International
Colombia’s crusade to repatriate its archeological heritage
November 5 |
Wearing latex gloves and a white coat, restorer Carla Medina holds part of Colombia’s history in her hands. A growing number of pre-Columbian pieces are returning from abroad in an unorthodox way: President Gustavo Petro himself is bringing them back.
“It’s a great responsibility and a great privilege,” he tells AFP in his laboratory at the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH).
Medina, 41, analyzes a clay vessel repatriated from Italy, which had to be reconstructed from fragments. She is grateful “to have the opportunity to have access to an object that has so many years of history”.
At least 560 pre-Columbian pieces were returned from other countries aboard the presidential plane of leftist Gustavo Petro, in some of the more than 30 trips abroad that he has completed in just over a year in office. International tours criticized by the opposition as dispensable and costly.
Most of the pieces returned from the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Mexico, among other countries, in a coordinated work between the Foreign Ministry and ICANH.
One of the most recent returns was in October and took place on the diplomatic vessel Gloria, where 12 archeological pieces traveled from Costa Rica to Cartagena.
The recovery is part of a strategy of “efficient use of resources”, said at the time the former vice-minister of Multilateral Affairs, Laura Gil, and is advancing at an accelerated pace compared to the previous government, in which only 18 pieces were repatriated in four years.
For Catalina Ceballos, director of cultural affairs at the Foreign Ministry, it is a way to “start talking about decolonization from another perspective.”
Most of the pieces returned to Colombia were taken out of the country when there was no legal clarity in the world on the traffic of archaeological goods.
Only since 1997 has Colombian law recognized the State as the legitimate owner of national archaeological heritage.
However, the fight against illegal trafficking of these pieces has not been a priority in a country bled by half a century of armed conflict between authorities, guerrillas, paramilitaries and criminal gangs. While the budget suggested by the Presidency for ICANH in 2024 is equivalent to some 2.3 million dollars, that proposed for the defense area and the Police is almost 600 times greater.
Juan Pablo Ospina, coordinator of the anthropology group at ICANH, nevertheless emphasizes that in the current government repatriations have been “successful” because the presidential plane has been “fully available” to bring pieces “properly packed and safeguarded on those trips”.
Recent returns have been made mostly by private collectors on a voluntary basis and require diplomatic work in each country of origin. ICANH is then in charge of the registration, cataloguing, transfer, reception and, in some cases, intervention of the pieces.
As most of the repatriated works are ceramic, the restoration processes are simpler. “Even though they are very old, they can be very well preserved with the passage of time,” says Medina.
The most vulnerable materials are those “of an organic nature,” such as textiles, paper or wood.
The composition of the materials also offers details about how Colombia’s early societies functioned in relation to their territory, says Medina.
For the most part, the Colombian territory was made up of pre-Columbian societies distributed in small chiefdoms.
Ospina assures that what today corresponds to Panama, Venezuela, Colombia and part of northern Ecuador is known as the “intermediate zone” in Latin American archeology, “because what happened there is completely different from what happened in Mesoamerica or in the central Andes,” where great empires were formed.
That is why in Colombia, unlike in Mexico or Peru, it is not common to find palaces, pyramids or large goldsmith traces, with one great exception: the treasure of the Quimbayas. A collection of gold found at the end of the 19th century in a small village in the department of Quindío (west), donated at that time to the Queen of Spain by the Colombian president Carlos Holguín and which today is in the Museum of America in Madrid.
Most of Colombia’s archaeological treasures are ceramic pieces from different periods and cultures, some 6,000 and 7,000 years old, found in the Caribbean, Ospina explains.
“They are very early evidence of ceramics,” he adds.
In other Colombian regions the use of ceramics dates back to approximately 1,000 BC, present mainly in religious and funerary rites.
