Tag: colombia

Report: At Least One US Strike on Boat in The Caribbean Targeted Colombians

At least one of the US military strikes on boats in the Caribbean over the past month and a half targeted Colombian nationals, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing two people briefed by the Pentagon.

The report said that a US strike in the region on September 19 targeted a boat that left Colombia. In a statement on the bombing, which marked the third on a vessel in the region, Trump claimed without evidence that the boat was carrying drugs and that it killed three “narcoterrorists.” He said the attack was carried out in US Southern Command’s area of responsibility, which includes the Caribbean and most of South America.

Notably, the September 19 strike was the only time Trump announced the bombing of a boat in the region and didn’t mention Venezuela. The CNN report said the boat was “suspected of carrying Colombians affiliated with Colombian terrorist organizations,” but the Pentagon was “unable to determine the individual identities of each person on the boats before they struck them.”

The lack of identification suggests that the US War Department doesn’t have the evidence to back up its claims about who it is targeting in the Caribbean. According to a report from The Associated Press, the Pentagon hasn’t provided Congress with any hard evidence to support its allegations about the vessels it has been bombing.

After the September 19 strike, Colombian President Gustavo Petro suggested that the strike may have targeted Colombians. “If the boat was sunk in the Dominican Republic, then it is possible that they were Colombians. This means that officials from the US and the Dominican Republic would be guilty of the murder of Colombian citizens,” he said.

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Mexican and Colombian Cartels Sending Members to Ukraine To Learn To Operate Attack Drones, Changing Drug War Tactics Forever

It’s a clear and present danger to the US.

The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine is generating bad repercussions for Europe and the outside world, such as an energy crisis, military escalations, and other problematic developments.

To the US, there’s a new, dangerous reality that may be about to bring a whole new level of danger, as the Latin American cartels are sending their operatives to Ukraine to be trained in drone warfare.

These criminals are attending the Kill House Academy, a ‘Top Gun school for the drone-warfare era’, according to the British media, a place that trains some of Kiev regime’s best UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) pilots.

It’s actually easy for a cartel member to blend in with the thousands of new Latin American recruits.

The Telegraph reported:

“Among the more promising recent recruits [at the Kill House Academy] was a pilot with the callsign Aguila 7 (Eagle 7) – a former special forces soldier from Mexico, enlisted with Ukraine’s International Legion. But while he excelled at the course, it seemed he had foes other than Russian soldiers in his sights. Eagle 7 was in fact a foot soldier in Mexico’s feared Los Zetas drug cartel and had been sent there to learn drone skills for use in drug wars back home, according to reports.”

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US To Revoke Colombian President’s Visa After He Urged US Soldiers To Defy Orders

The U.S. State Department said on Sept. 26 that it would revoke Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s visa after he called on U.S. soldiers to disobey orders during his visit to New York.

“Earlier today, Colombian president @petrogustavo stood on a NYC street and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence,” the department stated on X.

“We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions,” it added. The department did not provide further details about the incident.

Petro traveled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, though it is unclear whether he is still in the city.

His office shared a series of videos on social media showing him addressing a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters gathering outside UN headquarters in New York on Sept. 26.

“I ask all the soldiers of the U.S. army, do not point your guns at the people,” Petro said through a translator in one of the videos.

Disobey [President Donald] Trump’s orders. Obey the orders of humanity.” 

No soldiers appear to be visible in the videos shared by the Colombian president’s office.

Neither the Colombian government nor Petro has issued a response statement to the U.S. State Department’s decision.

In his Sept. 24 address to the UN General Assembly, Petro called on other nations to form “a powerful army” to help defend Palestine from the Israel-Hamas war, which has been ongoing since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.  

The Colombian president said that diplomacy had failed to resolve the war and that it’s time for the international community to take a different approach.

“We need a powerful army of countries that do not accept genocide. That is why I invite nations of the world and their peoples more than anything, as an integral part of humanity, to bring together weapons and armies to defend Palestine,” Petro said.

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Bodies found in Mexico may be missing Colombian musicians

Mexican authorities have recovered two bodies that match the description of the Colombian musicians reported missing a week ago in the country, the prosecutor’s office in the state of Mexico said on Monday.

Forensic tests were underway to obtain official confirmation of the identities of the deceased, the prosecutor’s office said.

Earlier on Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that local authorities were investigating the whereabouts of reggaeton artist Bayron Sanchez, known as B-King, and Jorge Herrera, a DJ who performed under the name Regio Clown, after Colombian President Gustavo Petro requested Sheinbaum’s aid in locating them.

