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☆ Child plane crash survivors get medical care in Bogota after weeks in jungle
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Luis Jaime Acosta | Thomson Reuters | Luis Jaime Has Worked At Reuters For More Than Years. While He Chiefly Covers Colombia'S Armed Conflict | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A view of ambulances and a plane from San Jose del Guaviare bringing in child survivors from a Cessna 206 plane that crashed in thick jungle, at the CATAM military airbase, in Bogota, Colombia, June 10, 2023. REUTERS/Luisa GonzalezBOGOTA, June 10 (Reuters) - Four Indigenous children who were missing for more than five weeks in a jungle in Colombia's south following a deadly plane crash arrived in the capital Bogota early on Saturday for medical treatment. In photos shared by Colombia's military, the four children - three girls and a boy - appeared gaunt as they were being cared for by rescuers. After the plane carrying the children landed in Bogota, four ambulances were waiting at to collect them and take them to a military hospital for specialist medical care. Three adults, including the pilot and the children's mother, died in the crash and their bodies were found inside the plane.

Persons: San Jose del Guaviare, Luisa Gonzalez BOGOTA, Hope, Pedro Sanchez, gaunt, Luis Jaime Acosta, Oliver Griffin, Jamie Freed Organizations: Cessna, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: San Jose, Bogota, Colombia, Colombia's, Colombia's Caqueta, Araracuara, Caqueta, Guaviare

☆ Four missing Colombian children found alive weeks after plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Luis Jaime Acosta | Thomson Reuters | Luis Jaime Has Worked At Reuters For More Than Years. While He Chiefly Covers Colombia'S Armed Conflict | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, June 9 (Reuters) - Four children from an Indigenous community in Colombia were found alive in the south of the country more than five weeks after the plane they were traveling in crashed in thick jungle, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro said on Friday. The children were rescued by the military near the border between Colombia's Caqueta and Guaviare provinces, close to where the small plane had crashed. The four children who were lost ... in the Colombian jungle appeared alive," Petro said in a message via Twitter. Three adults, including the pilot, died as a result of the crash and their bodies were found inside the plane. Preliminary information from the civil aviation authority, which coordinated the rescue efforts, suggests the children escaped the plane and set off into the rainforest to find help.

Persons: Gustavo Petro, Petro, San Jose del Guaviare, Luis Jaime Acosta, Oliver Griffin, Jamie Freed Organizations: Cessna, Thomson Locations: BOGOTA, Colombia, Colombia's, Guaviare, Colombian, Araracuara, Amazonas province, San Jose, Guaviare province

☆ Party backing Ecuador's Lasso will not field candidates in elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, June 6 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso's political movement Creating Opportunities will not field candidates for the country's early presidential or legislative elections, it said on Tuesday. Lasso, a conservative ex-banker, last week said he would not run as a candidate in presidential elections. Elected officials and the new president will only hold office until May 2025, when voting that had always been scheduled will take place. Members of Creating Opportunities can vote for whoever they like in the upcoming elections, but cannot support candidates who "do not respect the constitution and the law," Bernal said, without clarifying further. Reporting by Alexandra Valencia Writing by Oliver Griffin; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Guillermo Lasso's, Lasso, Ecuadoreans, Esteban Bernal, Bernal, Alexandra Valencia, Oliver Griffin, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Assembly, National Assembly, Thomson Locations: QUITO

☆ Panama ex-President Martinelli chosen as RM candidate for elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Elida Moreno | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PANAMA CITY, June 4 (Reuters) - Panama's former President Ricardo Martinelli was on Sunday chosen as the presidential candidate for his party Realizando Metas (RM) in next year's elections. Martinelli - along with his sons - is also charged in Panama for his alleged involvement in laundering millions of dollars in bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. "The only way to get me out of the presidential race is by impeachment ... they're going to have to kill me," Martinelli said. The Untied States has barred Martinelli from entering the North American country, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accusing him of accepting bribes. Reporting by Elida Moreno Writing by Oliver Griffin Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ricardo Martinelli, Realizando, Martinelli, Antony Blinken, Elida Moreno, Oliver Griffin, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: PANAMA CITY, U.S, Thomson Locations: PANAMA, Panama, American

