Colombia News

“There is no data. An information system does not yet exist”

A woman in Pasto, the capital of the western Colombian province of Narino, found out that the baby she was expecting was severely deformed. via Inter Press Service

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“We have high expectations about finding what kinds of plants they cultivated.”

Builders clearing land for a housing project in Colombia have uncovered an ancient burial site containing nearly a thousand tombs linked to two little-known civilizations. via National Geographic

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“The issue, however, is will they vote”

Florida now has more Hispanic voters registered as Democrats than Republicans. The difference is small -- less than a percentage point. via Hispanic Business

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“They are false, and an attempt to discredit the Venezuelan government.”

US intelligence officials believe seized computer files showing strong ties between Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and Colombian rebels are authentic, The Wall Street Journal reported. via Raw Story

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“It is important beyond trade because it is part of a series of reforms that support the overall agenda of Colombia, whether it be security, human rights issues and anti-narcotics efforts”

The U.S. Congress should pass the Colombian free trade agreement to help the Andean country reform and strengthen its economy and improve its democratic institutions, the World Bank said on Thursday. via Reuters

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Colombian Ambassador to Peru Alvaro Pava said Wednesday said no meeting with Ecuador, which has broken off ties with Colombia in March, has been arranged at the upcoming regional summit. via Xinhuanet

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“Today's (Wednesday's) action targets the FARC's drug trafficking and terror activities by undermining its financial network”

Assets under U.S. jurisdiction of a Colombian money exchange house aiding drug trafficking activities have been frozen, the U.S. Treasury Department said. via Daily India

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“Stop. Stop please. Stop, they're police.”

A judge on Wednesday gave a 54-year prison term to a cashiered army lieutenant colonel who was convicted of ordering the massacre of 10 elite anti-drug police in an ambush on a lonely country road.

Judge Edmundo Lopez also slapped near-maximum sentences of 52 years on the unit's second-in-command, and 50 years each on the other 13 soldiers convicted of participating in the May 22, 2006 slaughter.

A motive was not determined in the case though senior police officials told The Associated Press they believe former Lt. Col. Byron Carvajal and his troops had been protecting a drug lord. Read more

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Behind the Bouquet Nicholas D. Kristof examines the impact of free trade on Colombia's economy with a flower industry worker and President Alvaro Uribe. via ClipSyndicate

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Colombia extradited one of the country's most feared paramilitary warlords to the United States early Wednesday to face drug trafficking charges, the government said.

Carlos Mario Jimenez was flown to Washington, D.C., via Miami on a Drug Enforcement Administration plane, according to President Alvaro Uribe's office. The announcement came just hours after Colombia's top judicial panel overturned a Supreme Court decision that had temporarily blocked the extradition.

The Supreme Court had ruled last month that Jimenez should not leave the country until he has confessed to crimes he committed as the leader of illegal far-right militias and paid reparations to his victims. Read more

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