ELECTIONS-COLOMBIA: Unexpected Paramilitary Defeat in Cesar

Night falls and some 200 honking motorcycles and mopeds make their way along a tree-lined central avenue of the capital of the northeastern Colombian department of Cesar, celebrating the victory of governor-elect Cristian Moreno, "the candidate of the poor," in one of the birthplaces of the far-right paramilitary militias.

COLOMBIA: War Orphans Sound Alert on Paramilitary Candidates

"The parapolitics scandal has new names," said the Daughters and Sons for Memory and Against Impunity movement, which warned that paramilitary groups will meddle in Sunday’s local and regional elections in Colombia.

ENVIRONMENT-COLOMBIA: The Unusual Wealth of the Choco

"Let's go to the sea, let's go to the sea," one hears a nervous voice say every so often in the fishing village of Bahía Solano, on the Colombian Pacific coast. A package has been seen floating and boats are going after a not-so-traditional catch: cocaine thrown out by fleeing drug traffickers.

COLOMBIA: The ‘Other’ Death Penalty

"It was you yourselves who killed my daddy," snapped the 12-year-old campesino girl before walking away, leaving the soldier talking to himself. He had just entered the family’s small farmhouse in southern Colombia while the rest of the troops waited outside, and asked after "the owner."

The Unusual Wealth of the Chocó

Colombia's megadiverse Chocó region lacks a sustainable development plan. A handful of researchers are looking for the key to prosperity for its extremely poor communities.

COLOMBIA: UN Rapporteur Studies Effects of Coca Spraying in Ecuador

Aerial spraying of drug crops along Colombia’s border with Ecuador must be brought to a halt until the government of Álvaro Uribe proves its claim that the practice is harmless, warned a United Nations official.

COLOMBIA: Death Threats for Tracing Paramilitary Expansion

Death threats have been received by members of a think tank in the Colombian capital that published a new book describing the expansion of ultra-rightwing paramilitary militias in several provinces of Colombia and their alliance with local politicians.

COLOMBIA: Chavez Brokers Pact for Gov’t-FARC Talks

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s efforts to broker a humanitarian agreement for the release of hostages held by Colombia’s guerrillas have already begun to bear fruit.

COLOMBIA: New Videos Shed Light on Palace of Justice Massacre

Judge Carlos Horacio Urán walked out of Colombia’s Palace of Justice alive after it was seized by guerrillas in 1985. But his body was found inside the building when the 27-hour siege came to an end.

COLOMBIA: FARC Hostages Died in Military-Rebel Shootout

The deaths of 11 of the 12 regional lawmakers being held hostage by Colombia’s FARC rebels may have occurred in the midst of fighting between the insurgents guarding the hostages and the "Junglas", an elite military unit, according to a reconstruction of events based on interviews by IPS.

COLOMBIA: Uribe Prepared to Sign Agreement with ELN

The Colombian government has essentially opened up its exploratory talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) to civil society representatives, while saying it is "willing" to sign an initial agreement with the rebel group. If the proposal is successful, it could mean the release of as many as 200 kidnap victims held by the guerrillas.

COLOMBIA: Reporters Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Between 6:00 and 7:00 AM Friday there was no regular news broadcast in the northeastern Colombian town of Saravena. Instead, the Notifrontera news team of the Sarare Estéreo radio station read out a brief statement and played Colombian folk music.

COLOMBIA: ‘Peace Walker’ Welcomed by Tens of Thousands

Colombian teacher Gustavo Moncayo has collected more than two million signatures in favour of a swap of imprisoned guerrillas for hostages held by the leftist rebels - including his son - as he walked from southwestern Colombia to the capital, which he reached Wednesday, welcomed by millions of supporters.

MEDIA: Poverty, Development Goals Hard Subjects to Tackle

Water used to be carried home, usually by women, in large jugs, as is still the case in many poor countries. But now that many people around the world have piped water, they go to the supermarket to buy bottled water.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: ‘Parapolitics’ Immunity Loophole Closing

Colombia's Attorney General has asked that all cases against politicians for alleged links with rightwing paramilitaries commanded by drug traffickers be tried in the capital city. Human rights lawyers are applauding the move.

COLOMBIA: Displaced People Find Relative Calm in Bogota

What do Colombian children displaced by the war like most about this city? The tall buildings, the avenues, the museums and the cars. They love the parks, the sports fields and the rides in the amusement parks, according to a report by the Catholic Church and the main non-governmental source on displaced people.

COLOMBIA-ECUADOR: Coca Spraying Makes for Toxic Relations

Ecuador is making its final preparations to bring suit against Colombia in the International Court of Justice at The Hague over anti-coca spraying carried out by Colombia along their shared border. Quito had already given notice of its intentions.

LABOUR-COLOMBIA: Foreign Firms Urged to Help Prevent Rights Abuses

Amnesty International is calling on foreign companies operating in Colombia to use their influence on the government "to end and prevent human rights abuses against trade unionists."

COLOMBIA-ECUADOR: ‘There Are No Plants or Animals Left’

A new U.S. government report acknowledges that coca crops expanded last year in Colombia, despite the heavy herbicide spraying carried out under Plan Colombia, which has been loudly protested by neighbouring Ecuador for causing damages to human and animal health and food crops in border areas.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: ‘You Can’t Stop Thinking About Their Agony’

"The people who go up there to talk are really brave," B., a poor 39-year-old black woman, told IPS. She was only able to identify the body of her 20-year-old son, a victim of one of the countless massacres of young men in this Colombian port city, from surgical scars on one of his limbs.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Don’t Cross that Invisible Line

"We can't go from one barrio to another. Whoever does that is at risk of losing their life," a community organiser in this Pacific port city in Colombia told IPS.