International

Colombia, rebels, seek US involvement in peace talks

Photo: Reuters

| By AFP |

Colombia’s government and the National Liberation Army (ELN), the last recognized rebel group in the country, said Friday they would invite the United States to join their peace process.

The talks are an initiative by President Gustavo Petro, who in August became Colombia’s first-ever leftist leader, and has vowed a less bellicose approach to ending violence wrought by armed groups, including leftist guerrillas and drug traffickers.

The parties resumed formal talks in Venezuela on Monday for the first time since 2019.

They agreed to reach out to the United States via diplomatic channels “to find out its willingness to participate in the process” and send a special envoy, according to a statement from Norway, one of the guarantors of the talks.

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The statement said the talks had taken place in an environment of “trust and optimism.”

The parties also agreed to invite Brazil, Chile, and Mexico to join Norway, Cuba, and Venezuela as guarantors of the process.

Germany, Switzerland, and Spain would also be invited as “accompanying countries.”

Around 30 delegates are attending the talks which are expected to last three weeks.

Colombia has suffered more than half a century of armed conflict between the state and various groups of left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers.

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The ELN started as a leftist ideological movement in 1964 before turning to crime, focusing on kidnapping, extortion of the oil industry, and drug trafficking in Colombia and neighboring Venezuela.

It has around 2,500 members, about 700 more than it did when negotiations were last broken off. The group is primarily active in the Pacific region and along the 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) border with Venezuela.

Dialogue with the group started in 2016 under ex-president Juan Manuel Santos, who signed a peace treaty with the larger Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group that subsequently abandoned its weapons and created a political party.

But the talks with the ELN were called off in 2019 by conservative former president Ivan Duque following a car bomb attack on a police academy in Bogota that left 22 people dead.

Petro — himself a former guerrilla — reached out to the ELN shortly after coming to power, as part of his “total peace” policy.

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International

Ten Bodies Found in Mexico’s Zacatecas State Amid Security Operation

Mexican authorities discovered the bodies of 10 people on Saturday in the central state of Zacatecas, a region that was heavily affected by organized crime violence just a few years ago.

The victims were found in different municipalities across the state, which experienced a surge in violence between 2021 and 2022 as rival criminal groups fought for control of key drug trafficking routes.

Rodrigo Reyes, secretary general of the Zacatecas state government, said on social media that the bodies were located in the municipalities of Morelos, Pánuco, and Sain Alto.

Authorities have not yet disclosed the causes of death or identified those responsible for the killings.

Reyes said security forces have launched a coordinated operation to locate those behind the crimes and strengthen the police presence in the affected areas as the investigation continues.

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International

U.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists

The United States has announced new limits on the legal length of stay for foreign students and journalists, marking the latest tightening of immigration policies under President Donald Trump.

The changes, outlined in an administrative rule published on Thursday, are expected to take effect in September, unless Congress blocks the measure.

Under the new policy, holders of student visas will be allowed to remain in the United States for no more than four years.

Foreign journalists will be limited to 240-day stays—approximately eight months—with the possibility of applying for extensions of the same duration.

The policy imposes even stricter rules on Chinese journalists, whose visas will be capped at 90 days.

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More than 100 international news organizations and press freedom groups, including Agence France-Presse (AFP), criticized the measure in an open letter, arguing that it would reduce both the quantity and quality of international coverage of events in the United States.

The Republican Party, led by President Trump, currently holds a majority in Congress and has pledged to curb both illegal immigration and certain forms of legal immigration.

Previously, the United States generally issued student visas for the full duration of an academic program, while foreign journalists could receive visas valid for up to five years.

Central America

Nicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute

The Nicaraguan government announced on Thursday that it is severing diplomatic relations with Italy following criticism from the Italian government over Nicaragua’s long-standing decision to shelter Alessio Casimirri, a former member of the Red Brigades convicted in Italy for the 1978 kidnapping and murder of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani criticized the administration of co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo on Wednesday for continuing to provide refuge to Casimirri, who was sentenced in Italy to six life terms for his role in Moro’s abduction and killing.

In a statement issued Thursday, Nicaragua’s Foreign Ministry said it was ending all diplomatic relations with Italy, describing Tajani’s remarks as “unjustified, aggressive, and irresponsible.”

Tajani made the comments during a gathering of conservative leaders from Europe and Latin America held in Madrid.

“We have absolutely nothing in common with the positions of extremist governments such as Nicaragua, a country that continues to harbor dangerous Red Brigades terrorists like Alessio Casimirri,” Tajani said, according to Italian media.

The diplomatic break marks a new escalation in tensions between the two countries over the decades-old case involving Casimirri, who has lived in Nicaragua for many years despite repeated calls from Italy for his extradition.