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☆ Colombia's Petro: Ending war on drugs could bring peace to country in matter of months
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailColombia's Petro: Ending war on drugs could bring peace to country in matter of monthsColombian President Gustavo Petro at the Paris Peace Forum discusses the United States' role in democratic elections in Venezuela as well as the policy failures of the war on drugs.

☆ Colombia Unnerves Markets With Higher Taxes on Oil, Wealth to Boost Antipoverty Spending
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Kejal Vyas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BOGOTÁ, Colombia—Colombia is set to increase taxes on wealthy individuals and extractive industries to pay for antipoverty and rural development initiatives, as the leftist government grapples with a fall in the peso that has outpaced that of most emerging market currencies. Investor concerns over the government’s progressive platform are overblown, Finance Minister José Antonio Ocampo said in an interview Friday. He said critics are generating hysteria that has led to a 20% drop in the peso’s value against the U.S. dollar since President Gustavo Petro took office Aug. 7.

☆ Colombian $4 billion tax reform becomes law, duties on oil and coal hiked
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Carlos Vargas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Colombia's Congress on Thursday approved a tax reform bill that will raise an additional 20 trillion pesos ($4 billion) annually for the next four years, in part through increased duties on oil and coal. The new law, the centrepiece of new President Gustavo Petro's economic policies, seeks to fund social projects and put the country's public finances in order. The new law states that oil companies will be taxed an additional 5% when international prices are between $67.3 and $75 per barrel. Oil and mining companies will also not be able to deduct the value of royalties from income taxes. ($1 = 5,015.84 Colombian pesos)Reporting by Carlos Vargas; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The GOP, especially in South Florida, is trying to portray Democrats as "socialists" and soft on foreign policy, with Taddeo touting her hard-line stance against leftist governments. Salazar and Taddeo have similar hard-line foreign positions against the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Taddeo, according to a spokesperson, feels current foreign policy toward Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua cannot change until there are democratic transitions in those countries. There are about 275,000 Colombian eligible voters in Florida and a significant number live in the district. The two candidates recently left many puzzled when they tweeted that former Colombian President Iván Duque seemingly supports both of them.

☆ Venezuela's long-suffering manufacturers face new challenge: Colombian imports
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Deisy Buitrago | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The change opens Venezuela to more imports from its neighbor as domestic manufacturers are still struggling, though some got a boost from a de facto dollarization. Tini's company Full Time, one of Venezuela's largest shoe manufacturers, is set to increase production to 20,000 pairs this year from 12,000 in 2021, but imports worry him. Local industries "cannot compete on equal terms with Colombian products," said Luigi Pisella, president of Conindustria, one of the top business associations representing Venezuela's manufacturers. Between January and August this year, the Colombian government's DANE statistics agency valued the country's exports to Venezuela at some $400 million while Venezuelan imports to Colombia were just $56 million. Business people said there are few incentives for manufacturers, high taxes and not enough efforts to combat inflation.

[1/2] Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks at the meeting with Colombia's President Gustavo Petro (not pictured) at Miraflores Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela November 1, 2022. "We are working on resuming the dialogue process in November," said one of the people familiar with the arrangements. Maduro and Colombia President Gustavo Petro said in a joint statement on Tuesday they hoped for "a successful return" to the dialogues. This makes resumption of talks crucial for the opposition coalition, which has been diminished by exile, imprisonment of leaders, internal fractures and lack of funds. The talks were abandoned by Maduro's envoys a year ago after disagreements over the extradition of an ally of the Venezuelan president who faces money laundering charges.

☆ Colombia, Venezuela Leaders Meet Amid Thawing Relations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kejal Vyas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BOGOTÁ, Colombia—The leaders of Colombia and Venezuela met Tuesday for the first time in six years, the latest sign of how new leftist governments in Latin America are breaking from a U.S.-led campaign that unsuccessfully sought to oust Venezuela’s authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro . Colombian President Gustavo Petro , a former guerrilla who once held close ties to Venezuela’s ruling socialist party, traveled to Caracas to have lunch with Mr. Maduro and discuss bilateral trade. Mr. Petro said he would also call on Mr. Maduro to commit to promoting democracy in the region and ending political persecution.