☆ Mine collapse kills at least 12 in southern Venezuela
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PUERTO ORDAZ, Venezuela, June 4 (Reuters) - Flooding collapsed a gold mine in southern Venezuela, killing at least 12 miners, local authorities said on Sunday, adding that the victims' bodies were returned to their families. The Talavera mine, located in El Callao, in Venezuela's Bolivar state, flooded on Wednesday due to heavy rains but rescue workers could not finish recovery efforts before Saturday. Another 112 people survived the mine collapse, said Edgar Colina, the secretary for Citizen Security in Bolivar, adding that authorities will return to the site on Sunday to check for other survivors or victims. Advocacy groups and other organizations have issued warnings about the region, with the UN last year reporting that human rights violations take place in Venezuela's mining regions. Reporting by Maria de los Angeles Ramirez in Puerto Ordaz Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Edgar Colina, Maria de, Angeles Ramirez, Oliver Griffin, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Citizen Security, UN, Thomson Locations: PUERTO ORDAZ, Venezuela, Talavera, El Callao, Venezuela's Bolivar, Bolivar, Puerto

☆ Catalytic cracking unit at Venezuela's Cardon refinery shut down
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CARACAS, June 2 (Reuters) - The catalytic cracking unit at Venezuela's Cardon refinery, the country's second-biggest, has broken down and paused operations since the middle of the week, four people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday. Venezuela's refining network has the capacity to process 1.3-million-barrels per day but it suffers frequent production problems. The fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) plant refines oil into other products with greater commercial value, such as gasoline. The refinery restarted one distillation unit on Friday after a failure, while a second unit remains shutdown. The catalytic cracking unit at Amuay, Venezuela's largest refinery, has been shutdown for repairs since March, impacting production of gasoline.

Persons: PDVSA, Deisy, Oliver Griffin, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Reuters, Paraguana Refining, Thomson Locations: CARACAS, Cardon, Venezuela's, Amuay, Caracas

☆ Nubank to hike Colombia investments by $160 million by 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, May 31 (Reuters) - Brazilian digital bank Nubank , Latin America's biggest fintech company, will invest up to a further 700 billion pesos ($159 million) in its Colombian operations by 2025, its financial director for Colombia said on Wednesday. The additional sum, from the bank's own resources, will raise its investments in its third largest market behind Brazil and Mexico to 2 trillion pesos. Nubank has 635,000 credit card customers in Colombia, equivalent to a 3.6% market share. It has some 80 million clients in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. Nubank reported a net profit of $142 million in the first quarter, swinging from a year-earlier loss of $45.1 million as its customer base grew.

Persons: Felipe Castellanos, Nubank, Nelson Bocanegra, Oliver Griffin, John Stonestreet Organizations: Thomson Locations: BOGOTA, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Bogota, Nubank

☆ Colombia Cano Limon-Covenas oil pipeline bombed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, May 30 (Reuters) - Colombia's Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline was bombed by unknown actors, operator Cenit said in a statement on Tuesday, prolonging the suspension of pumping crude between oil fields in the country's northeast and the Caribbean coast, where the oil is exported. Colombia's military is working to secure the area, Cenit added. Pumping along the pipeline has been suspended since April 14 due to other attacks. Restarting operations will depend on the military's ability to secure the area where the attacks took place while repairs continue. The Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline, which can transport up to 210,000 barrels of oil per day and runs along Colombia's northern border with Venezuela, was attacked 13 times last year, leading to fires and contamination of the surrounding area.

