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Colombia: Petro announces departure of three ministers, including one critical of healthcare reform

Colombia: Petro announces departure of three ministers, including one critical of healthcare reform
Photo: Presidency of the Republic of Colombia

February 28 |

The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced on Monday night the departure of three of his ministers, including Alejandro Gaviria, former head of the education portfolio, one of the strongest critics of the proposed health reform, which has generated controversy within and outside the administration.

During a speech from the Casa de Nariño, the President also announced the departure of the Minister of Sports, María Isabel Urrutia, and the Minister of Culture, Patricia Ariza.

“I thank the services rendered by Ministers Alejandro Gaviria, María Isabel Urrutia and Patricia Ariza, with their contributions they have contributed to enrich the debate and to initiate the changes for which the country voted. And I invite them to help us build this social pact from wherever they are”, said the President.

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Ariza and Urrutia told local media that they were not notified by the president of their departure before the public announcement. According to Caracol Noticias, Gaviria was summoned by Petro in the afternoon to ask for his resignation.

Aurora Vergara will replace Gaviria and Astrid Rodríguez will be in charge of the Sports portfolio, so that “with new energies” they can “culminate the process of reforms initiated”, stated the president.

The announcements are made in the framework of a health reform project that Petro’s government is working on and which was submitted to Congress by Minister Carolina Corcho in mid-February.

“This government of change will not give up on reforms to improve health, pensions and fair working conditions for all Colombians,” said the head of state during his speech.

“We will continue to seek consensus and agreements to consolidate and deepen our reforms. My cabinet and I, as President of the Republic, remain committed to achieve not only reforms, but reforms that substantially improve the lives of all Colombians”, he added.

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On Monday morning, the Colombian president had confirmed the authenticity of a document presented by three ministers -among them, Gaviria-, with objections to the health reform and which, according to the leader of the left, “was discussed for hours and days”, by himself and “by the technical teams that were appointed for that purpose”.

The fiscal impact, the need for a prior consultation, which will have to be debated as a statutory law – not as an ordinary law, as it is currently being processed – and the maintenance of a mixed health system with the participation of the Health Promoting Entities are the main concerns expressed by the ministers in the letter.

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International

Biden emphasizes that US support for Israel against Iran is “steal”

US President Joe Biden stressed after meeting with his National Security team that the United States’ commitment to Israel against Iran is “stiron.”

The president accompanied his message in X with a photo of the meeting in the crisis room of the White House, known as the ‘Situation Room’, in which he is next to the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, among others.

Both Biden and Blinken, who appear from the front, are seen with a serious countenance, in a suit but without a tie.

The National Security team, an emergency meeting this Saturday afternoon, also included the director of the CIA, Bill Burns; the White House National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, and the head of the Joint Chief of Staff, Charles Brown, among others, as previously reported by the White House.

Biden had planned to spend the weekend at his beach residence in Delaware but returned unexpectedly just before the Iranian attack on Israel was confirmed.

That offensive comes in retaliation against Israel for the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus that killed seven members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, in addition to destroying the building attached to the Tehran embassy, which was the residence of the Iranian ambassador.

US President Joe Biden assured the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of his support against Iran. He assured that US forces have helped to stop that attack and advanced that he will summon his G7 counterparts to coordinate a diplomatic response.

“I have told him that Israel has demonstrated a remarkable ability to defend itself against and even defeat unprecedented attacks – sending a key message to its enemies that they cannot effectively threaten Israel’s security,” he said in a statement released by the White House.

The presidential statement assures that the United States helped Israel tonight to “smoill almost all incoming drones and missiles” launched by Iran or its allied militias in the region, which the Israeli Ministry of Defense quantified at just over 200.

Since the US Presidency, US support had been reaffirmed in recent days and this same Saturday, but this phone call offered the Democratic president the opportunity to communicate it directly to Netanyahu on the same day that Iran fulfilled its threat.

Biden pointed out that under his instructions, and to support the defense of Israel, last week the US Army moved planes and defense destroyers against ballistic missiles to the region.

The president condemned the Iranian attack “as firmly as possible.” He recalled that it originated, not only in Iran, but also in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, where Allied militias in Tehran operate.

This Sunday, according to Biden, the United States will summon the rest of the G7 leaders “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.”

Biden added that although the United States has not recorded attacks against its forces or facilities this Saturday, it will remain vigilant about it and will not hesitate to “take the necessary steps” to protect its people.