☆ Latin America's 'pink tide' leaders congratulate Brazil's Lula on election win
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Steven Grattan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Latin America leaders on Sunday congratulated Brazil's Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva after he won a third term as president of the largest country in South America, consolidating the region's "pink tide" of elected leftist leaders. His victory over far-right president Jair Bolsonaro leaves Brazil joining Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Peru in a growing leftist bloc. "Long live Lula," tweeted Colombia's Gustavo Petro, who in June was elected his country's first leftist president. But the pink tide returned as rampant inflation and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led frustrated voters in Latin America to ditch mainstream parties and follow promises of greater social spending. "Your victory strengthens democracy and integration in Latin America."

☆ Suspension of oil exploration in Colombia would be high risk -fiscal paneld
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Income derived from hydrocarbon exploration and production in Colombia is key to the country's financial stability and its trade balance, its fiscal rule committee said on Monday, and suspension of exploration would put fiscal sustainability at risk. Hydrocarbons represent nearly 40% of exports, 20% of foreign direct investment and between 10% and 20% of the national government's income, the Autonomous Fiscal Rule Committee (CARF), which oversees public finances, said in a statement. "Certainty about future income is indispensable to maintain financing sources and an adequate level of risk," it said. The high level of public debt is a fiscal risk and high interest rates, increased risk premiums and a deep depreciation of the peso currency will mean higher interest rates on the country's debt, CARF said. For that reason it is important that planning for the resources which come from the tax reform is done in concurrence with the fiscal rule and its objective to reduce net debt."

☆ Colombia's finance minister asks central bank to discuss futures markets liquidity
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Colombian Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo has asked the country's central bank to discuss liquidity in futures markets in its monthly meeting this Friday, he said on Wednesday, at a time when local currency and public debt are experiencing turbulence from domestic uncertainty. "There is an issue that I have asked the (central) bank for us to discuss on Friday about futures markets, about how liquid or not those futures markets are," Ocampo told reporters. In 2020, during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, Colombia's central bank took extraordinary measures to boost liquidity, such as foreign exchange hedging via auctions for the sale of dollars through forward operations, or "swaps." In a recent Reuters poll, 12 out of 14 analysts forecast the central bank will raise its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 11% on Friday. One of the analysts projected a hike of 75 basis points and another forecast an increase of 50 basis points.

☆ Cuba shouldn't be on sponsor of terrorism list, former U.S. officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Ed Augustin | Ed Augustin Is A British Journalist Based In Havana Who Has Written For The New York Times | The Guardian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

HAVANA — Along with Iran, Syria and North Korea, Cuba is listed as a “state sponsor of terrorism” by the U.S. Department of State. Cuba has called the sponsor of terrorism designation "illegitimate and immoral," arguing that it deprives it of financing and credit sources. “‘Cuba is not a state sponsor of terrorism’ was a mantra from the moment I walked into the State Department to the moment I walked out,” he said. Throughout the 1980s, Cuba shared intelligence with, trained and apparently supplied weapons to revolutionary movements fighting military dictatorships in Central America. Cuba will once again be a “guarantor state.”The Biden administration has provided no evidence that Cuba sponsors terrorism.

☆ Colombia will respect current oil contracts, ministry says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Colombia's government will respect already-signed oil contracts, the energy ministry said on Thursday, amid industry jitters over tax reform and plans by the new leftist government to move the country more aggressively toward renewables. President Gustavo Petro, who took office in August, has pledged to raise an additional $5 billion in tax revenue next year, partially through higher taxes on oil exports. He has also backed a ban on fracking and said he will not support the inking of new oil development contracts. But current contracts will be respected, the energy ministry said in a statement. Of 207 exploration contracts, 117 are active, the ministry said.

