International
Petro’s cabinet reshuffle seeks to “put together a coalition” to pass his reforms
April 28 |
The changes in part of the cabinet of the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, imply not only the breaking of relations with some political parties that were part of his coalition and working with more “loyal” and closer people, but also that he seeks to open spaces to move forward his government projects, according to analysts consulted by Voice of America.
“Petro is a person who has not changed since we have known him in Colombian politics, I have the impression that he can close with his people, put together a coalition to try to pass his reforms and look for the street to vote him some things as it has already happened in Colombia”, explained the political analyst and columnist of the newspaper El Espectador, Pedro Viveros.
For Theodore Kahn, associate director of Control Risks, the changes offer a more united cabinet with an ideology closer to that of the president. “There is probably going to be an effort to really put forward some reforms and some public policy objectives more aligned with what Petro had put forward in the campaign and some of the banners that he has carried for several years,” Viveros said.
In this sense, Kahn adds, he will have less inconvenience when it comes to “moderating his proposals” and “accepting points of view internally” and, in this way, “achieving the more radical objectives in some areas that he wants to implement”.
The most sensitive changes within Petro’s cabinet are in the Treasury, Health and Agriculture portfolios.
The first one, due to the stability in the markets and the national and international recognition that the outgoing minister, José Antonio Ocampo, represented, not only for being known as one of the most respected economists in the country, but also because he managed to push forward the most ambitious tax reform in the history of Colombia.
Despite his good relationship with the Colombian president, he is not as close as his successor, economist Ricardo Bonilla, current director of the Financiera de Desarrollo Territorial (Findeter), former Secretary of Finance in Bogota, during Petro’s administration, and his advisor on different issues, such as pensions.
Another sensitive issue is the health reform, proposed by the outgoing minister, Carolina Corcho, whom many legislators and political leaders have described as intransigent, which presented inconveniences at the time of advancing this proposal in Congress.
“We are in the process of this very complicated reform… Petro is going to want with this change in health to exercise more control over the administrative process of this project. He does not want to lose control of this process”, said Corcho.
His successor, surgeon Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo, has more experience in the political arena. He was Secretary of Health of the Mayor’s Office of Bogota and District Secretary between 2013 and 2014. He has also been senator and representative to the chamber, which opens channels in these sectors.
The departure of Agriculture Minister Cecilia López, according to Kahn, is also “interesting”, since “she was a person with a lot of credibility, very technical and was handling a Petro’s flagship proposal that was approved”.
However, her public criticism of the energy transition project in the country and the health reform proposed by Corcho would earn her departure.
This portfolio will be led by lawyer Jhénifer Mojica Flórez, the current director of Ethnic Affairs of the Land Restitution Unit. She was deputy director of the Colombian Commission of Jurists (CCJ) and has been part of several processes with the Association of Arhuaca Authorities of the Sierra Nevada and the Commission for the Clarification of the Truth.
International
Meta Says Russia Seeks to Ban WhatsApp for Defending Secure Communication
U.S. tech giant Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, said that Russia is seeking to ban the messaging app because it “challenges government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication.”
Russian authorities have encouraged citizens to switch to state-backed applications, and in August they already blocked WhatsApp’s calling feature.
On Friday, the communications regulator Roskomnadzor claimed that the platform was being used to “organize and carry out terrorist acts in the country, recruit perpetrators, and facilitate fraud and other crimes.”
“If the messaging service does not comply with Russian law, it will be completely blocked,” the regulator warned.
WhatsApp remains one of Russia’s most widely used messaging services, alongside Telegram.
Moscow is pressuring both platforms to grant authorities access to user data upon request for investigations into fraud and activities the government labels as “terrorist.”
Human rights advocates fear the demand could be used to target critics of the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin, or the war in Ukraine.
International
Archbishop Wenski criticizes Trump’s deportation policies, calls for stronger push for reform
The Archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, has called for increased pressure on the U.S. Congress to advance comprehensive immigration reform and criticized President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies, arguing that they “do nothing to help.”
“We need to apply more pressure on Congress so lawmakers can make the necessary changes. It is also important for the Administration to listen to our voice. We do not want to be anyone’s enemy—we are Americans,” Wenski said in an interview with EFE.
The religious leader, who heads one of the dioceses with the largest Latino and Haitian populations in the United States, issued a call to defend the rights of migrants. He also emphasized that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has maintained a strong and public stance in favor of migrants for decades.
International
Trump relaunches diplomatic push to finalize U.S.-Backed peace plan for Ukraine War
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his diplomatic team will resume meetings with delegations from Russia and Ukraine in an effort to pressure both sides to accept the peace plan proposed by Washington to end the war in Ukraine.
As part of this new round of talks, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will hold discussions with Ukrainian representatives to narrow differences on the remaining points of the agreement.
Trump also confirmed his intention to meet personally with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and with Putin, though he emphasized that such meetings will only take place “when the agreement is fully finalized or in its final stage.”
The president claimed that his administration has made “tremendous progress” toward resolving the conflict and reiterated that the war “never would have started” if he had been in the White House at the onset of the crisis.
The U.S.-backed peace plan consists of 28 points and has been revised following feedback from both sides. According to Trump, only “a few points of disagreement” remain under active discussion.
One of the most controversial aspects of the proposal is the suggestion that Ukraine cede parts of the Donbas region to Russia and limit the size of its armed forces. Kyiv is working closely with Washington to soften these clauses in search of an arrangement that does not compromise its sovereignty or security.
With this diplomatic push, Trump aims to solidify his role as the main mediator in the conflict and steer the war toward a political resolution after years of devastation, humanitarian crisis, and rising global geopolitical tensions.
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