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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s commitment to transform long-marginalized rural and conflict areas and new peace efforts were the highlights of his first year in office, the U.N. special envoy for the South American country said. More than 14,000 FARC fighters gave up their weapons under that agreement, but violence between some rebel groups has grown in parts of Colombia. Leyva said the council resolution states that the justice component should apply to all who participated directly or indirectly in the conflict. Wood reiterated the U.S. commitment to working with Colombia to implement the 2016 peace agreement. Ambassador Barbara Woodward also welcomed the government’s recent progress on rural reform and restitution of land to Indigenous communities.

Persons: Gustavo Petro’s, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, ”, Colombia’s, Alvaro Leyva, —, Petro, ” Leyva, Leyva, Robert Wood, ” Wood, Wood, Britain’s U.N, Barbara Woodward, Ruiz ’ Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, South, . Security, Revolutionary Armed Forces, Council, National Development, Security, National Liberation Army, EMC, Colombian, Colombia ” Locations: Colombia, U.S, “, Colombian

☆ What is Hamas? What you need to know about the militant group that rules the Gaza Strip
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The militant Palestinian group orchestrated an unprecedented attack on Israel on Saturday, killing many hundreds of people and injuring thousands more. Israel's counteroffensive against Hamas has seen its military conduct a barrage of airstrikes across the enclosed territory of the Gaza Strip, also killing many hundreds of people. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest at Puerta del Sol square amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Madrid, Spain, October 9, 2023. Relief and Works Agency said that conditions in the Gaza Strip remain "difficult" as heavy airstrikes continue, with some shelters overcrowded. watch now"I am deeply distressed by today's announcement that Israel will initiate a complete siege of the Gaza Strip.

Persons: Mahmud Hams, Benjamin Netanyahu, Sameh, Ismail Haniyeh, Fatah, Juan Medina, Israel, Antonio Guterres, Basim Naim, BBC's, Naim, Israel's Netanyahu Organizations: Brigades, Afp, Getty Images Hamas, Israeli, Hamas, Nurphoto, Palestinian Health Ministry, Israeli Defense Forces, European Union, Movement, West Bank —, United Nations, Palestinian National Liberation Movement, Palestinian National Authority, West Bank, Pro, Puerta del Sol, Palestinian, Reuters, Works Agency Locations: Gaza, Mahmud, Israel, Hamas, Gaza City, U.S, Japan, Australia, Palestine, Palestinian, Madrid, Spain, Iran

☆ Exclusive: At least 40% of Colombia's ELN rebels seen rejecting peace deal, security sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | 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: +5 min

Pablo Beltran, head of leftist guerrilla group National Liberation Army (ELN), speaks with members of the media in Caracas, Venezuela January 21, 2023. It would also appear to undermine repeated reassurances by ELN leaders that the group is united behind talks. The three security sources said some 2,300 of the ELN's total 5,850 members were seen as likely to reject the deal. The ELN talks, which restarted in November 2022, are the most advanced of Petro's peace efforts, which also include conversations with crime gangs like the Clan del Golfo. "We don't deny the risks that could come from a dialogue that doesn't acknowledge that reality," Rueda said, but added that orders from national ELN leaders are respected by fighters.

Persons: Pablo Beltran, Leonardo Fernandez Viloria, Gustavo Petro, holdouts, they're, Antonio Garcia, Danilo Rueda, Rueda, Ariel Avila, Avila, Luis Jaime Acosta, Julia Symmes Cobb, Daniel Wallis Organizations: National Liberation Army, REUTERS, Rights, Colombia's National Liberation Army, Revolutionary Armed Forces, Northeastern Fronts, Reuters, Green Alliance, Thomson Locations: Caracas, Venezuela, Rights BOGOTA, Colombia, Eastern

☆ Colombia gov't, largest FARC dissident group to begin peace talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Then Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bogota, Colombia, April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBOGOTA, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Colombia's government and the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), the largest FARC dissident group, on Tuesday said in a joint statement they would begin peace talks on Oct. 8 and start a 10-month bilateral, national ceasefire on the same day. The EMC was founded by dissident former members of the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, who reject a 2016 peace deal signed by that group. Colombia's government in May suspended a national ceasefire with the EMC in some areas of the Andean country following the murder of four Indigenous teenagers. The government is also in peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels and the two sides have also agreed a bilateral ceasefire.

