’s government and Attorney General’s Office emerged over Antioquia’s urban peace process: 16 of the 23 capos named as peace negotiators were already in prison, so suspending their “arrest warrants” was nonsensical as they were already detained in the high-security Itagüí Prison.
“We truly never imagined that a request would be made to suspend arrest warrants for people already serving sentences,” chief prosecutor Luz Adriana Camargo told Caracol Radio.
For this judicial – rather than political – reason, Camargo revoked the suspension orders for the 16 capos already doing time.
“We are talking about dialogues inside a prison with convicted individuals,” she said.
The Attorney General’s office also corrected widespread fake news – amplified by right-wing presidential candidates Paloma Valencia and Abelardo de la Espriella – that the 16 jailed crime chiefs would be freed as part of the Paz Urbana negotiations.
In fact, there were no plans to release the IItagüí peace facilitators, clarified Camargo’s office.
But in a further twist this week the government froze the peace talks in the Itagüí Prison after revelations that the jailed capos mounted an unauthorized vallenato concert by popular singer Nelson Velásquez, reportedly costing 500 million pesos (US$140,000).
Parranda con Nelson Velásquez en cárcel de Itagüí no fue autorizada: Inpec investiga 7 funcionarios #LoMásBlu #MañanasBlu pic.twitter.com/FTU3exTVuF
— BluRadio Colombia (@BluRadioCo) April 9, 2026
For many commentators, the partying in the prison brought back painful memories of drug baron Pablo Escobar’s luxury lifestyle while supposedly imprisoned by the state in the 1990s.
Meanwhile the chief prosecutor Camargo came under fire for her decision to suspend warrants for seven other gang leaders currently on the run – including that of Pérez Peña of La Mesa.
This week the exact whereabouts of Pérez Peña was unknown, as was his willingness to engage in any peace process. According to a report by TV station Teleantioquia, the La Mesa gang leader was based in Madrid, Spain, while “moving around Europe as a sophisticated tourist”.
For El Montañero, coming home to Colombia, even under the guise of a peace facilitator, could be less of a holiday.
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Colombia will cull dozens of invasive hippopotamuses descended from animals illegally imported by Pablo Escobar, as authorities warn the rapidly growing population is endangering ecosystems and local communities.
Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres said the government has authorized the euthanasia of up to 80 animals as part of a broader strategy to control the herd, which now numbers around 200 across the Magdalena River basin.
“We must act to reduce the hippopotamus population,” Vélez said, describing the cull as a “technical recommendation” following years of failed attempts to contain the species through sterilization and relocation.
The hippos — descendants of four animals brought to Colombia in the 1980s for Escobar’s private zoo at Hacienda Nápoles — have flourished in the country’s tropical lowlands, where a lack of natural predators and abundant water sources have enabled unchecked reproduction.
Scientists warn that without intervention, the population could surge to between 500 and 1,000 animals within the next decade, placing increasing strain on fragile river ecosystems.
The large herbivores consume vast quantities of vegetation and deposit significant organic waste into waterways, altering water chemistry and threatening native species, including manatees and turtles. Officials also cite rising risks to rural communities, with reports of hippos damaging farmland and attacking livestock and people.
The government’s plan, backed by a 2022 technical report from the Humboldt Institute and the National University, includes euthanasia, confinement and possible relocation. The program carries a budget of 7.2 billion pesos and is set to begin in the second half of 2026, targeting key hotspots near Puerto Triunfo and along the Magdalena River.
Previous efforts to manage the population — including sterilization campaigns in 2022 and 2023 and talks with countries such as India and Mexico to relocate animals — yielded limited results. Authorities say international transfers are unlikely, citing logistical challenges and genetic concerns linked to inbreeding.
Animal welfare advocates have condemned the cull. Senator Andrea Padilla, an outspoken animal rights campaigner, described the plan as “cruel” and accused the government of opting for the “easy way out.”
“Killings and massacres will never be acceptable,” Padilla wrote on social media, arguing the animals are victims of decades of state neglect.
But officials insist the risks posed by the species — considered among the world’s most dangerous large mammals — leave little alternative. In Africa, hippos are responsible for hundreds of human deaths each year, and Colombian authorities report increasing “hippo-human interactions,” including road accidents and attacks along riverbanks.