International
Heat wave puts more than 70 million Americans under alerts as temperatures near 46°C
More than 70 million people remained under heat alerts Monday as an intense heat wave continued across the southern United States, particularly Florida and states along the Mexican border, where temperatures and heat indexes could reach as high as 46 degrees Celsius, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Several cities recorded or tied temperature records over the weekend and into Monday, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale in Florida; Laredo, Borger and Austin’s airport in Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina; and Memphis, Tennessee.
The NWS warned that the heat wave will continue affecting the southern and southeastern United States, with maximum temperatures expected to remain near 38°C to 40°C for several days. The heat index, which combines temperature and humidity to estimate how hot conditions feel, could reach 46°C.
The extreme heat is also spreading into the Southwest, where temperatures began rising again between Monday and Tuesday. Forecast highs in the region range from about 38°C to 43°C.
Heat alerts remain in effect across Nevada, Arizona and California, including areas in southern Arizona and California near the Mexican border, as authorities warn of the risks posed by prolonged extreme temperatures.
The NWS urged residents to limit outdoor activity, stay hydrated, ensure access to air conditioning or cooling centers, and check on vulnerable friends, neighbors and family members.
The United States is experiencing a summer marked by above-average temperatures and repeated heat waves. One of the most intense episodes occurred during the July 4 weekend, when extreme heat was blamed for roughly 30 deaths.
July was the hottest month ever recorded in the United States since measurements began, with the average temperature across the contiguous country approaching 25°C, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The combination of extreme heat and drought conditions has also fueled wildfires. Nearly 3 million hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, making it the largest area affected by wildfires in a decade.
International
Trump warns Iran over nuclear ambitions as U.S.-Iran ceasefire deadline passes
U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated Monday that Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, as a 60-day deadline set under a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran expired without an agreement to end the conflict in the Middle East.
“The number one goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way or under any circumstances, a nuclear weapon,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The memorandum, signed on June 17, called for an “immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts” as part of a broader negotiation process aimed at ending the conflict. However, the deadline expired Monday without a peace agreement, while both Washington and Tehran continued to maintain their respective positions.
The expiration is largely symbolic, as military clashes resumed during the 60-day period. The Strait of Hormuz also remains blocked, contributing to elevated global oil prices.
Trump escalated his rhetoric toward Tehran last Friday, saying he planned to declare the Strait of Hormuz U.S. territory after defeating Iran.
“After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, very soon I will essentially declare the Strait of Hormuz U.S. territory,” Trump said during a political rally in Long Island, New York. He also claimed that the United States currently controls the passage of vessels through the strategic waterway.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington is preparing additional economic measures against Iran that he described as unprecedented.
“Stay tuned for new announcements next week because we are going to implement measures unlike anything ever seen in the history of the economic isolation of a country,” Bessent said.
The Treasury secretary indicated that the measures would form part of a broader “double hit” strategy that could also involve maintaining the blockade of Iranian ports.
International
Brazil’s Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro kick off election campaigns amid focus on crime
Public security took center stage Sunday as Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro formally launched their election campaigns, positioning themselves as the leading rivals ahead of the October presidential vote.
Lula, who leads most opinion polls, kicked off his campaign at the Vila Euclides stadium in São Bernardo do Campo, in São Paulo state, while Bolsonaro held his event in Rio de Janeiro, a political stronghold of his family.
During his speech, Lula announced plans to create a new Ministry of Public Security aimed at strengthening coordination between the federal government and Brazil’s states in the fight against crime.
The president pledged a tougher strategy to reclaim territories controlled or influenced by criminal groups. The proposed ministry would help “share responsibilities with the states” and confront those who seek to control favelas and impoverished neighborhoods, Lula told supporters.
The initiative places public security at the heart of Lula’s campaign as he seeks another term in office amid persistent concerns over crime and organized criminal activity in Brazil.
Lula also used his first campaign speech to reinforce his position as a leading figure of Brazil’s left and to criticize his political opponents on the right.
“I will not allow the right to take power,” Lula said, accusing his opponents of having previously mocked children who died because they lacked access to medicine.
“I don’t know what future these people imagine for the Brazilian people,” he added.
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