In a social media post on Monday afternoon, Petro appeared to confirm the musicians’ deaths by sharing a news article saying their bodies were found, blaming an “international mafia” that he said had been strengthened by the “war on drugs.”

“More young people killed by an anti-drug policy that is not an anti-drug policy,” Petro wrote.

On Sunday, the prosecutor’s office in Mexico City, which borders the state of Mexico, said the two artists were last seen on September 16 in Polanco, a high-end neighborhood in the Mexican capital.

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President Trump Rebukes Colombia Over Drug Trafficking Cooperation

The United States has placed Colombia on its list of countries that “fail to co-operate” in fighting drug trafficking — the first time since 1997 — blaming President Gustavo Petro’s government for record cocaine output, according to the Financial Times.

In a statement to Congress, Donald Trump said Colombia’s “coca cultivation and cocaine production have reached record highs” and that the government “failed to meet even its own vastly reduced coca eradication goals.” He argued Bogotá had undermined “years of mutually beneficial co-operation between our two countries against narco-terrorists.”

Colombia, the world’s top cocaine producer, had 253,000 hectares of coca under cultivation in 2023, yielding more than 2,600 tonnes, according to UN figures.

Petro, a former guerrilla who has floated legalising cocaine, denounced the US move: “Decades of our police, soldiers and civilians [dying] . . . in order to stop drugs reaching North American society,” he said, insisting “Everything we do really isn’t about the Colombian people — even if they get affected. It’s about stopping North American society from smearing its noses.”

The Financial Times writes that while criticising Petro’s approach, Trump praised Colombia’s security forces, who he said “continue to show skill and courage in confronting terrorist and criminal groups.” Washington also issued a waiver allowing continued programs that “advance US interests,” potentially preserving military co-operation.

The move reflects rising tensions. For years, Colombia was Washington’s closest anti-narcotics ally, receiving more than $10bn in US military aid under Plan Colombia (2000–2016). But Petro has shifted focus from eradication campaigns to intercepting drug shipments at sea, while violence and production have grown under his “Total Peace” policy.

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Colombian senator and presidential pre-candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay dies after two months in critical condition fighting for his life.

The death of Colombian senator and presidential pre-candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, which occurred today, August 11, 2025, after two months in critical condition due to an armed attack, has shaken Colombia and the continent.

This tragic event, perpetrated on June 7, 2025, by a hitman barely 15 years old, not only claimed the life of a prominent conservative leader from the Democratic Center party, but has also raised alarms about the deterioration of democracy in Colombia under the government of Gustavo Petro.

Uribe Turbay, known for his staunch opposition to Petro’s leftist policies, became a symbol of resistance to what many perceive as an authoritarian drift.

On June 7, 2025, Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot in Bogotá by a teenager who fired at close range.
The senator was struck twice, once in the head, and was rushed to a hospital where he remained in critical condition until his death.

The attack, described by Interior Minister Armando Benedetti as a possible “link in a chain of terrorist attacks,” evoked the worst moments of political violence in Colombia, such as the assassinations of leaders in the 1980s and 1990s.

Uribe Turbay, 38, was a rising figure within the Democratic Center, the party founded by former president Álvaro Uribe.

His critical stance on Petro’s social and economic reforms—especially regarding security and relations with armed groups—made him a target of threats.

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‘No nation is above the law’: Colombia to host international summit against Israeli impunity

More than 20 states will gather in Bogota on 15–16 July to declare “concrete measures” against Israel’s violations of international law, according to diplomats speaking to Middle East Eye.

The summit, co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa, will bring together members and supporters of The Hague Group, a bloc launched in January to confront what it calls “a climate of impunity” surrounding Israel’s actions in Gaza.

The group includes Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal, and South Africa, with additional countries such as Spain, Ireland, Turkiye, Portugal, China, Qatar, Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Oman, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Uruguay, and Palestine set to attend.

Colombian Vice-Minister of Multilateral Affairs Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir said the summit would not only reaffirm the group’s resistance to the ongoing “Palestinian genocide,” but also outline specific steps to move from words to collective action. 

“Colombia cannot be indifferent in the face of apartheid and ethnic cleansing,” he said.

The conference will be hosted at the Museo Nacional de Colombia under the banner Collective Action in Defense of Palestine, with keynote remarks to be delivered by UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese – who was recently sanctioned by the US for what US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called a “campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel.”

Other speakers include UK parliamentarian Jeremy Corbyn, EU lawmaker Rima Hassan, and Andres Macias Tolosa of the UN Working Group on Mercenaries. Colombia’s Minister of Culture, Yannai Kadamani Fonrodona, will also participate.

