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Colombia’s Duque blasts ‘heinous’ pro-abortion ruling

AFP

Colombia’s president on Tuesday described as “heinous” a Constitutional Court ruling decriminalizing abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, a move he said bypassed Congress and a deeply Catholic population.

Colombia on Monday became the fifth Latin American country to decriminalize elective abortion after Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba and Guyana and some states of Mexico.

President Ivan Duque said the decision of five judges against four was one that “concerns the entire Colombian society.”

“Five people (judges) cannot impose on the nation something as heinous as allowing life to be interrupted up to six months” of pregnancy, he told reporters.

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“We are not talking about a life in gestation, but a life that is already viable,” said the president.

Monday’s court ruling established the latest cutoff date for abortion in Latin America.

Previously, it was up to 14 weeks in Argentina.

Until now, abortion was only possible in Colombia in cases of rape, if the health or the woman was in danger, or the fetus had a life-threatening abnormality.

Outside of these limits, anyone who opted for an abortion or performed one risked 16 to 54 months in jail.

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Duque said the matter should be left to Congress to deliberate. 

The legislature can theoretically overturn the court decision, though it will need a majority to do so, and has avoided debating the matter for years.

Hundreds of people celebrated Monday’s court ruling, while others gathered to protest in prayer.

According to information gathered by lobby group Causa Justa, about 5,500 investigations into illegal abortions since 1998 have resulted in about 250 women being arrested.

There are 24 women in prison in Colombia today for having had an abortion, according to the prison authority.

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The Catholic church and other religious groups have repeatedly pushed back against decriminalizing abortion.

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International

Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.

The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.

The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).

“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.

Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”

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International

Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.

Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.

A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”

According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.

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International

Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.

Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.

“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.

“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.

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