International
The FARC dissident ‘Iván Márquez’ reappears in a video after being presumed dead
The FARC dissident ‘Iván Márquez’, leader of the Second Marquetalia and who was the chief peace negotiator of the former guerrilla, reappeared in a video after being presumed dead in an attack in Venezuela in July 2022.
In the video ‘Márquez’, reappeared for the first time in an audio and whose survival was confirmed by several authorities, he spoke about different issues of conjuncture such as the proposal of the Constituent Assembly of President Gustavo Petro.
Precisely what shows that the video is recent are the statements he made regarding Petro’s initiative, presented last March during a government act in Cali, the main city in southwestern Colombia, given the difficulty he has in getting Congress to approve its reforms, where his support has diminished.
“On March 15, President Petro (…) spoke of opening a constituent process in Colombia. Let’s go for the all or nothing, no more decades and centuries of deception and oppression,” added ‘Márquez’.
The video published during the ´ Vichada Binational Forum: Territory of Peace, Life and Biodiversity´, held in the municipality of Puerto Carreño, capital of the department of Vichada (border with Venezuela).
During the event, in which national, regional and local authorities participated, as well as representatives of the public forces, the attendees saw the 17 minutes of the intervention of the head of the Second Marquetalia.
In August 2019, almost three years after signing the peace ‘Iván Márquez’, who was also number two of the FARC, announced that he was taking up arms at the head of a dissidence called Second Marquetalia, in reference to the birthplace of the FARC more than half a century ago, for alleged non-compliance by the Government.
In 2022, his alleged death was reported in an attack perpetrated by another armed group with which the Second Marquetalia was disputing the Colombian-Venezuelan border, where the groups are hidden, and the illicit businesses that circulate there.
However, that dissidence attributed the attack to the Colombian security forces and denied the death, and in September 2022 the Colombian Government confirmed that ‘Márquez’ was alive, but “sick, convalescent.”
Then the ‘Márquez’ himself reappeared in an audio on August 2, 2023 in a speech ahead of the first year of the president’s government, in which he claimed that he was alive.
In October 2023, the then High Commissioner of Peace, Danilo Rueda, confirmed that ‘Márquez’ “is in Colombia” and his state of health is good.
Luciano Marín Arango, 68 years old, was born on June 16, 1955 in Florence, capital of the southern department of Caquetá, and his history indicates that in the early 1980s he was linked to the 14 Front of the FARC, where he climbed positions until he became part of the guerrilla leadership.
At the beginning of February, the Colombian Government and the Second Marquetalia announced the start of a peace process, which will be the third to be undertaken by the current Executive, after those installed with the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Central General Staff (EMC), the main group of dissidents of the FARC.
The statement, signed on February 1, also points out that the Second Marquetalia undertakes not to kidnap civilians, although there is still no date or more details about the start of the dialogues with the dissent led by ‘Márquez’.
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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