The Pentagon reported that its forces in the Middle East remain in an alert position to protect its soldiers and allies after intercepting “dozens of missiles and drones aimed at Israel” launched by Iran and its allied militias.

“US forces in the Middle East on April 13 intercepted dozens of missiles and drones aimed at Israel launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Our forces remain deployed to protect US troops and our allies in the region, provide support to Israeli defense and promote regional stability,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

My team will get in touch with its counterparts throughout the region and we will keep in close contact with the leaders of Israel,” he said.

The head of the Pentagon condemned “the unprecedented and irresponsible attacks” of Iran and its allies, and asked them to stop any plan for new attacks and reduce the escalation of tension with Israel.

“We are not looking for the conflict with Iran, but we will not hesitate to act to protect our forces and in support of the defense of Israel,” Austin said.

Former US President and electoral pre-candidate Donald Trump (2017-2021) showed the country’s support for Israel. He considered that Iran’s attack would not have occurred if he had been in the White House.

“UNITED STATES SUPPORTS ISRAEL!” he said on his social network, Truth Social.

The former Republican president added in another message on that same account that “the attack should never have been allowed to take place.” He emphasized that that “NEWR” is what would have happened if he were president.

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International

Where does the tension between Israel and Iran that has the world in stires?

The close ties that once existed between Israel and Iran have been left behind for decades. In fact, the latter was the second country – after the United States – to recognize the Jewish State, in 1960. Today, on the other hand, there are moments of tension between the two countries that have resulted in the drone attack launched by Tehran on the night of Saturday, April 13, into Israeli territory.

From Jerusalem they have been pointing out for several years the danger posed by Iran due to the enrichment of uranium through its nuclear program and, in addition, they have criticized the support provided from Tehran to Islamic organizations such as the Lebanese group Hizbulah or the Palestinian Hamas movement.

The recent escalation comes in response, according to Iran, to Israel’s April 1, 2024 attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the capital of Syria, where seven members of the Revolutionary Guard died, including the leader of its branch Quds Forces for Syria and Lebanon, Brigadier General Mohamed Reza Zahedi. Days before, Iran had destroyed an alleged Israeli espionage center in Iraqi Kurdistan.

After the arrival of the new regime of the Ayatollhs in 1979 with the triumph of the Islamic revolution, Iran bet on a breakdown of relations and turned the Israeli embassy in Tehran into the diplomatic headquarters of the Palestinian National Authority (ANP).

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International

The cessation of the policeman who raided the house of Peruvian president Dina Boluarte was a violation, says her lawyer

The temporary dismissal of police Colonel Harvey Colchado, who was in charge of the raid on March 30 of the residence of the president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, is a violation of her rights, his lawyer denounced.

Colchado was until now the head of the High Complexity Crime Investigation Division (Diviac) of the National Police Unit of Peru (PNP), the unit that was in charge of the registration of the president’s residence, within the investigation of the so-called “Rólex case”, in reference to the luxury watches found to the president, as well as numerous cases of high-level corruption.

“We are very concerned about this disproportionate resolution (…) we are going to fight for the rights that correspond to my client and a job stability,” said lawyer Stefano Miranda on Canal N, adding that they are going to ask for the lifting of this “incongruent” measure that “blatantly violates” the rights of his representative.

The colonel was notified this Saturday in the offices of the Diviac that in an internal investigation serious and very serious infractions were detected, for lack of an operations plan in the raid on Dina Boluarte’s house.

He was also sanctioned for sharing on WhatsApp a photo of a birthday cake in which a police officer is seen kicking down the door of a house.

According to the disciplinary regulations, sharing this photo does not correspond to a serious or very serious offense, because it was her private mobile phone and that the image in question had nothing to do with the police operation and the president’s residence, argued her lawyer.

“The resolution of temporary separation from the position really has dirty hands,” he added.

The report of the Inspectorate General of the National Police points out that Colonel Colchado “has contravened the disciplinary regime of the PNP,” since the type of celebration of his birthday in the Diviac and the choice of the design of the cake “could be considered inappropriate and contrary to the principles of professional conduct expected of a senior PNP official.”

In addition to being interpreted as “a lack of respect for the presidential investiture and the institutions of the State.”
This cessation is in addition to the recent resignation of the Minister of the Interior Víctor Torres General, who was questioned for the participation of police officers in the raid.

Harvey Colchado has been part of the Diviac since its foundation in 2016, a unit that has gained importance in recent years due to its participation in popular cases of the fight against organized crime that involves senior officials, politicians, leaders and former presidential candidates.

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