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US Reassesses Relations With Colombia As Crime And Cocaine Surge Under Leftist Regime 

The Trump administration recalled its top diplomat in Colombia, John McNamara, for “urgent consultations” on Thursday in response to what it described as “baseless and reprehensible” statements from senior Colombian officials. While the State Department did not specify which remarks prompted the move, it indicated that further actions would follow. In response, Colombian President Gustavo Petro recalled his country’s ambassador to the U.S., citing the need to reassess the bilateral relationship.

Tensions between the two nations have been rising, exacerbated by the recent shooting of opposition Senator Miguel Uribe, which U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed on inflammatory rhetoric from Colombia’s far-left government.

Earlier in the year, President Petro refused to accept deportation flights from the U.S., prompting President Trump to threaten tariffs and sanctions; however, that dispute was ultimately defused. Colombian Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia resigned amid the diplomatic fallout. 

The deterioration in bilateral relations comes as Colombia’s security situation has deteriorated under President Petro’s leftist regime. Once a close ally of the U.S., Colombia has descended into crime and chaos, with coca cultivation surging. 

Coca cultivation rose 10% last year to 253,000 hectares — enough to produce more than 2,600 tons of the drug. The National Liberation Army, or ELN, capitalized on the boom, seizing full control of the Catatumbo region near the Venezuelan border, one of the world’s most prolific drug corridors. -Bloomberg

Petro’s “total peace” policy—centered on negotiating with drug cartels—has deeply frustrated the Trump administration, which has spent several months seeking to dismantle cartel command-and-control networks across the Americas to stop the flow of illicit drugs into the U.S. 

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Arizona gun shop at center of plot to assassinate Colombian presidential candidate

The gun used by a teenager to shoot a Colombian presidential candidate was ‘acquired’ through an Arizona gun shop, law enforcement source has revealed Monday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told El Tiempo newspaper that Juan Sebastían Rodríguez Casallas, 14, shot Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay with a 9mm Glock what was bought on August 6, 2020.

The source also said that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was also able to confirm that the weapon has been purchased at AJI Sporting Goods in Mesa.

In addition, the law enforcement agent told the outlet that the ATF was able to identify the name of the purchase, Charles Joe Anderson.

‘It is a model of Austrian origin, unusual in actions of this type within the country, which has activated protocols to track its arrival in the hands of the hitman,’ the official said.

Colombian National Police director, General Carlos Triana, said during a press conference Monday also confirmed that the weapon was legally purchased in Arizona and said investigators were looking into how the gun made its way to Colombia.

An ATF spokesperson told DailyMail.com that it could not confirm or deny the report.

AJI Sporting Goods owner, Jeff Serdy, told DailyMail.com that he had not been contacted by federal officials from Colombia and the United States as of Monday.

Serdy confirmed that Anderson acquired the weapon via a ‘transfer’ and that his gun shop received a $30 fee. 

‘For the record all state and federal laws were very strictly followed during this transaction,’ Serdy said. 

The gun was purchased from another store, whose name Serdy was unable to share. 

A 2024 Colombian National Police report showed that at least 3,954 guns that seized were made in the United States. Another 805 were manufactured in Italy and 414 were made in Germany.

Video footage showed Senator Uribe Turbay, who is planning to run in the 2026 presidential elections, addressing a crowd of about 250 residents Saturday afternoon in Fontibon, a neighborhood in the Colombia capital city of Bogotá.

Rodríguez Casallas could be seen standing several feet away from Uribe Turbay, who was starting to make his point about how his administration would combat mental illness, when he shot the lawmaker in the back of the head and fired about five more shots.

A surveillance video showed the teen shooter racing out of the park and running down a street as Uribe Turbay’s bodyguards chased after him.

A second video showed Rodríguez Casallas hobbling towards a gated residential complex and then turning around to aim his gun at the guards.

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An attempted assassination of senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe shakes Colombia and revives the ghosts of political violence.

This Saturday, June 7, 2025, an attack shook Colombia and reignited fears of a past marked by political violence and drug trafficking.

Senator and presidential pre-candidate for the Democratic Center party, Miguel Uribe Turbay, was shot in the head while attending a campaign event in the Fontibón district of Bogotá.

The incident, which left the politician in critical condition, has sparked a national debate about the country’s security and stability.

According to multiple media reports, the attack occurred around 5:00 p.m. at El Golfito Park, in the Modelia neighborhood of Bogotá, during a political event organized by the Democratic Center. Uribe, 39, was shot multiple times from behind by an armed individual.

Reports vary on the number of bullets fired, with sources citing between two and six shots—at least one of them hitting the head or neck.

Videos shared on social media capture the moment of panic following the shooting, showing Uribe covered in blood as he was rushed to Clínica Colombia.

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