International

Petro’s cabinet reshuffle seeks to “put together a coalition” to pass his reforms

Photo: Reuters

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”.

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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.

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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.

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International

Hiroshima survivor who embraced Obama dies at 88

The emotional embrace between Barack Obama and Hiroshima survivor Mori—who was eight years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945—resonated around the world.

According to Asahi Shimbun and other local media, Mori died on Saturday at a hospital in Hiroshima.

Mori, known for his research on the fate of American prisoners of war in Hiroshima, was thrown into a river by the force of the explosion on August 6, 1945, during the atomic bombing of the city.

In a past interview with AFP, ahead of his meeting with Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2016, Mori recalled the chaos and desperation that followed the blast.

He described how, after emerging from the water, he encountered injured civilians seeking help amid the devastation, an experience that stayed with him throughout his life.

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In 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. During the visit, Mori was visibly moved as he met the president, sharing a brief but powerful moment that symbolized remembrance and reconciliation.

The bombing of Hiroshima resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to radiation exposure in the aftermath.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people and contributing to the end of World War II.

International

Colombia seeks ‘total suffocation’ of armed groups with regional support

Colombia is advancing a strategy aimed at the “total suffocation” of illegal armed groups, seeking to corner them in border regions with the support of Ecuador and Venezuela, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said in an interview with AFP.

According to the minister, coordinated pressure from neighboring countries—backed by United States—aims to dismantle criminal networks that use cross-border routes to traffic Colombian cocaine toward North America and Europe.

For decades, armed groups involved in Colombia’s internal conflict have relied on border territories as strategic rear bases to evade military operations and maintain logistical support.

However, Sánchez said that dynamic is beginning to change.

“We expect a total suffocation between both nations so they have no spaces where they can live or feel safe […] to close off any room they might have,” he stated during the interview in Bogotá, less than five months before the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term.

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Regional developments have reinforced this strategy. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation, Washington has increased its influence in Caracas, where interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has implemented a renewed anti-narcotics policy.

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa—a key U.S. ally in the region—has launched a two-week security plan under strict curfews to combat criminal gangs, with U.S. support.

Sánchez argued that these combined efforts leave illegal organizations with fewer escape routes and operational spaces, effectively placing them in a “dead end.”

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.