Escobar, who built his sprawling Napoles estate was killed in 1993, but the legacy of his private zoo has endured in unexpected ways. After his death, some animals were relocated, while others — including the hippos — escaped into the swamps.
Decades later, what began as a curiosity has become one of Colombia’s most unusual environmental dilemmas, forcing authorities to weigh animal welfare against the protection of native ecosystems.
The more than 100 female Colombian journalists who signed the ‘No to the pact of silence’ – a petition calling for answers about former president Andrés Pastrana’s appearance in the Jeffrey Epstein files –have posed 10 questions to candidates in the upcoming presidential elections.
The questions, shared on X last Sunday, intend to make the candidates take a clear position before the public on key women’s issues, including the mentions of Pastrana in the Epstein files.
So far, only two candidates – Roy Barreras and Sondra Macollins – have responded publicly to the questions, which come amid what some have described as Colombia’s #MeToo movement.
“We asked 10 questions to those seeking the presidency,” wrote Ana Cristina Restrepo, one of the women leading the ‘No to the pact of silence’, in an X post on April 12.
The questions addressed the preservation of abortion rights, equal representation in positions of high power, protocols to address violence against women, and the commitment to the continuation, protection, and strengthening of related public policies in support of women’s rights.
Among the 102 women behind the questions are public figures like: María Elvira Samper, a writer, journalist and philosopher; Patricia Nieto, professor at the University of Antioquia and journalist; and Maria Teresa Ronderos, Director of the Ibero-American Center for Journalistic Investigation (CLIP).
The list also includes Jineth Bedoya Lima, a pioneer of #NoEsHoraDeCallar (it is not the time to be quiet) a campaign that denounces sexual violence and urges survivors to speak out against gender-based violence. Bedoya is herself a survivor of kidnapping, torture and sexual violence by paramilitaries in 2000, with her case going to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The first candidate to respond to the questions was center-left presidential hopeful Roy Barreras of the La Fuerza Party. “101 women signatories of #NoAlPactoDeSilencio, representing thousands of others, have put these 10 questions to the presidential candidates. Here, in this thread, are my answers,” he wrote on X on April 13.
Sondra Macollins, an independent candidate for the Digital Party, also answered in an X post on April 14.“I want to respond to what has been raised by #NoAlPactoDeSilencio because the truth is not negotiable,” she said.
“The time of the ‘untouchables’ and complicit silence is over. If there are names linked to Andrés Pastrana and Epstein, the country demands clear answers,” added Macollins.
The questions are seen as part of a new women’s rights movement which started in Colombia following the appearance of former president Andrés Pastrana in the Epstein files.
The materials included a photo of Pastrana and Ghislaine Maxwell wearing Colombian Air Force uniforms, alleged compromising emails, and testimonies where Maxwell described the two as friends and claimed to have flown a Black Hawk in Colombia. There were also reports that Pastrana flew on a private jet with Epstein and disgraced agent Jean-Luc Brunel, accused of recruiting minors for the late financier.
Later, #MeTooColombia was brought into focus following allegations by female journalists of sexual harassment in media outlets such as RTVC and Caracol.
According to the official ballot issued by Colombia’s National Civil Registry, there are 14 presidential candidates for the first round, which will take place on May 31. Four of them are women.
The post Colombia’s #MeToo movement advances with questions for presidential candidates appeared first on The Bogotá Post.
After years of debate over the fate of Colombia’s wild hippos – during which the feral beasts have multiplied in lush tropical rivers – the ministry of the environment has announced a plan to kill at least 80 of the African imports.
The non-native species was smuggled into Colombia by drug baron Pablo Escobar in 1980 as part of his collection of exotic animals – including rhinos and lions – which he kept at his ranch, Hacienda Napoles.
The infamous drug trafficker died in a rooftop battle in Medellín in1993, but a few hippos escaped his lowland ranch to find what biologists would later describe as “perfect conditions” in the nearby Magdalena River.
In the decades since around 200 offspring have spread over 100 kilometers (60 miles) of river and swamps bordering departments of Antioquia, Bolívar, Santander and Sucre.