Persons: Gustavo Petro, Jaime Saldarriaga, Gustavo Petro's, Oliver Griffin, Sandra Maler Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Estado Mayor Central, FARC, EMC, Revolutionary Armed Forces, Segunda Marquetalia, National Liberation Army, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Rights BOGOTA

☆ Gabon coup leader sworn in as interim president in scene of jubilation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Gerauds Wilfried Obangome | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Gabon coup leader General Brice Oligui Nguema is sworn in as interim president during his swearing-in ceremony, in Libreville, Gabon, September 4, 2023. State TV showed images of a cheering crowd and armoured personnel carriers firing into the sea to mark the moment. PLEDGE TO RETURN POWER TO CIVILIANSNguema reiterated that his administration would organise free and fair elections, though he gave no timetable. "After this transition ... we intend to return power to civilians by organising new elections that will be free, transparent, credible and peaceful," he said. The coup had drawn cheering crowds onto the streets of the capital Libreville but condemnation from abroad.

Persons: General Brice Oligui Nguema, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Bongo, Ali Bongo, Nguema, Nellie Peyton, Karin Strohecker, Alessandra Prentice, Estelle Shirbon, Peter Graff, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Central Africa LIBREVILLE, Gabon's, Central, State, Central African, United Nations, African Union, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Gabon, Libreville, West, Central, of Gabon

☆ A Nicaraguan Novelist Betrayed by the Revolution He Helped Build
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Benjamin P. Russell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sergio Ramírez has been forced into exile twice; once for his role in a revolution and once after writing, in a work of fiction, about what that revolution became. “When it comes to suppressing freedom and exercising absolute power, the distance between left and right is erased,” Ramírez said. “They want the same things.”It’s not hard to see why authoritarians of varying stripes might want Ramírez to just go away. Ramírez was an intellectual leader of the Nicaraguan revolution that ousted the right wing dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979. He is also the prizewinning author of dozens of novels, short story collections and works of nonfiction.

Persons: Sergio Ramírez, he’s, ” Ramírez, “, ” It’s, Ramírez, Anastasio Somoza Organizations: Sandinista National Liberation Front Locations: Nicaraguan

☆ Colombia attorney general stands by claim that ELN rebels plan to kill him
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Francisco Barbosa, Colombian Attorney General speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bogota, Colombia March 24, 2023. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBOGOTA, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Colombia's attorney general on Wednesday defended the credibility of intelligence reports that ELN rebels were plotting to kill him and two other people despite denials by the ELN and military. Two weeks ago, Attorney General Francisco Barbosa reported that the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group planned to assassinate him using a sniper. The ELN has denied it planned the attacks, while Colombia's government has said it had no received no such reports. For two years, intelligence sources have known about the ELN's plan to carry out an attack in Bogota, the attorney general's statement said.

Persons: Francisco Barbosa, Luisa Gonzalez, General Francisco Barbosa, Maria Fernanda Cabal, Eduardo Zapateiro, ELN, Barbosa, Ivan Velasquez, Antonio Garcia, Luis Jaime Acosta, Oliver Griffin, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Colombian, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Wednesday, National Liberation Army, Democratic Center, Defense, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Rights BOGOTA, Colombia's

☆ Colombia AG's office says ELN plotting to attack top prosecutor
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Francisco Barbosa, Colombian Attorney General speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bogota, Colombia March 24, 2023. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File PhotoBOGOTA, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Colombia's attorney general's office is investigating an alleged planned attack by National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels against top prosecutor Francisco Barbosa, it said on Tuesday. Barbosa has publicly opposed many of Petro's peace promises, including a pending law which would reduce prison sentences for crime gangs who surrender, recognize their crimes and offer reparations to victims. According to three sources, "In July there took place a meeting in Venezuela between five high commanders of the ELN...to produce an attack with snipers," the attorney general's office said in a statement. The attorney general's organized crime division is investigating and corroborating the information, the statement added.

Persons: Francisco Barbosa, Luisa Gonzalez, Gustavo Petro, Barbosa, Rolo, general's, Julia Symmes Cobb, Deisy Buitrago, Leslie Adler Organizations: Colombian, Reuters, REUTERS, National Liberation Army, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, BOGOTA, Venezuela, Venezuelan, Caracas

☆ Colombia, ELN rebels start six-month ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | 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: +3 min

[1/7] An attendee looks on during an event with peace negotiators of Colombia's government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, in Bogota, Colombia August 3, 2023. "Welcome to peace," Petro told the inauguration of a committee meant to ensure civil society participation in the talks. The government's high peace commissioner, Danilo Rueda, had said on Tuesday the ceasefire would safeguard civilians and protect them from crimes like kidnapping. The United Nations Secretary-General congratulated the two sides on the ceasefire in a statement on Thursday, hailing its potential to reduce civilian suffering. The U.N. Verification Mission in Colombia will monitor the effort under a mandate form the Security Council.

