International
Colombian government and FARC dissidents begin new dialogue seeking to extend the ceasefire
The Government of Colombia and three blocs of the divided Central General Staff (EMC), the largest dissidence of the former FARC, began this Friday in Bogotá the VI cycle of peace talks with several items on the agenda, including the possibility of extending the ceasefire of the bilateral fire that ends on October 15.
Just one year after the official installation of the peace negotiations, and after several crises after the split of the well-known Central General Staff (EMC), the main dissident of the FARC, the delegations sat down with the premise of moving forward and that “this cycle can be a real leap forward,” in the words of the Chief Negotiator of the Government, Camilo González Posso.
“A year and three days ago we began this titanic task (…) where the starting point was given to this process, that’s where we managed to reach an agreement. Since then we have encountered thousands of obstacles, with vicissitudes,” accepted the delegate of dissent, Andrey Avendaño, who added that they are “very expectant of what may arise in this cycle.”
The sixth cycle of peace talks
In this sixth cycle of talks, which will last until October 19 and where it seeks to extend a bilateral cessation with the so-called Central General Staff (EMC), to which the blocks of Jorge Suárez Briceño, Magdalena Medio and the Raúl Reyes Front belong, the “environmental issue” will also be on the table, which both delegations consider “of vital importance”.
González Posso added that his expectations in this meeting are “to go out with very specific decisions, to develop an exact work schedule for the next period.”
The last cycle in this process was held in July, also in Bogotá, and it was in April when the EMC split, leaving out of the negotiations the dissidents commanded by ‘Iván Mordisco’, who operate mainly in the southwest of the country and have starred in an escalation of violence since then.
“We have been six months since the reconfiguration of the table, in April we opened a new period and in these six months we have advanced a lot to approve the participation agreement, we have advanced in prefiguring immediate steps in terms of territorial transformations,” said González Posso, optimistic in the process.
“Acceleration of results”
The installation of this cycle of dialogues in Bogotá was accompanied by the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad, who told the delegations that “it is a process that needs to enter an acceleration of results” because the Government enters the second half of its mandate and this means that the time of “consolidation of work” must come.
“The National Government is ready,” the minister added, referring to territorial transformations and the defense of nature, “but we cannot do that without peace,” she warned.
For his part, the commissioned peace counselor, Otty Patiño, considered that “we need persistence, confidence that it is possible and knowing that building peace is not a path full of roses, but of difficulties,” while he was optimistic that an agreement will be reached to extend the ceasefire.
At the moment, it is still being discussed whether the extension of the cessation of hostilities will be for three or six months, although both parties seem to be leaning towards the second option.
In this line, Patiño detailed that the president, Gustavo Petro, has ordered to change the logic of the ceasefire: “The fundamental plan is, first, the policy of territorial transformation, and as an element that can support it, the ceasefire.”
International
The Pentagon confirms that a fleet of drones flew over one of its bases for days
The Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday that a swarm of drones flew over Langley Air Force Base for days in December 2023, but stressed that none of those devices was perceived as a threat.
Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh admitted at a press conference that there were “incursions” and that the number of drones that flew over those facilities located in the state of Virginia “fluctuated.”
“They didn’t seem to show a hostile intention. It’s something we’ve been attentive to,” he said.
The Pentagon confirms flights
The Wall Street Journal reported these flights this weekend and specified that they extended for 17 days and that they usually took place between 45 minutes and an hour after sunset.
The newspaper recalled that federal law prohibits the armed forces from neutralizing those devices near US bases if they do not pose an imminent threat. According to his report, US officers did not believe, however, that they were led by fans given the complexity of the operation.
Missions were canceled
The newspaper added that Langley’s personnel canceled night training missions worried about possible collisions with the drones and that the F-22 fighters were moved to another base. The last appearance of these drones occurred on December 23.
The Pentagon deputy spokeswoman stressed that the commanders of any base have the authority to protect their forces and infrastructure, pointed out that such air raids in US territory require coordination with other agencies and said she did not know where these aircraft started.
International
Venezuela rejects “pamphlet” of the UN Mission that denounces crimes against humanity
The Government of Venezuela called this Tuesday a “pamphlet” the report of the Independent International Mission of the United Nations (UN), in which alleged crimes against humanity committed by the country’s authorities in the July 28 elections, in which Nicolás Maduro was proclaimed president re-elected, are denounced.
In a statement, Venezuela’s representation before the UN in Geneva “energetically rejected the pamphlet published by the shameful mission,” for being “a novel document” and “a fanciful script,” without responding to the remarks contained in the report.
“That mercenary mission has never set foot in Venezuela. However, it has wasted more than six million dollars on political propaganda in favor of the Venezuelan fascist right,” the letter says.
Venezuela also asserted that the mission uses a methodology and sources of information “widely questionable due to its lack of rigor,” since it takes “as certain stories of social networks and long-line media.”
Security forces in the protests in Venezuela
In a 158-page report covering the period from September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024, the mission accuses security forces and pro-government armed civilian groups of murders, enforced disappearances, acts of torture and sexual and gender-based violence.
The security forces were “massively involved” in human rights violations, such as arbitrary detentions, excessive use of force to repress protests, or cruel and degrading treatment, the document indicates, pointing to the civil intelligence services (SEBIN) and military (DGCIM), as well as the Bolivarian National Guard and the National Police.
He also assures that “the statements of the highest authorities of the State, especially after July 28, incited repression and contributed to generating a climate of hostility and violence.”
Once Maduro was announced as the winner, the majority opposition denounced fraud and assured that its standard bearer, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the Presidency, a claim that has the support of several countries.
International
Hezbula attributes the launch of 50 rockets from Lebanon to northern Israel
The Israeli Army reported that in the early hours of Wednesday, 50 rockets were launched from Lebanese territory heading to northern Israel, something that was later attributed to the Shiite group Hezbulá.
According to the Israeli Army, the rockets were directed towards the Safed area, in the north of the territory, so minutes before alarms sounded to alert the population.
“Some of the projectiles were intercepted and projectiles were identified that fell in the area,” the Israeli authorities said on their Telegram channel.
So far, reports of victims in the area are unknown.
For its part, the Lebanese Shii group Hizbulá attributed the attack, indicating that it is retaliation for the Israeli invasion.
“In support of our resistant Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, in support of their brave and honorable resistance, in defense of Lebanon (…), the fighters of the Islamic Resistance bombed the occupied city of Safed at 1:40 a.m. on Wednesday, October 16, 2024 with a large rave of rockets,” they indicated in the Telegram of the Islamic Resistance and that they also collected local media.
“Right to defend”
On Tuesday, the deputy secretary general of Hizbulla, Naim Qassem, said that the group can attack “any point” of Israel as part of its “right to defend itself”, after the Israelis launched a massive bombing campaign against Lebanon in late September.
Since Israel launched its ground offensive in southern Lebanon in the early hours of October 1, at least 14 Israeli soldiers have died in attacks around the northern border: 10 in combat in the south of the country, and another 4 in Israeli territory. 3 civilians have also died in Israel, in attacks by Hezbulah.
In Lebanon, more than 2,100 people have died and another 10,000 have been injured, most of them during the strong escalation of the past two weeks.
The Pentagon confirms that a fleet of drones flew over one of its bases for days
Venezuela rejects “pamphlet” of the UN Mission that denounces crimes against humanity
Hezbula attributes the launch of 50 rockets from Lebanon to northern Israel
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