☆ Colombia launches hunt for missing assets seized from drug traffickers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Colombia on Thursday launched an investigation into the disappearance of assets seized from drug traffickers and criminal groups, which President Gustavo Petro plans to use for social programs benefiting farmers and women. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterColombia has seized assets worth 25.7 trillion pesos ($5.6 billion). Authorities will establish a technical panel to locate 19,587 assets seized from drug traffickers including large farms, houses, luxury cars, gold, aircraft, boats and cash. The government plans to sell seized assets to compensate the victims of Colombia's internal armed conflict, which has run for almost six decades and has involved drug traffickers, leftist guerrillas and right-wing paramilitaries. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Nelson Bocanegra and Oliver Griffin; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Colombia gov't agrees to ease tax changes to oil, mining
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterColombia's President Gustavo Petro addresses the media after a meeting, in Bogota, Colombia July 22, 2022. The threshold for the export tax on oil will now be $71 per barrel, compared to a previous $48 per barrel. The reform may not raise 25 trillion pesos in additional income next year, Ocampo said, though he did not give more details. Meanwhile a proposal to raise taxes on gasoline will be scrapped, and more changes to the bill are expected next week. Thousands marched earlier on Monday to urge changes to the reform, which would also raise taxes on those earning more than $2,259 per month, about 10 times the minimum wage, and eliminate exemptions.

☆ Colombia Reopens Border With Venezuela in Bid to Mend Ties With U.S. Adversary
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Kejal Vyas | Jenny Carolina González | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Colombian and Venezuelan officials watched the first truck cross a bridge connecting the two countries during a Monday ceremony to open their land border. CÚCUTA, Colombia—Colombia and Venezuela on Monday reopened their 1,400-mile border after it was closed for seven years as the new leftist government in Bogotá took a major step toward normalizing relations with a regime that the U.S. has accused of narco-trafficking and rights abuses. Surrounded by crowds of cheering onlookers, Colombian President Gustavo Petro met on the Simón Bolívar International Bridge with Venezuelan officials, as they held up the peace sign and sang their national anthems before the first Venezuelan cargo truck carrying steel crossed over the bridge into Colombia.

☆ Thousands march against Colombian President Petro's tax reform
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Demonstrators protest against the government of Colombian President Gustavo Petro and his tax reform proposal in Bogota, Colombia September 26, 2022. Petro, 62, has promised to seek "total peace" through deals with rebel groups and crime gangs and asked lawmakers to approve a tax reform which would raise an initial $5.6 billion for social programs next year. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPetro has constructed a majority in congress through alliances with a range of parties. Some 5,000 people, many waving signs with slogans like "no to the tax reform", marched in Bogota, according to the mayor's office. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Herbert Villarraga; Writing by Luis Jaime Acosta and Julia Symmes Cobb Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Colombia's Petro calls on Latin America to unite against war on drugs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 20, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidSept 20 (Reuters) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro called on Latin American countries to join forces to end the war on drugs during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Petro, Colombia's first leftist president, has long derided the global war on drugs as a failure, even using his inauguration speech in August to call for a new international strategy to fight drug trafficking. read more"From my wounded Latin America, I demand you end the irrational war on drugs," Petro said, while calling on the wider Latin American community to unite to defeat that "which torments our body." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Oliver Griffin Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: In Latin America, democracies shaken ahead of key elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( David Alire Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Latin America's political arena has intensified with fallout from the pandemic, war in Ukraine, spiraling inflation plus fears of global recession. Those hardships have all hit voters' wallets in one of the world's most unequal regions, driving deeper political wedges ahead of key elections and in some countries threatening democracy itself. In long-dysfunctional Peru, leftist President Pedro Castillo, who took office just over a year ago, is battling a corruption probe amid plummeting approval ratings. read moreYet Bukele remains very popular, with an approval rating of 85% according to an August CID Gallup poll. "El Salvador is a dictatorship, a populist, beloved dictatorship, but it's a dictatorship," said Guatemalan-American novelist Francisco Goldman.

☆ A Colombian buyer just spent over $10 million on 6 Miami condos before they were even built as some South Americans rush to protect their wealth
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-04 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Colombians are searching for Miami properties this year more than any other country's residents. COVID-19 caused a shift in preference from commercial to residential real estate as an investment. They see Miami real estate as a safe investmentWhy the turn to US real estate now? They see opportunity in residential real estate, as opposed to commercial real estate, like offices and retail spaces. "People were waiting to see who the next president was going to be, but now they're very afraid," Gomez said of Cipriani's Colombian buyers.

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