Persons: Colombia's Cano Limon, Cenit, Cano Limon, Luis Jaime Acosta, Oliver Griffin, Leslie Adler Organizations: National Liberation Army, Thomson Locations: BOGOTA, Caribbean, Saravena, Arauca province, Venezuela

A court in Ecuador sentenced Correa to eight years in prison in 2020 over accusations he broke campaign finance laws. His party, Citizen Revolution, was the biggest party in the assembly with 47 seats before Lasso dissolved it. The former lawmakers from Citizen Revolution will run in the snap election, Correa said, adding that he hopes the party wins at least 50 seats. Lasso - who has said he will not run in the upcoming elections - will rule by decree until the snap election, with laws subject to approval by the Constitutional Court. Any laws issued by decree - including an earlier move by Lasso to loosen gun controls - will be targeted following the election by Citizen Revolution politicians in government or the legislature, Correa said.

☆ Colombian children found alive in jungle weeks after plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The children were rescued by members of the military, firefighters and civil aviation authority officials in the dense jungle of Colombia's Caqueta province. "After arduous searching by our military, we have found alive the four children who went missing after a plane crash in Guaviare. A joy for the country," Petro said in a message via Twitter. Three adults, including the pilot, died as a result of the crash and their bodies were found inside the plane. Rescuers, supported by search dogs, had previously found discarded fruit the children ate to survive, as well as improvised shelters made with jungle vegetation.

☆ Explainer: Ecuador's Lasso dissolved the legislature. What comes next?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Police stand outside the National Assembly after it was dissolved in a decree by Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso, bringing forward legislative and presidential elections, a day after he... Read moreQUITO, May 17 (Reuters) - Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly by decree on Wednesday, bringing forward legislative and presidential elections, a day after he defended himself in an impeachment hearing. WHAT IS PRESIDENT LASSO ACCUSED OF? Lasso, a former banker who took power in 2021, has denied the charges and says they are politically motivated. Ecuador's National Assembly began an impeachment hearing against Lasso on Tuesday, following a vote on May 9 to move forward in the process against him, which was passed with 88 votes from the 116 legislators present. Lasso invoked the "two-way death" on Wednesday, citing Ecuador's grave political crisis.

☆ Ecuador president dissolves legislature, bringing elections forward
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso testifies at the National Assembly, as part of the impeachment process against him for alleged corruption, in Quito, Ecuador May 16, 2023. REUTERS/Karen ToroQUITO, May 17 (Reuters) - Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly in a decree on Wednesday, bringing forward legislative and presidential elections, a day after he presented his defense in an impeachment process against him. Ninety-two votes form the 137-member legislature would have been needed to remove Lasso from office. Those voted into power in the early elections would only serve until the regularly-scheduled 2025 elections take place. The impeachment process was the first against a Ecuadorean president in decades.

☆ Ecuador assembly begins impeachment hearing against President Lasso
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

QUITO, May 16 (Reuters) - Ecuador's National Assembly on Tuesday began an impeachment hearing against President Guillermo Lasso, who could be removed from his post, though the process increases the likelihood he will dissolve the legislature to avoid a final vote. The opposition, including members of the party of ex-President Rafael Correa - himself accused of corruption - has been invigorated following the re-election of Virgilio Saquicela as president of the National Assembly on Sunday. "The Ecuadorean people want Guillermo Lasso (...) to go home," said opposition lawmaker Viviana Veloz while presenting a motion to vote on the censure and dismissal of the president. CONAIE, Ecuador's largest indigenous organization, backed the measure to remove Lasso in a statement, saying that "with Guillermo Lasso Ecuador doesn't have a future, only fear and uncertainty." The assembly voted to continue with the impeachment process last Tuesday with 88 votes in favor out of 116 legislators present.

