International
Colombian court thwarts plans to spray drug crops
AFP
A Colombian court has ruled that the government cannot conduct anti-drug fumigation without the consent of rural communities, in a blow to plans to resume an aerial assault on coca cultivation.
The Constitutional Court ruled in favor of rural, black and indigenous communities who sought judicial relief against government plans to renew spraying with the controversial glyphosate herbicide.
They claim the chemical causes disease, destroys traditional crops and pollutes the water.
The court, in an order obtained Wednesday, ordered authorities to consult residents of areas to be sprayed and find agreement before doing so.
It set a deadline of one year for agreement to be reached, effectively stopping the practice from resuming on the watch of President Ivan Duque, who completes a four-year term in August with no option of re-election.
Colombia, the world’s largest producer of coca, the raw material used to make cocaine, stopped its anti-drug spraying in 2015 after the World Health Organization classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen.
A court then made the program’s resumption conditional on minimizing the impact of the herbicide, but even that has now been stalled.
Duque’s government links drug trafficking with a resurgence of violence following a 2016 peace accord with leftist rebels that officially ended decades of conflict. So it has been keen to resume spraying.
In 2020, Colombia had 143,000 hectares of coca, according to a UN report.
Human Rights Watch welcomed the judges’ decision.
“Spraying coca with glyphosate is an inefficient policy and a threat to basic human rights. It should never be carried out, much less without proper consultation with the affected communities,” HRW spokesman Juan Pappier said on Twitter.
Central America
Guatemala’s Attorney General Consuelo Porras Loses Bid for Constitutional Court Seat
Guatemala’s attorney general, Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by the United States over corruption allegations, lost a key vote on Monday in which a public university selected two of the 10 magistrates for the country’s highest constitutional court. However, she could still seek a seat through another nominating body.
The election of five full magistrates and five alternates to the Corte de Constitucionalidad (CC) is taking place gradually over more than two months and is considered crucial in the ongoing struggle for control of Guatemala’s judiciary, which critics say has long been influenced by a political and economic elite accused of corruption.
According to results announced at a press conference, the governing council of the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC) rejected Porras, who had applied as either a full or alternate magistrate, and instead chose two candidates aligned with the university rector. The vote was held at a hotel in Antigua, about 35 kilometers from the capital.
Despite the setback, Porras — whose term as attorney general ends on May 16 — could still be nominated to the Constitutional Court by the Corte Suprema de Justicia, which appoints two magistrates. The remaining six are selected by the president, the bar association and Congress.
“It’s always a possibility,” the 72-year-old lawyer said days earlier when asked by reporters whether she would seek nomination through another institution if she lost the USAC vote.
Porras has been sanctioned by Washington and the European Union for allegedly attempting two years ago to block the inauguration of President Bernardo Arévalo and for pursuing legal actions against anti-corruption prosecutors, judges, journalists and social leaders since taking office in 2018.
The USAC vote was controversial because most members of the university’s governing council are serving beyond the expiration of their terms. Students, academics and social activists staged protests against Porras’ candidacy.
International
Florida judge sets 2027 trial in Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against BBC
A federal judge in Florida has scheduled February 2027 for the trial in the lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump against the BBC, in which he is seeking $10 billion in damages for defamation.
Trump accuses the British broadcaster of airing a misleading edit of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, which, he says, made it appear that he explicitly urged his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
The president filed the suit in December in federal court in Florida, alleging defamation and violations of a law governing business practices when the program was broadcast ahead of the 2024 election.
Trump is seeking $5 billion in damages for each of the two claims.
Lawyers for the BBC unsuccessfully asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Trump had not suffered a “legally recognizable harm,” since the investigative program Panorama, which included the edited footage, aired outside the United States.
International
Head-of-state diplomacy key to guiding China–U.S. ties, Beijing says
Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–United States relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday during a regular press briefing, when asked about high-level exchanges between the two sides.
Lin added that in a recent phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump once again expressed his intention to visit China in April, while Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his invitation.
Both sides remain in communication regarding the matter, the spokesperson said.
Lin noted that the essence of China–U.S. economic and trade ties lies in mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
“Both parties should work together to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, injecting greater certainty and stability into China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as well as into the global economy,” he said.
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