Colombia says 57 soldiers kidnapped by civilians
In a video statement on social media, Brig Gen Federico Alberto Mejia said four non-commissioned officers and 53 soldiers had been seized over the weekend."This is called kidnapping," he said.Reports in local media suggest that the EMC rebel group - the largest offshoot of the Farc - may have ordered the kidnappings.The EMC has not commented on the issue. The Micay Canyon is used for transporting cocaine to Pacific ports, and drugs are then illegally shipped to other countries.
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BBC News
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- BBC News
South Shields cocaine seller identified by 'ouch' foot tattoo
A cocaine dealer who was identified by a photograph of the word "ouch" tattooed on his foot has been jailed for 13 Matthews, 46, was caught after police cracked the EncroChat network, Newcastle Crown Court the evidence proving Matthews' involvement in arranging large cocaine deals was a picture of his distinctive tattoo he had sent when complaining to other drug dealers about a broken flip-flop, the court was was found guilty of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs. Judge Amanda Rippon said the evidence was "perfectly clear" that Matthews, of Gordon Road in South Shields, had been involved in drug dealing between June 2019 and May 2020. 'Significant brain injury' She said officers were able to link Matthews to one of the user handles in the EncroChat group by various clues, including a picture of his tattoo which features the word "ouch".Matthews "plainly had a leading role" and was organising, buying and selling cocaine on a "commercial scale", Judge Rippon was thought he had arranged delivery of 22kg of the Class A drug but had run up debts of hundreds of thousands of pounds as his "expectation of substantial financial advantage" failed to materialise, the judge his arrest, Matthews suffered a "significant" brain injury and had to have part of his skull removed when he was hit by either a car or person in September 2023, the court injury, which resulted in memory and behavioural issues, would make his time in prison even harder, the judge said. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Diving for the disappeared: the dangerous underwater hunt for Colombia's missing
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The dives, which took place late last year, were part of an unprecedented exercise in Colombia. The operation marked the first time that an official, state-backed search had taken place along Buenaventura's San Antonio estuary, with the active involvement of the community. With a remarkable combination of sonar technology, rigorous forensic investigations, and anthropological work with guidance from religious leaders, local fishers and piangüeras – mangrove shellfish gatherers – the government's Search Unit for Persons Reported Missing (UBPD) aims to recover those who disappeared, as well as provide some healing to victims and the community. Buenaventura, a port city on Colombia's Pacific coast, has long been scarred by paramilitary violence. According to the UBPD, at least 940 people are considered to have disappeared in the area. The figure could be much higher. Colombia's National Movement of Victims of State Crimes believes the number of those disappeared in Buenaventura to be more than 1,300. The UBPD's search along the San Antonio estuary focused on victims who disappeared between 1989 and 2016, when the conflict officially ended, after a peace deal was signed between the Colombian government and members of the Farc rebel group. 'This [search] had not been possible before because the security conditions did not allow for it,' says María Victoria Rodríguez, the UBPD coordinator who led the operation. 'We knew what the difficulties were, that the tides wouldn't help us, that the possibility of finding something here was very complex, but it had to be done.' Most of those missing are believed to be victims of armed groups, whose methods were brutal. They reportedly dismembered victims and placed them in steel drums full of cement before dumping them in the murky waters of the estuary. 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'It is one of the most dangerous dives I have ever done and one of the most intense searches I have ever undertaken,' says Albarracín, who searched a 20-metre radius surrounding each designated point of interest. In parallel, another team ventured on to the marshy low-tide terrain, where the piangüeras – renowned for their skill in navigating the mud-bound mangroves while harvesting molluscs – combed through seven designated search corridors in the mud. There, the UBPD team quickly realised that their standard kit was useless, as the muddy terrain made heavy equipment redundant and rendered investigators and anthropologists unfamiliar with the landscape virtually immobile. Rodríguez says: 'There was no other element that we could use in this field other than the piangüeras' hands. This knowledge that isn't in textbooks, and that we ourselves don't have, allowed us to minimise errors.' Before the searches began, religious leaders carried out a spiritual reconciliation ceremony to ask the estuary for forgiveness – a symbolic act to acknowledge the pain it had absorbed as a site of body disposal. An altar was built at the UBPD's office in Buenaventura, where religious leaders remained throughout the mission, reading messages and interpreting signs, including changes in the weather, believed to be communications from their gods. Before venturing into the waters, the teams were harmonised – the UBPD scientists as well as community members who would be entering the estuary. Each received a small protective bracelet, meant to accompany them throughout their fieldwork. The waters surrounding Buenaventura are murky and dark, subject to strong currents and shifting tides. They are also heavily contaminated by the city's busy port as well as by the surrounding stilt communities, which often use the waterways to dispose of waste. As a result, no remains were found in the San Antonio estuary over the 17-day search. Since then, scuba diving efforts have been on hold. The project's future is in the hands of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, a judicial body set up to address the legacy of the armed conflict. For the UBPD and the broader community of Buenaventura, such efforts are pivotal. 'These communities have their own spiritual relationship with the physical body,' says Adriel Ruiz, head of the Corporación Memoria y Paz, a local NGO that works alongside victims of the conflict in Buenaventura. 'Once someone disappears, it breaks these psycho-spiritual and religious dynamics and generates a social deterioration, a collective damage. Finding them is key for the community.'