But after years of procrastination over what to do with the wayward Hippopotamus amphibius – with various schemes to sterilize them or ship them to zoos and sanctuaries around the world – Colombia’s environment minister Irene Vélez said this week a cull was the only option.
“We’re talking of a process of euthanasia, which is the technical recommendation,” she told Blu Radio.
The plan was initially to reduce the population by 80 breeding individuals, then cull around 30 beasts per year which would systematically reduce the population.
The controversial decision is based on a 170-page technical report by the Humboldt Institute and Universidad Nacional in 2022.
The report concluded that the hippos were damaging the tropical ecosystem of the Magdalena river valley by spreading disease and overloading their watery habitat with nitrates: the amphibious herbivores grazed the riverbanks to each munch 50 kilos of grass a day – but then pooped the waste out into rivers and lakes.
Without an urgent cull the population “could increase to 500 hippopotamuses affecting our ecosystem by 2030,” Vélez told a press conference this week. This boom would further put at risk native populations of turtles and manatees.
See also: Hippos need culling, says report
Then there what the report referred to as “hippo – human interactions”, such as a car hitting a two-ton creatures on the main Bogotá – Medellín highway – which runs close to their main hangout near Puerto Triunfo – and even cases of locals trying to keep young ones as pets.
The report also pointed out that hippos were aggressive and territorial and officially the deadliest large mammal – they kill on average 500 people in Africa every year – and attacked boats and canoes on the river aswell as people, cattle and horses around the River Magdalena.
In other videos posted online people are seen chasing them down the highstreet in the town of Doradal.
To justify the cull, Vélez said reduction methods such as sterilization were too difficult – anaesthetizing wild hippos is no easy task – and none of the seven nations initially interesting in receiving live hippos for zoos and wildlife parks had followed through.
The cull would start in the second half of the 2026 around hippo hotspots close to Hacienda Nápoles in Puerto Triunfo and Isla del Silencio, a river island near to Puerto Boyacá, she said.
This island is home to a large group one of which attacked and severely injured a farmer collecting water from the riverbank in 2020, according to a news report. Colombia’s wet lowlands had perfect conditions for hippos, biologist Katerine Corrales told a Caracol news crew visiting the island this week.
“Africa has droughts and adverse weather patterns. Here we have a constant climate with abundant water and resources which generates a faster reproduction rate,” she said.
In the same report local villagers complained that the hippos had “taken over the island” and restricted commercial fishing.
Not everyone welcomed news of the cull. Hippo protection group Comisión Protectora de la Vida de los Hipopótamos – founded in the town of Puerto Triunfo close to Hacienda Nápoles and which benefits from hippo tourism – rejected the “terrible decision of the national government to authorize a hippo hunt”.
“In our municipality, we are committed to the protection and conservation of these incredible living beings. Hippos are an important part of our identity, and we must live in harmony with them,” said the group on its Facebook page this week.
It called a meeting in Bogotá to seek “non-violent” alternatives to the cull, such as a return to the plan of transferring live hippos to other countries.
Previous attempts to shoot hippos have ended in public relations disasters, such as the killing of Pepe in 2009. The large male hippo was slated for transfer to a zoo in Costa Rica after rampaging around Puerto Berrio.
But he was shot after a bungled attempt to capture him, and photos of an army platoon posing with his remains caused public revulsion, and a court ban on hunting hippos.
Pepe also highlighted the affection local communities had for “Pablo’s hippos”. For some folk the state persecution of the mammals was synonymous with the hunt for Pablo Escobar, still a popular figure among communities that benefitted from his largesse in the 1980s.
In fact, in the drug baron’s heyday the original hippos were kept at his Hacienda Nápoles in a public zoo and safari park where local families could tour for free. Today the hacienda and zoo is still there but managed by the state as part of a huge amusement park.
This week, Minister Vélez was adamant that culling must form part of any population control.
It was global restrictions on wildlife trafficking – the CITES agreements – that had condemned the hippos in Colombia by preventing them being easily shipped abroad, she explained.