BOGOTA, May 16 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Colombia during 2022 is forecast to have fallen by up to 10% versus the previous year, Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said on Tuesday, citing significant decreases in the country's Amazon. Deforestation in Colombia in 2021 rose 1.5% versus the previous year to 1,741 square kilometers (430,218 acres), representing an area twice the size of New York City. A 10% decrease in deforestation would take the total area of forest destroyed during 2022 in Colombia to below the 1,589 square kilometers registered in 2019, the first full year of the administration of former President Ivan Duque. Between 2001 and 2021, more than 31,000 square kilometers of forest were destroyed in Colombia, of which some 18,600 square kilometers were deforested in the country's Amazon. Colombia's government will publish full deforestation figures for 2022 in June, Muhamad said.

☆ Colombia's ELN guerrilla group warns of peace talks 'crisis'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, May 15 (Reuters) - Colombian leftwing guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) on Monday said peace talks with the government were in crisis due to comments made by President Gustavo Petro. Petro had questioned the unity of the group's leadership and ordered Colombia's military to target illicit activity such as drug trafficking that finance illegal armed groups. "The peace talks cannot be subject to the fluctuations in the public statements of the president," the ELN said in a statement. The government says the group finances itself through drug trafficking, illegal mining and kidnapping. Negotiations with the ELN under previous administrations faltered on the group's diffuse chain of command and dissent within its ranks.

☆ Ecuador lawmakers re-elect National Assembly president
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, May 14 (Reuters) - Independent lawmaker Virgilio Saquicela was re-elected president of Ecuador's National Assembly on Sunday, supported by politicians who want an impeachment process against President Guillermo Lasso to advance to a vote for his possible removal. Saquicela, who took over as president of the National Assembly in May last year, has become a principal figure in the process against Lasso, who is accused of embezzlement in an oil transportation contract. The assembly voted to continue with the impeachment process on Tuesday in a session convened by Saquicela with 88 votes in favor out of 116 legislators present. A majority of 96 lawmakers of the 136 present voted to re-elect Saquicela. He was supported by allies of former President Rafael Correa, who is convicted of corruption, as well as other opposition and independent parties.

☆ Colombia's Avianca backs down from Viva Air merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, May 13 (Reuters) - Colombia's flagship airline Avianca is backing down from a merger with Viva Air, blaming conditions set by the country's aviation regulator, the company announced Saturday. In a statement, Avianca said conditions set by the regulator "would not allow Viva to be a financially and operationally viable airline," and also put Avianca's stability at risk. Colombia's aviation regultaor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Colombia's aviation regulator approved the merger in late April after repeated delays, with the civil aviation authority objecting to the deal last November, before annulling and reopening the process in January after citing procedural irregularities. Amid the limbo, Viva Air abruptly suspended operations in late February, leaving passengers stranded in airports across the country.

☆ Airbus Jan-April deliveries fall 5%, regains lead over Boeing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The world's largest planemaker also sold five planes in April, all of them to undisclosed companies or private customers. That brought new orders so far this year to 161 planes, or a net total of 144 after cancellations. Boeing, which had pulled ahead of Airbus on deliveries amid supply snags in the first quarter, said earlier it had delivered 156 planes and won 154 gross orders in the first four months. Boeing's net orders after cancellations and conversions, which are comparable to Airbus net orders, stood at 69 aircraft so far this year. Airbus is aiming for 720 deliveries this year, having originally targeted that level in 2022 before lowering the goal to 700 then dropping it altogether due to supply chain problems.

☆ Ecuador committee fails to pass report saying no cause for Lasso impeachment
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The report, which says there is no cause for Lasso's trial or removal, was shot down by five of the committee's nine members. Despite the outcome of the committee vote, the report will now pass to the plenary of the 137-member assembly, which will decide whether to possibly remove Lasso. Other opposition parties are divided on whether to back Lasso's removal, while his allies have said they have enough votes to block the motion. Lasso's lawyer has said the opposition failed to establish what alleged loss of funds took place in relation to the contract. Under Ecuador's constitution, Lasso could call early presidential and legislative elections rather than face a removal vote.