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
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'Broken' British tennis star breaks silence after being hit with FOUR-YEAR doping ban
British tennis star Tara Moore has blasted the sport's 'broken' anti-doping system and claimed her life has been 'ripped away' after her four-year doping ban was upheld. The former British No 1 doubles player also maintained her innocence while revealing she is 'broken' after 'fighting for her life' and being 'failed' by 'organisations and people in power'. The 32-year-old received the ban in 2022 after prohibited substances nandrolone and boldenone were found in positive tests Moore underwent during a tournament in Bogota, Colombia. She was handed an immediate ban but was cleared by an independent tribunal 19 months later, who ruled the anabolic steroids had entered her bloodstream via contaminated meats eaten in the days before her initial urine test. But last week, Moore had her ban upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after an appeal by the International Tennis Integrity Agency. She will be unable to compete for four years minus the 19 months she served while provisionally suspended. Tara Moore said her life has been 'ripped away' after her four-year doping ban was upheld 'The last three-and-a-half years have broken me into so many pieces,' Moore said in a statement on social media. 'As my family and friends have scrambled to pick up the broken shards of me, they've glued me back together in the form of a different person. 'I don't need a panel to tell me I'm innocent. I know the integrity I bring and I know I am innocent. I believe everyone over the past couple of years can see how subjective this process is. 'I have been the underdog. I have had my life as I knew it ripped away from me because the organisations and people in power failed to do what was right. They may have taken my fight away on the court, yet my fight is not over, not for me or others like me. 'The anti-doping system is broken. I am proof of this. We need to fix it. Not for me as it's too late, but for future players who find themselves in this unfortunate situation. I have so much more to say when the time is right.' Moore had argued that boldenone and nandrolone were found in her sample after she consumed beef and/or pork while in Colombia. But a Cas statement said: 'After reviewing the scientific and legal evidence, the majority of the Cas panel considered that the player did not succeed in proving that the concentration of nandrolone in her sample was consistent with the ingestion of contaminated meat. 'The panel concluded that Ms Moore failed to establish that the ADRV (Anti-Doping Rule Violation) was not intentional. The appeal by the ITIA is therefore upheld and the decision rendered by the Independent Tribunal is set aside.' The verdict from Cas' March hearing into the appeal now means that the British player will be unable to return to competition until the start of the 2028 season. Moore previously shared a heartfelt statement in the wake of the decision as she decried the '19 months of lost time' that waiting for the hearing's verdict that she 'bore no fault or negligence' had stolen from her. It comes amid ongoing controversy over doping bans in tennis. Wimbledon winner Jannik Sinner was given a three-month suspension earlier this year after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the initial verdict that Sinner bore 'no fault or negligence' after clostebol entered his body via a cut on the hand of his physio that had been treated with the banned substance. There has been significant debate over the perceived leniency of his punishment, which allowed Sinner to return in time to compete at the French Open - where he reached the final - without missing any Grand Slam tournaments. World No 3 Iga Swiatek was similarly subject to debate over special treatment after she was handed her one-month suspension in November 2024 - having competed in tournaments after August's positive test. Since returning to the tour in April 2024, Moore has frequently spoken out against what she believed was preferential treatment shown to Swiatek. Both Sinner and Swiatek were victorious at Wimbledon with the Italian claiming his first Wimbledon Championship and Swiatek her sixth Grand Slam title.