Persons: Vannessa Jimenez, Gustavo Petro's, Petro, Eliecer Herlinto Chamorro, guerre Antonio Garcia, Danilo Rueda, Aureliano Carbonell, Carbonell, del, Rueda, Luis Jaime Acosta, Oliver Griffin, Leslie Adler Organizations: National Liberation Army, REUTERS, United Nations, Security Council, Force, Clan, Reuters, Congress, Estado Mayor Central, Revolutionary Armed Forces, Segunda, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Vannessa Jimenez BOGOTA, Petro

☆ Colombia and Rebel Group Begin Cease-Fire After Decades of Combat
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Genevieve Glatsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A cease-fire between the Colombian government and the country’s largest remaining rebel group took effect on Thursday, the longest halt to hostilities the group has agreed to and a milestone in efforts to end the country’s 60-year internal conflict, which has killed roughly 450,000 people. While the cease-fire is supposed to last six-months, it could pave the way for a permanent truce with the leftist group, the National Liberation Army, a guerrilla organization known as the E.L.N. that operates in the countryside and has helped fuel the violence that plagues parts of rural Colombia. Mr. Petro, himself a former member of a rebel group, is the country’s first leftist president. The cease-fire applies to combat between the E.L.N.

Persons: Gustavo Petro, Petro Organizations: Colombian, National Liberation Army Locations: Colombia

☆ Colombia President Petro's son arrested in money laundering probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, July 29 (Reuters) - Nicolas Petro, son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, has been arrested as part of an investigation into money laundering and illicit enrichment, the attorney general's office said early on Saturday. Also arrested on money laundering and personal data violation accusations was Nicolas' ex-wife Daysuris del Carmen Vasquez, who earlier this year told local media two people accused of involvement with drug trafficking had given Nicolas money for his father's campaign. May these occurrences forge his character and may he reflect about his own errors," the president said. The attorney general's office will request to a judge that the younger Petro and Vasquez be held on the charges, it said. "Charges will be formulated for the aforementioned crimes and liberty restriction measures will be requested," the attorney general's office said in a statement, adding the arrests took place at 6 a.m. local time (1100 GMT).

Persons: Nicolas Petro, Gustavo Petro, Petro, Nicolas, Daysuris del Carmen Vasquez, Golfo, Vasquez, Julia Symmes Cobb, Diane Craft Organizations: National Liberation Army, Thomson Locations: BOGOTA, Atlantico province

BOGOTA, July 27 (Reuters) - Colombian police have seized property and bank accounts worth 1.3 trillion pesos ($329 million), proceeds from the sale and export of stolen crude oil, officials said on Thursday. To sell the stolen oil, criminal groups mixed it with legally-bought crude so it could be exported via front companies, police said. Colombia's majority state-owned oil company Ecopetrol (ECO.CN) was the main victim of the scheme, costing it 60 billion pesos, police added. The gangs stole crude from Colombia's Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline which runs parallel to the border with Venezuela. Furthermore, "large quantities" of light Venezuelan crude were brought into Colombia before being mixed with Colombian oil and exported via the Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline, the statement said.

Persons: Cano, Katherine Casas, Cano Limon, Luis Jaime Acosta, Oliver Griffin, Grant McCool Organizations: Colombian, Interpol, Reuters, National Liberation Army, Police, Thomson Locations: BOGOTA, Narino province, Venezuela, Pacific, Buenaventura, Colombia

☆ FARC dissidents and Colombian government reach agreement to begin peace talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 9 (Reuters) - Colombia's government has reached an agreement to begin peace talks with a faction of dissident Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels who rejected a 2016 peace agreement, according to a statement. The statement called for an "integral, stable, and lasting peace with social and environmental justice." Another rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), which was not part of the 2016 deal, is currently in talks with Petro's government. The parties announced in June that a six-month ceasefire will begin in August. Reporting and writing by Anna-Catherine Brigida; Editing by Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Gustavo Petro, Anna, Catherine Brigida, Mark Porter Organizations: Revolutionary Armed Forces, Estado Mayor Central, Twitter, Colombian government's, Peace, National Liberation Army, Thomson Locations: Colombia

☆ Top FARC dissident leader Ivan Marquez dead, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | 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: +3 min

The attack against Marquez, whose real name was Luciano Marín Arango, may have been led by Ivan Mordisco, leader of a rival FARC dissident group, according to security sources. Colombia's Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez told journalists there was still no official information on Marquez's death. Marquez later emerged as the leader of the so-called Segunda Marquetalia, a group of former FARC who took up arms anew. Marquez died in Venezuela the two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, which also included an intelligence source. Petro reopened diplomatic and trade relations with Venezuela and Venezuela is a guarantor at Colombia's peace talks with the National Liberation Army rebels.

