COLOMBIA: Torture as a ‘Side Effect’ of Forced Disappearance, Killings

The body of trade unionist Guillermo Rivera, who was missing since April, was finally found after 84 days of desperate searching by his family and friends.

COLOMBIA: Hostage Rescue, According to Captured Guerrilla Leader

"Occupation: Guerrilla. Address: Colombian mountains. Distinguishing marks: Combat scars." That is how Gerardo Aguilar, alias "César" and Alexander Farfán, "Enrique Gafas," answered questions on forms for their extradition to the United States.

COLOMBIA: Questions Surround Foreign Role in Hostage Rescue

Among the many questions raised by Operation Check, which ended with the Jul. 2 release of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) hostages Ingrid Betancourt, three U.S. contractors and 11 members of the Colombian army and police, is the role played by the United States, France and Switzerland.

COLOMBIA: Uribe’s 2006 Reelection “Flawed” – Supreme Court

At the same time that Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was welcoming U.S. Republican presidential hopeful John McCain in the north of the country, the Supreme Court issued a communiqué calling on the government to "respect and obey the decisions" of the courts.

COLOMBIA: Betancourt Freed in Military Intelligence Operation

Former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, three U.S. military contractors and 11 Colombian police officers and soldiers held hostage by the guerrillas were rescued Wednesday in a military intelligence operation.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Making the ‘Disappeared’ Reappear

"When they bring in (heads that still have) eyes, we close them, because it’s sad to see that look of terror, as if the killers were reflected in their glassy eyes. Those armed men stuck in the depth of the eyes of the dead scare us; they look like they want to kill us too.

COLOMBIA: Hostages’ Deaths Still a Mystery, One Year On

Eleven wax palms, Colombia’s national tree, will be planted in the botanical garden in the capital in memory of 11 regional lawmakers who were killed a year ago after spending more than five years as hostages in the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas.

COLOMBIA: Death Cannot Defeat Life in War-Torn Guaviare

Halfway along the 28-km stretch of road between the towns of San José and El Retorno in the war-torn south-central Colombian province of Guaviare, there is a young "ceiba" tree that emerged after a venerable old ceiba tree, which had grown there for decades, died.

RIGHTS-AMERICAS: Slow Progress Along a Difficult Road

Although it is proceeding "at a very slow pace," the current trend in the Americas is towards a "strengthening of human rights," said activist María Victoria Fallon ahead of the 38th general assembly of the Organisation of American States (OAS), taking place in Colombia.

COLOMBIA: Hostage-Prisoner Swap a Mirage

"It is painful to die without seeing my son free," said 62-year-old Pedro Manuel Pérez eight days before he died of leukaemia. His funeral in the northern Colombian city of Riohacha put an end to his 10-year wait for the release of his hostage son by the FARC guerrillas.

COLOMBIA: Interpol Notes Improper Initial Handling of FARC Laptops

Interpol reported Thursday that the files found on computers that Colombia seized from a FARC guerrilla camp in March were not tampered with and did belong to the rebel group.

COLOMBIA: Extradition of Paramilitary Chiefs – a Blow to Truth

Fourteen former paramilitary chiefs were quietly extradited from Colombia to the United States before dawn on Tuesday on drug trafficking charges, in a move that drew criticism from human rights experts.

COLOMBIA: Therapeutic Abortion – A Right in Name Only?

A woman in Pasto, the capital of the western Colombian province of Nariño, found out that the baby she was expecting was severely deformed. But when she went to the provincial university hospital for an abortion, the chief obstetrician gynaecologist told her that "If your son is born deformed, take him to a circus."

COLOMBIA: "Mark Him on the Ballot – The One Wearing Glasses"

"With Uribe, we thought: this is the guy who is going to change the country," the 41-year-old fisherwoman told IPS.

COLOMBIA-US: Fight Over Trade Deal Is On

Although the Democratic Party has made it clear that it will oppose the free trade agreement with Colombia, President George W. Bush sent the trade deal Tuesday to the U.S. Congress, which now has 90 working days to vote on it.

COLOMBIA: On the Verge of Death?

It is still uncertain whether a European humanitarian mission sent to Colombia by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to provide emergency medical aid to French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt will be received by the FARC guerrillas.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Paramilitarism Alive and Well

"If their slogan was land, dignity and peace, this time it will be terror, murder and hell," said a threat sent to human rights defenders and trade unionists who took part in a Mar. 6 march in homage to the victims of Colombia’s far-right paramilitary groups.

COLOMBIA-ECUADOR: OAS Rejects Military Incursion

After 14 hours of deliberation, the foreign ministers of the members of the Organisation of American States (OAS) announced Tuesday that they "reject" Colombia’s recent cross-border incursion into Ecuador, which was carried out "without the knowledge or prior consent of the government" of that country.

COLOMBIA: Hostage Talks “Still Alive,” Despite Diplomatic Crisis

European envoys met over the weekend with members of the FARC rebel group’s central leadership to discuss how to move ahead in the efforts to negotiate a humanitarian exchange aimed at securing the release of Ingrid Betancourt and the rest of the hostages held in the jungle by the guerrillas.

COLOMBIA: Displaced to March Against “Senseless War”

A statement issued by a number of organisations of internally displaced persons in Colombia calls the country’s four-decade armed conflict a "senseless war" and announces their participation in a national and global demonstration scheduled for Mar. 6.

COLOMBIA: A New Life for Freed Hostages and Their Families

Wednesday marked the start of a new chapter in the life of Ángela Rodríguez. Her husband, Luis Eladio Pérez, who was taken hostage in June 2001 by Colombia’s FARC guerrillas, returned home after being held captive in the jungle for nearly seven years.