Colombia

BOGOTA, May 2. /TASS/: Colombian President Ivan Duque has ordered to bring troops to those cities where protest rallies against tax reform accompanied by vandalism and public order violations continue.

"The factor of military presence will be in effect in those cities where a great risk for lives of citizens exists," he said in a video address published on his administration’s Twitter page on Saturday.

The president stressed that the servicemen "are trained to work in urban conditions and will provide support to police."

BOGOTA, March 19 (NNN-TELESUR) — Colombians have rejected the appearance of several posters with xenophobic comments against Venezuelan citizens living in Bogota.

The posters read, “Those rats are killing us. Don’t give them handouts, food, or clothes. Don’t rent them or give them work. Don’t be an accomplice to their crimes.”

The signs were taped on poles and home facades in Bogota’s southwestern communities, where thefts have upsurged in recent weeks.

BOGOTA. Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Colombia’s military carried out at least 6,400 extrajudicial killings and presented them as combat deaths between 2002 and 2008, a number significantly higher than previously estimated, a special court said.

The court, called the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, is investigating crimes and atrocities committed during half a century of armed conflict between government troops and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Marxist rebels who laid down their weapons following a historic 2016 peace accord.

BOGOTA, Feb 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 12 people have died, including seven children, after two vessels sank close to a port on Colombia’s Pacific coast.

Naval authorities say the causes of the incident are still being investigated.

The vessels sank on Saturday close to Tumaco, Colombia’s second most-important Pacific port, Admiral Jose David Espitia, commander of the Poseidon anti-drugs task force, said.

“Unfortunately, there are 12 deceased,” he said.

BOGOTA, January 11. /TASS/: The latest developments in the United States show that American society is sorely divided, with the country on the brink of a civil war, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said during a speech in Caracas Sunday.

"The United States is in a crisis. Joe Biden’s term as president will start under the worst scenario which includes hostile polarization, a split, animosity and confrontation. Virtually on the verge of a civil war," he noted.

BOGOTA, January 11. /TASS/: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has stressed that his US counterpart Donald Trump sought to destroy Venezuela and kill Maduro himself during his presidency.

"Donald Trump’s main goal during [his] four years in power was Venezuela, to destroy us and me. He advocated assassinating me a couple of times," Maduro said during a speech in Caracas.

The leader believes that Trump symbolizes "sheer hatred, violence and aggression in global politics."

BOGOTA (Colombia), Nov 21 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Amid a breakdown in relations and absence of US diplomats in Venezuela, Washington has named its first ambassador for the South American country for the first time in a decade.

However he will carry out his duties from the capital of neighboring Colombia, Bogotá.

BOGOTA, Nov 18 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Colombia has requested a more than four-year extension under the Ottawa Treaty for removing landmines from across the country, the High Peace Commissioner’s office said.

If the request is granted, Colombia will have until the end of 2025 to remove anti-personnel landmines from its territory. The decision will be made on Nov 20.

The reason for the extension is to buy more time to finish active de-mining operations, High Peace Commissioner Miguel Ceballos said in a statement.

BOGOTA, Nov 11 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – An explosion at a coal mine in the Colombian city of Topaga, in the central department of Boyaca, which was caused by the accumulation of gases, left two people dead and another two injured, local authorities said.

“Two of the workers were found without vital signs and with severe burns,” Topaga’s mayor Alvaro Barrera said.

Members of the National Mining Agency, Boyaca Police and Civil Defence arrived at the scene after the explosion was reported to begin rescue efforts, he said.

MEDELLIN, Colombia (AP) — Two Venezuelan businessmen once convicted in the U.S. as unregistered agents of the late Hugo Chavez have scored a major victory in a Miami courtroom in a bitter fight for control of the South American country’s largest private airline.

While Avior Airlines has largely been grounded by U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic, the investors hope to recover at least some of its assets, including a regional airline in neighboring Colombia.