Persons: Ivan Marquez, Marquez, Luciano Marín Arango, Ivan Mordisco, Ivan Velasquez, Gustavo Petro, Miguel Botache Santillana, Gentil Duarte, Seuxis Hernandez, Hernan Dario Velasquez, Jesus Santrich, El Paisa, Nicolas Maduro, Petro, Luis Jaime Acosta, Vivian Sequera, Oliver Griffin, Julia Symmes Cobb, Michael Perry Organizations: Reuters, Revolutionary Armed Forces, Segunda, Colombia's, Venezuela's Ministry, Information, National Liberation Army, Thomson Locations: BOGOTA, Venezuela, Colombia, Caracas, Venezuela's, United States, Colombian

☆ Top FARC dissident leader Ivan Marquez dead - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | 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: +3 min

BOGOTA, July 6 (Reuters) - Ivan Marquez, the well-known leader of a faction of former FARC rebels who returned to arms after a peace deal with Colombia's government, has died in Venezuela, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The attack against Marquez, whose real name was Luciano Marín Arango, may have been led by Ivan Mordisco, leader of a rival FARC dissident group, according to security sources. Colombia's Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez told journalists there was still no official information on Marquez's death. Marquez later emerged as the leader of the so-called Segunda Marquetalia, a group of former FARC who took up arms anew. Petro reopened diplomatic and trade relations with Venezuela and Venezuela is a guarantor at Colombia's peace talks with the National Liberation Army rebels.

☆ Colombia and ELN guerrillas agree to six-month ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Stefano Pozzebon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Bogota, Colombia CNN —The Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) – one of the oldest and largest guerrilla groups still operating in the country – have agreed to implement a bilateral, six-month ceasefire starting on August 3. Cuba, Mexico, Norway, and Venezuela have acted as “guarantors” for the peace talks, as well as the United Nations and the Colombian Catholic church. The third round of peace negotiations between the Colombia's and the ELN in Havana on May 2, 2023. The ELN is still present in large swathes of the Colombian countryside and operates a military force of several thousand men according to military analysts and the Colombian military forces. Last week, Petro’s chief of staff Laura Sarabia and the Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, both resigned amid mutual accusations of wiretapping.

Persons: Gustavo Petro, Miguel Diaz, guerre ‘ Antonio García, ”, Yamil Lage, ‘ Pablo Beltrán, ’, Ivan Duque, Petro, Laura Sarabia, Armando Benedetti Organizations: Colombia CNN, Colombian, National Liberation Army, Cuban, United Nations, Colombian Catholic, Getty, Revolutionary Armed Forces, FARC, European Union Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Havana, Norway, AFP, Colombian, United States

The "Dana Desa" village fund introduced by President Joko Widodo in 2015 and valued at $4.7 billion this year has long been criticised as prone to corruption. "So it's reasonable if the use of the village fund is somewhat loose and anyone can do what they want with it." ILLEGAL ARMSIt is unclear how much of the $337 million in village funds allocated for the Papua region in 2023 is being diverted into arms. "I have never seen a project funded by the village fund, not at all," said Bernadus Kobogau, a tourism official in Intan Jaya. In Papua's highlands, village funds are treated like a "revolutionary tax", he said, commandeered either via intimidation and coercion, or given willingly by supporters of independence.

Persons: Dana, Joko Widodo, Phillip Mehrtens, Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo, Dana Desa, Faizal Ramadhani, Sebby Sambom, Bernadus Kobogau, Deka Anwar, Anwar, Latifah Anum Siregar, makan tuan, Stefanno Sulaiman, Lincoln Organizations: Reuters, Indonesia Corruption Watch, West Papua National Liberation Army, Free Papua Movement, Institute for, Democracy Alliance for Papua, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesian, Papua, New Zealand, Jakarta, Indonesia, Nduga, Intan Jaya, Nabire

☆ 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

☆ 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.