☆ Colombia cancels flights returning migrants from US, cites mistreatment
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Colombia expected to receive some 1,200 migrants in flights programmed to arrive from the U.S. during the first week of May, the migration agency said in a statement. The plan was suspended after flights programmed for May 1 and May 2 were canceled, Colombia's migration agency said. "Before the arrival of the scheduled flights ... both were canceled by the North American immigration agencies," Fernando Garcia, head of Colombia's migration agency, said in the statement. Colombia's migration agency did not immediately confirm whether flights carrying other migrants would go ahead. Garcia blasted cruel and degrading treatment that some migrants were subjected to before boarding and during the flights, including use of cuffs for hands and feet.

Exxon has held eight exploration and production contracts in Colombia, including the fracking pilot. All either have been or are being ended, suspended or liquidated, Colombia's National Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH) told Reuters. The proposed bill would ban development of non-conventional energy projects including fracking. "We will continue to have constructive dialogue with the Colombian government on a comprehensive assessment of our unconventional investments," Exxon spokesperson Michelle Gray told Reuters. Exxon said it continuously evaluates and prioritize investments, including those in Colombia.

☆ Colombian president asks cabinet to resign ahead of reshuffle - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, April 25 (Reuters) - Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has asked his cabinet ministers to resign ahead of a reshuffle, two sources told Reuters late on Tuesday, as the leftist leader said he had lost his majority coalition in Congress. "The political coalition agreed as a majority has ended today due to decisions of some party presidents," Petro said in a message via Twitter late on Tuesday. Petro has largely backed his ministers, including Velez, though disagreement over the health reform proposal already lead to the exit of the education minister, Alejandro Gaviria. Interior Minister Alfonso Prada could be take over as defense minister, said one government source who declined to be identified. Others, including Velez, could hold on to their posts, the source said.

[1/5] Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Colombian Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva attend an international conference on the political crisis in Venezuela, at Palacio de San Carlos in Bogota, Colombia April 25, 2023. The meeting in Bogota, hosted by Colombian President Gustavo Petro with support from the United States, included Spain, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil and others. The meeting was meant to help Maduro and the opposition restart stalled talks in Mexico focused on free elections and the possible lifting of sanctions against the government. Attendees found common ground over the need for free elections and lifting of sanctions parallel to agreements between the two sides, he said. The Mexico talks, held briefly last year and in 2021, are supposed to provide a roadmap out of the long-running crisis.

☆ Explainer: Why are Ecuador lawmakers trying to impeach President Lasso?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso participates in an interview at Carondelet Palace, in Quito, Ecuador April 26, 2022. REUTERS/Santiago Arcos/File PhotoQUITO, April 24 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean opposition lawmakers and President Guillermo Lasso - or his lawyer - are scheduled to testify this week in impeachment hearings that could see the conservative former banker censured and removed from office. Lasso has denied the charges, pointing out the contract was signed in 2018, three years before he took office. Estupinan is a key witness for opposition lawmakers, who say the former manager claims to have warned Lasso about contract irregularities allegedly committed by Luque, but got no response. Lawmakers from the Revolucion Ciudadana party of former President Rafael Correa, fierce opponents of Lasso, have pledged to cast their 47 votes for removal.

☆ Migrants cried for help in Mexico fire but no one came, survivor recalls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Thick suffocating smoke was filling the cell where he was held with over 60 other migrants in northern Mexico, but there was no way out. "We screamed for them to open the cell door, but no one helped us," Caraballo, 26, said through tears during a phone interview from his hospital bed. He is anxious to get better so he can be fully reunited with his family and start a new life in the United States. Like millions of others, Caraballo and his family fled Venezuela's economic and political crisis, setting off for the United States last October. The young father was the first to be able to cross into the United States, via the government's CBP One scheme which allows some migrants to formally enter the United States, but returned to Mexico in February after his infant daughter fell ill.

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