“It’s not enough for a zoo to raise its hand; the country must authorize their entry. Unfortunately, no country has given the green light. This administrative silence indicates that there is no interest in receiving them”.
It seems that putting Pablo’s hippos in overseas zoos is proving as difficult as extraditing the cartel kingpin himself. Like their progenitor, the big beasts face a violent end in Colombia rather than a cage in a foreign land.
The post Colombia to cull its wild hippo population appeared first on The Bogotá Post.
The Colombian National Police published a report this week summarizing the results of its counter-narcotics operations during the first quarter of 2026.
Authorities highlighted the results of their new anti-drug dubbed ‘Esmeralda Plus‘, which has led to the seizure of 124 tons of cocaine and 99 tons of cannabis.
The report comes as President Gustavo Petro faces pressure from the White House to prove his commitment to countering the illicit drug trade, which has been a source of dispute between the two administrations.
“We are delivering significant strikes against drug trafficking. Today we fulfill our duty to Colombia and the world with dignity,” said Brigadier General William Castaño Ramos, Director of the Anti-Narcotics Division, following the report’s publication.
In addition to the 124 tons of cocaine and 99 tons of cannabis confiscated, the police also seized over 450,000 gallons of liquid chemicals and 396,000 kilograms of solid ingredients used in drug production.
They also announced the destruction of 981 narcotics laboratories and the recovery of 99 ampoules of fentanyl.
The confiscation figures mark a significant increase in seizures compared to the first 100 days of 2025, which saw 104 tons of cocaine and 63 tons of cannabis confiscated.
These figures serve as a response to the heavy tensions that preceded the White House meeting, when U.S. President Donald Trump personally attacked Petro, signaling him as a “man who likes to make cocaine” and claiming that Colombia was “very sick” under his leadership.
The report comes amid mounting pressure by Washington for the Petro administration to tackle drug production.
Trump has accused Colombia of failing to cooperate in the fight against the narcotics trade and carried out a series of unilateral aerial strikes against suspected ‘narco-vessels’ off the coast of Colombia since September, actions condemned by the Petro as a violation of national sovereignty.
Furthermore, Colombia’s President is currently facing two preliminary criminal investigations in Brooklyn and Manhattan regarding his 2022 electoral campaign. U.S. prosecutors are examining alleged illicit donations from drug trafficking networks and meetings with traffickers intended to block extraditions.
“The United States has found a mechanism to pressure the government and extract the maximum amount of concessions regarding the fight against drugs,” Sandra Borda, Professor of Political Science at the University of the Andes, told The Bogotá Post.
While the Colombian government appears to have stepped up its counter-narcotics operations amid U.S. pressure, some say this may not be enough to appease the White House.
“For Washington, these technical results are necessary, but they aren’t enough to fully restore trust,” Nelson Poveda, a political analyst and international affairs expert with experience in Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told The Bogotá Post. “Still, these reports act as a bridge for ‘technical diplomacy,’ allowing cooperation to continue even when the political relationship is tense.”
In the report, authorities stress that ‘Esmeralda Plus’ attacks narcotics trafficking as a holistic system rather than just seizing drugs.
“We are directly destabilizing the finances, logistics, and operational capacity of these criminal structures,” pointed out General William Rincón, Chief of the National Police Service.
But Colombia has been excluded from key regional counter-narcotics efforts, notably the “Shield of the Americas”, a new anti-drug alliance promoted by Donald Trump.
The White House has historically favored eradication – the destruction of drug crops – as a counter-narcotics strategy.
But Petro has consistently defended his “Total Peace” policy, arguing that the war on drugs must move away from just persecuting farmers and shift toward dismantling the financial backbone of cartels and taking down criminal leaders.
However, authorities reported 40 arrests for extradition purposes and more than 17,000 arrests related to drug trafficking so far this year. Additionally, the manual eradication of around 2,000 hectares of illicit crops shows that the Colombian administration is maintaining a mixed offensive that combines social policy with high-impact law enforcement.
With the 2026 electoral cycle approaching in Colombia, Petro’s administration is under immense pressure to show that this humanitarian approach is not a sign of weakness before he leaves office.
The post Colombian authorities highlight anti-drug efforts amid US pressure appeared first on The Bogotá Post.