☆ New Zealand pilot captured by Papuan fighters says he is ‘alive and well’ in new hostage video
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Philip Mehrtens, the New Zealand pilot held hostage by separatist fighters in Indonesia’s restive Papua region, has appeared in a video saying he is “alive and well,” as concerns grow for his safety as fighting with Indonesian security forces intensifies. In the one and a half minute video, Mehrtens, dressed in a black T-shirt and shorts and sitting between two unarmed Papuan men, speaks calmly to the camera first in Indonesian and then English. “We emphasize that the pilot’s release must go through negotiations – not through military operations,” the group’s spokesperson Sebby Sambom said. In a statement following the attacks, the rebels said they shot dead 13 Indonesian military and police officials and were in possession of 12 bodies, without providing proof. CNN has reached out to Indonesian army officials for further comment about the latest hostage video and updates on the search mission for Mehrtens.

☆ Rebels in Indonesia's Papua say they killed 9 army soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, April 16 (Reuters) - Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Papua region killed nine army personnel after Jakarta did not respond to a request for negotiations, a rebel spokesperson said on Sunday. A military spokesperson in Papua, Herman Taryaman, confirmed the Saturday attack but could not confirm the number of soldiers killed as communications were cut due to bad weather. The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) abducted a New Zealand pilot in February. Herman denied the allegation of a March attack on civilians, saying the security forces were protecting civilians who were chased away by the rebels. A low-level battle for independence from Indonesia continued for decades in the remote and resource-rich Papua region, with the conflict between armed rebels and security forces intensifying significantly in recent years, analysts say.

☆ FARC dissident group says to start peace talks with Colombian government in May
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Julia Symmes Cobb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, April 16 (Reuters) - Dissident FARC rebels who rejected a landmark peace agreement in 2016 said on Sunday they are ready to set up a dialogue with the government on May 16 to begin peace talks to bring their group, the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), out of the armed conflict. The group, made up of 3,530 people - 2,180 combatants and 1,350 auxiliaries - has maintained a bilateral ceasefire with the Colombian government since the beginning of the year. The other dissident FARC faction is the Segunda Marquetalia, which in August 2019 returned to the armed struggle, claiming that the state failed to comply with the peace agreement. Petro's government reestablished peace talks with the rebels of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the two parties seek to advance towards a bilateral ceasefire agreement in a third round of talks to begin soon in Cuba. Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb, Additional reporting by Nelson Bocanegra Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. arrests retired Salvadoran officer implicated in atrocities
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Nelson Renteria | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAN SALVADOR, April 6 (Reuters) - U.S. agents arrested a retired Salvadoran military officer this week on charges of participating in a brutal massacre of civilians during El Salvador's grinding civil war in the 1980s, according to a statement on Thursday. Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Roberto Garay on Tuesday in the state of New Jersey, the agency said. Retired Salvadoran general Juan Rafael Bustillo acknowledged in 2020 that Atlacatl was responsible for the notorious 1981 El Mozote massacre, in which more than 1,0000 villagers, mostly women and children, were slaughtered. The battalion carried out extrajudicial executions at El Mozote, as well as in three other massacres in which "hundreds of noncombatant civilians" were killed, ICE said. One of several bloody Central American conflicts linked to the Cold War, El Salvador's 1980-1992 civil war pitted the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) rebels against the army of the U.S.-backed right-wing government.

The U.S. has said Rusesabagina was unlawfully detained, while Rwanda has bristled at the criticism, saying it would not be intimidated. The U.S. allocated more than $147 million in foreign assistance to Rwanda in 2021, making it Rwanda's largest bilateral donor. Blinken met Kagame during a visit to Rwanda in August, where U.S. officials said the case was discussed extensively. Yet Kigali continued to take a hard line, with Kagame suggesting on the sidelines of the December summit that only an invasion of Rwanda could force Rusesabagina's release. He will remain in Rwanda for a couple of days before travelling to Doha and then to the United States, U.S. officials said.

Paul Rusesabagina’s detention had been condemned by the U.S. State Department. Rwanda’s justice minister on Friday commuted the 25-year prison sentence of Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the movie “Hotel Rwanda” about the 1994 genocide and later used his Hollywood fame to criticize President Paul Kagame . A Belgian citizen and U.S. green-card holder, Mr. Rusesabagina was convicted by a Rwandan court in 2021 on a string of charges including terrorism, the financing and founding of armed groups, murder, arson and conspiracy to involve children in militancy. Rwandan authorities say Mr. Rusesabagina for years funded the National Liberation Front, the alleged armed wing of his opposition group, the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change.

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