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: ILO to Keep an Eye on Labour Rights

Cases of violence against trade unionists and violations of labour standards committed in Colombia were presented to an International Labour Organisation (ILO) panel of legal experts, which will instruct the Colombian state to modify its policies and will hold the government accountable, said labour representatives from that country.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Defending Women’s Defenders

After nearly six years of the "democratic security" policy of the government of rightwing President Álvaro Uribe, women activists in Colombia are as vulnerable to human rights abuses as ever, said female rights defenders who met recently in the Colombian capital.

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.

POLITICS: U.S. Praises Colombia at OAS Meet

Stressing U.S. commitment to the Colombian government's controversial efforts to rid the country of "narcoterrorists", which have included briefly invading a neighbouring country to attack guerrilla forces, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said Monday that Colombia was "an outstanding example" of what can be achieved through a commitment to democracy and good governance.

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.

LATIN AMERICA: Governing Leftist Parties Discuss ‘Change of Era’

Supporting leftwing parties in government, strengthening democracy, redirecting the state towards its role in redistributing resources and promoting Latin American integration were major points of agreement at the 14th Sao Paulo Forum, which took place in the Uruguayan capital.

COLOMBIA: No Big Changes Expected after Rebel Chief’s Death

The death and replacement of FARC chief "Manuel Marulanda" will bring neither a breakdown nor a change in direction in the Colombian rebel group, which has been militarily weakened and has fallen silent on the political front, according to experts on Latin America’s longest-lived guerrilla movement.

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.

NICARAGUA: Asylum for Survivors of Attack on FARC Camp

The Nicaraguan government of Daniel Ortega granted asylum to two young Colombian women who survived a Mar. 1 bombing raid by the armed forces of their country on a FARC guerrilla camp in Ecuador.

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.

RELIGION: Ethics – The Best Weapon Against Domestic Violence

Domestic violence, which is widespread in Latin America as in the rest of the world, makes it imperative to recover ethics as the core value for practices and efforts aimed at creating more equitable and just societies.

ECUADOR-COLOMBIA: No Ready Solution in Sight

The diplomatic row between Ecuador and Colombia that was triggered by the Mar. 1 Colombian bombing raid of a FARC rebel camp in Ecuadorean territory unleashed a flurry of mutual accusations and cast a pall of uncertainty over the future relations between the neighbouring countries.

ECUADOR: ‘CIA Infiltration’ Charges Prompt Shake-Up in Armed Forces

President Rafael Correa’s allegations that intelligence services in Ecuador had been infiltrated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have led to a shake-up in the armed forces of unforeseeable consequences.

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.

TRADE-US: Bush Faces Uphill Battle on Colombia Trade Pact

As U.S. President George W. Bush Tuesday formally submitted his free trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia to Congress, most analysts agreed that the White House faces a tough, uphill fight to get it approved, particularly in the House of Representatives.