Colombian authorities have captured the alleged crime boss “Mison,” also known as the “invisible narco”, who played a key role in facilitating the arrival of the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua in the capital Bogotá
The suspect, also known as “El Viejo,” was detained in Ecuador and handed over to Colombian authorities at the Rumichaca international border crossing under an Interpol notice, in a joint operation with Ecuadorian officials.
In Colombia, he is wanted on charges including aggravated conspiracy, homicide, drug trafficking and illegal weapons possession. A judge has ordered his pre-trial detention.
Authorities say Mison was the leader of “Los Maracuchos,” a criminal network with a strong presence in three Bogotá districts – Kennedy, Santa Fe and Los Mártires. For more than a decade, he allegedly operated under the guise of a nightlife entrepreneur, owning bars, nightclubs and informal rental properties known as “pagadiarios.”
Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán described the arrest as one of the most significant blows to organized crime in the city in recent years, calling the suspect “almost a myth” within criminal circles.
“He appeared to be a businessman in Bogotá’s nightlife economy, but in reality he was a central figure in a complex criminal structure,” Galán said.
According to investigators, the establishments he controlled served as hubs for drug distribution and were linked to serious crimes, including killings and torture. Among the venues identified by authorities are sites known as “Los Potrillos” and “Hotel Negro.”
Police also allege that Mison played a decisive role in enabling the expansion of Tren de Aragua into Bogotá around 2018, exploiting vulnerable migrant populations to recruit and train individuals for criminal activities. The group, which originated in Venezuela, has expanded across Latin America and is increasingly associated with organized crime in Colombia’s urban centers.
Bogotá Police Chief General Giovanni Cristancho said the arrest followed a two-year investigation involving cross-border cooperation. “He maintained a double life as a businessman while coordinating criminal operations,” noted Cristancho. “He was a pioneer in using ‘pagadiarios’ as operational centers to consolidate territorial control.”
Authorities said Mison fled to Ecuador in 2024 following intensified police pressure in Bogotá, where he continued operating under the cover of a merchant until his location was confirmed.
Prosecutors estimate that he accumulated assets worth more than 20 billion pesos (approximately $5 million), including rural properties, vehicles and real estate held through third parties. Officials say he generated monthly criminal revenues of up to 2 billion pesos through drug trafficking, extortion and other illicit activities.
Bogotá Security Secretary César Restrepo said the suspect’s influence extended beyond narcotics, linking him to extortion networks and contract killings.
“This is not a distant trafficker. He directly fueled violence in Bogotá and is responsible for significant harm to victims across the city,” Restrepo said.
Authorities believe the arrest will disrupt criminal structures tied to drug trafficking and urban violence, although they caution that such networks often adapt quickly.
If convicted, Mison could face a prison sentence of up to 32 years.
The operation is the latest in a series of high-profile security actions in Bogotá, as authorities seek to regain control over criminal networks and restore public safety in key areas of the capital.
Mayor Galán said the result demonstrates that sustained investigations and coordinated efforts can weaken organized crime groups.
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 rate by 100 basis points to 11.25 per cent, defying government pressure for looser policy. Finance minister Germán Ávila denounced the move as “disproportionate” and withdrew from the board, accusing policymakers of privileging financial sector interests over economic growth.
The decision marks an unprecedented rupture in Colombia’s macroeconomic governance framework. By stepping away from the board, Ávila has effectively deprived it of the quorum required to meet under existing statutes, raising the prospect of a policy deadlock just as inflation remains above target.
At stake is more than a disagreement over rates. The confrontation exposes deeper tensions between a government focused on growth and redistribution and a technocratic central bank committed to price stability. It also risks undermining one of Colombia’s most respected institutions at a time of heightened global uncertainty.
Governor Leonardo Villar defended the rate hike, insisting the bank’s constitutional mandate to control inflation could not be subordinated to political considerations. He said the board remained focused on steering inflation back to its 3 per cent target, noting that price pressures — currently running at 5.29 per cent annually — remain elevated despite signs of moderation.
“The decisions are based on technical criteria,” Villar said, rejecting accusations of bias towards the financial sector. He also warned that the government’s withdrawal runs counter to institutional norms.
Markets are now watching whether the government intends to sustain its boycott. Under Colombian law, the presence of a Finance Minister is required for board meetings, meaning continued absence could paralyse rate-setting decisions in the coming months. Three key meetings — in April, June and July — are scheduled before the end of Petro’s term, with the latter two falling after a decisive first-round of the presidential elections.
Business leaders have reacted with alarm. Camilo Sánchez, head of utilities association Andesco, described the breakdown in coordination as “dire”, warning that permanent dialogue between fiscal and monetary authorities is essential for economic stability.
Analysts say the government may be using institutional leverage to halt further rate increases, given that a majority of board members had signalled a tightening bias to anchor inflation expectations. A prolonged standoff could, however, carry significant costs.
Colombia has long been viewed by investors as a regional outlier for its strong central bank independence. Any perception that political pressure is eroding that autonomy could weigh on the peso, increase borrowing costs and deter foreign investment.
The dispute comes against a complex macroeconomic backdrop. Inflation has been fuelled in part by a sharp increase in the minimum wage and higher public spending, while external risks — including rising energy prices linked to the war in the Middle East and closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran.
For Petro, the rate hike reinforces a long-standing critique that tight monetary policy is stifling growth and employment. Writing on social media, the president accused the central bank of pursuing a “suicidal” policy that harms the wider economy.
Yet economists warn that weakening institutional credibility could ultimately prove more damaging than high interest rates. “The risk is not just policy error,” one Bogotá-based analyst said. “It is the erosion of the rules of the game.”
The coming weeks will test whether the standoff is a negotiating tactic or the start of a more fundamental shift in Colombia’s economic governance. Either way, the episode has already injected a new layer of uncertainty into one of Latin America’s most closely watched economies.
The History Channel is scheduled to premiere a new documentary titled Parceros on April 29, 2026. The 43-minute production, developed in collaboration with the Alcaldía de Medellín, examines the social challenges facing youth in the city’s communes and the state-led initiatives designed to mitigate the influence of criminal structures.
The documentary focuses on the Parceros program, an initiative managed by the Secretaría de Seguridad y Convivencia of Medellín. The program provides psychosocial support, academic training, and employment pathways for children, adolescents, and young adults at risk of recruitment by organized crime. According to municipal data, approximately 350 criminal groups operate within Medellín, involving an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 individuals. The program has served over 9,000 participants between 2024 and 2025, with a target of reaching 15,000 individuals by the end of the current four-year term.
“When the public sector works hand in hand with social organizations and media with global reach, the impact is multiplied.” — Federico Gutiérrez, Mayor of Medellín.
Federico Gutiérrez, the Mayor of Medellín, stated that the partnership with international media outlets aims to increase the visibility of the city’s social transformation. He noted that the collaboration between the public sector and global organizations facilitates a broader impact for regional infrastructure and social programs. The documentary features Argentine actor and producer Michel Brown, who serves as the primary narrator and interacts with participants to document their transition from informal or illegal activities toward stable employment and entrepreneurship.
The production follows the individual trajectories of three participants: Marcela, Alejandro, and Juan Sebastian. These accounts detail the transition from situations involving homelessness, illegal activities, and exploitation toward roles in municipal security management, private business ownership, and the local tourism sector. Paulina Patiño, director of the Parceros program, indicated that the initiative focuses on building human capital and providing alternatives to the economic incentives offered by local criminal organizations.
Produced by A+E Networks (NYSE: DIS) in association with Loso Producciones and co-produced by Lulo Films, the project reflects a trend of utilizing high-production-value media to document ESG-related social investments in Latin America. Cesar Sabroso, Senior VP of Marketing at A+E Networks Latin America, emphasized the company’s objective to distribute these narratives across the region to highlight successful intervention models.
Medellín continues to be a focal point for international observers due to its ongoing social transformation and its status as a hub for the global creative economy. The documentary intends to provide a technical look at how targeted social spending and public-private partnerships can alter the demographic trajectory of urban centers in Colombia and the broader US interest area.
Headline photo of Medellín’s Comuna 13 (photo © Loren Moss)
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